Creamy Chicken With Fresh Peaches

It’s peach season in Western Australia and these beauties are from the Perth Hills, near where I live.

Don’t be tempted to put the peaches into the sauce for longer, they are just warmed through or they go to mush!

If you want make this ahead of time cook up to the stage of the cream thickening and then turn the heat off.

Once you are ready to eat, bring up to a gently simmer, add an extra 100mls cream, simmer gently until heated through and then continue as below.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

40g butter

40mls olive oil

6 chicken thighs, bone in skin on

1 brown onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, sliced

400mls cream

300mls chicken stock or water

3-4 large peaches, skinned, stoned and diced

1-2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

Method

In a large frying pan with a lid, heat the butter and oil over a medium to high heat.

Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

Once the fat is hot, add the chicken, skin side down. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the skin is crisp.

Turn the chicken and again cook for 4-5 minutes.

Remove the chicken and set aside. Drain most of the fat out of the pan, leave a couple of teaspoons worth in the pan.

Heat the pan over a medium heat and add the onion, cook until soft, scraping the dark bits off the bottom of the pan as you go.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Return the chicken to the pan, turn a few times in the onion mixture.

Turn the chicken skin side up.

Pour in the cream and stock, bring to a gently simmer, cover and simmer for 30minutes.

Check that the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. If the sauce is still a little runny, remove the lid and simmer uncovered.

Stir in the peaches, just heat them a little, sprinkle over the parsley and serve.

Slow Roast Lamb With Ancho Chilli And Garlic Marinade

Spring is finally here in Western Australia and lamb is back on the menu!

This is a great recipe of you are feeding people who aren’t too keen on chilli, bags of flavour and not too spicy. It is also slow cooked so, ideal if you are entertaining as you really have very little to do once the lamb is in the oven.

It can easily feed a bigger crowd, just add more side dishes but the leftovers are divine too, I’ll share my Mexican Stir Fried Rice recipe soon using leftovers from this lamb!

I serve this with steamed rice, fresh salsa, salad, guacamole, tostades and refried beans, that way everyone can have as little or as much as they like!

Serves 10.

2.5kg leg of lamb

3 red onions, peeled and sliced into 1cm rings

3 dried ancho chillies

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

200mls water, just under boiling point

8 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1.5 litres chicken stock

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Centigrade. Line the base of a roasting tin with the onion rings to create  a rack to keep the meat off the base, initially.

Prepare the marinade now. Place the chillies in a heat proof bowl, add the nearly boiled water and cider vinegar. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Once the chillies have soaked, carefully lift them from the water, remove the stem and seeds and return to the water. Now add all of the remaining ingredients except the onions, lamb and stock.

Using a stick blender, whizz the marinade to a thick paste.

Take the leg of lamb, using a sharp knife, stab it multiple times to at least 5cm at its thickest part.

Pour the marinade over and push it down into the cuts, make sure all of the meat is covered, underside too.

Lay the lamb onto the bed of onion rings, pour the chicken stock around the lamb, seal completely with foil and slide into the oven.

Bake for 6 hours, turn the oven up to 200 degrees Centigrade, spoon off as much of the fat as you can and return the lamb to the oven to crisp up a little, around 30 minute

Now, using tongs, pull off large chunks of meat and drop them into the pan juices, as you come across the bones remove them all. You should now have a pan of meat, juices and onions, I give this a gentle stir and then serve.

 

Tortilla Soup

The boys have been watching a serious amount of Food Network recently on the television and requested this after one particular programme.

Here in Australia, it can be hard to find the correct chillies to make this a truely authentic tortilla soup so I’ve improvised with what I can find.

I like to make a batch of chicken stock from chicken wings for this and then use the meat from the wings in the soup at the end, I love the no waste way it works!

I start this recipe by making a paste that has tonnes of flavour, using the same technique as I use for starting my curries off. By the time you have cooked he paste down you shoul have half to a third of the original quantity and it should be really thick.

With two chipotle chillies this is pretty spicy so play around with your chilli amounts, younger kids might like one chilli with the seeds removed.

Tonight I didn’t have any corn tortillas lying around so nachos did just as well!

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1-2 chipotle chillies in Adobe sauce, seeds removed

6 large roma tomatoes, quartered

80mls water

30mls olive oil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

4 teaspoons ground cumin

2 litres chicken stock

juice of 1 lime

EXTRAS

Chopped chicken

Sliced avocado

Grated cheese

Tortillas

Method

Using a stick blender, whizz up the onion, garlic, chipotle chillies and Adobe sauce, tomatoes and water.

Heat the oil over medium heat in your soup pan, once hot, pour in the tomato mix and cook down, stirring regularly, allowing the water to evaporate until you have a thick paste in the bottom of the pan.

Add the stock and bring up to the boil, add the lime juice.It’s now ready to serve, I fill the soup bowl with chicken, top with the soup, cheese, avocado and fried tortilla strips or nachos.

Chicken, Chorizo and Potato

I am a huge fan of one pot wonders and this is certainly a winner. The stock cooks right down so you have an amazingly flavoured sauce that the lemon juice, added at the end, makes extra zingy!

I had chicken breasts for this but you can use what ever you have, thighs work very well too, I cut each breast into three long pieces.

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

30mls olive oil

400g mild chorizo, skin removed and sliced finely

3 large onions, sliced

1.5kg skinless chicken

2 pinches chilli flakes

4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1kg baby potatoes

750mls chicken stock

1 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

Method

You need a big shallow pan with a tight fitting lid.

Heat the oil in your pan and fry the chorizo until it begins to crisp up, remove with a slotted spoon.

Add the onions to the pan and cook until soft, add the chilli flakes and garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add the chicken to the pan and stir often until the chicken has sealed.

Pour the stock and potatoes into the pan, cover, bring up to the boil and then allow to simmer, covered for 20minutes.

Remove the lid and cook the liquid down until it is quite syrupy.

Return the chorizo to the pan, allow to warm through.

Pour in the lemon juice, stir well and then sprinkle over the parsley.

Stove Top Chicken With Jalapeño, Garlic and Lime

This might not look like much but this is one of those finger licking chicken dishes that becomes a favourite very quickly!

Serves 4.

Ingredients

150g butter

100mls olive oil

1.6kg chicken cut into 10 pieces

salt and pepper

1 jalapeño, deseeded and sliced

4 cloves garlic, just squashed in their skins

2 limes, juiced

350mls chicken stock

Method

Season the chicken pieces well with salt and pepper.

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan with a lid over a medium to high heat.

Once hot, add the chicken, skin side down and cook for 10-15 minutes until well coloured.

Turn the chicken pieces over and cook again for 10 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan and drain out most of the butter and oil, leaving around 2 tablespoons in the pan.

Return the pan to a medium heat and add the jalapeño and garlic, swirl around the pan for 1 minute and then add the lime juice and chicken stock.

Return the chicken to the pan, turning it over a little in the sauce and cover.

Cook gently over a medium to low heat for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the lid and turn the heat to high, simmer down the sauce, turning the chicken regularly,  until it is thick and clinging to the chicken.

Pumpkin And Garam Masala Soup

Comfort food in a bowl.

I was given some wonderful Mauritian garam masala by my lovely neighbours and this is a great way to let it shine.

As with most of my soups, I like to make a big batch and freeze half for another day.

Served with some naan or parathas this fills the boys up!

Serves 12.

Ingredients

30-45mls olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1kg pumpkin, peeled and roughly chopped

400g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons garam masala

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 litres vegetable or chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon nigella seeds to finish or freshly ground pepper

Method

In a large soup pan or stock pot, heat the oil.

Add the onion, garlic and carrots and cook gently until the onion is soft.

Add the garam masala, cumin, coriander, chilli and turmeric and stir through, cook until fragrant.

Add the pumpkin and stock and bring up to a gentle simmer.

Simmer, covered for 30minutes until all of the vegetables are soft.

Remove from the heat and liquidise, I use a stick blender.

Check for seasoning.

Reheat gently to serve, spoon into bowls and sprinkle over some nigella seeds of freshly ground pepper.

Saffron Rice

It doesnt look like much but don’t be fooled by my awful photographic skills.

This is a brilliantly flavoured rice dish that can go with so many main meals, we have it as part of a mezze style dinner to help fill the teenagers up!

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

60g butter or olive oil

3 medium onions, peeled, halved and cut into thin slices

1 pinch of saffron

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

200g Basmati rice

375mls vegetable or chicken stock

Method

In a pan with a tight fitting lid, heat the butter or oil over a medium heat and add the onions.

Cook the onions until a deep golden brown colour, regularly scraping the gooey bits off the base of the pan, this can take 30-40minutes.

Add the rice to the pan and stir through the onions, add the saffron and chilli followed by the stock.

Cover and bring up to the boil, turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 14minutes, do not remove the lid!

After 14 minutes, turn the heat off and leave the covered pan for 10 minutes before removing the lid and lightly forking through the rice before serving.

Asparagus And Pea Soup

Locally grown asparagus is back on the shelves in Western Australia, if only for too short a season. I have to make the best of it!

Along with dipping spears in runny eggs and cooking them on the barbecue this is another favourite of mine. Less so for the middle son who hates asparagus with a passion! So, I liquidise this soup for him and wave the bag of frozen peas around to avoid questions!

For the adults, I like to leave the the soup as is, the vibrancy of the greens is gorgeous!

Serves 10.

Ingredients

30mls olive oil

2 leeks, white part only, quartered lengthwise, cut into 1 cm chunks and washed

2 bunches fresh asparagus, around 400g, stalks cut into 1cm chunks, tops intact

400g frozen baby peas

1.8litres chicken or vegetable stock

salt and pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the leaks and soften over a medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add the stock and bring up to a simmer, add the peas and asparagus stalks, bring back up to simmer and cook for 3 minutes.

Check seasoning.

Ladle into warmed bowls and sprinkle over the asparagus tips.

Cream of Carrot Soup With Garlic and Fresh Thyme

Soup is such a comfort on a cold evening!

By adding potatoes to the soup you don’t need to use as much cream to get a smooth creamy consistency and I swear it fills my boys more.

I always make this quantity and freeze half for another day.

Serves 12.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 kg carrots, peeled and chopped into discs

2 onions, diced

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1.8litres chicken or vegetable stock

200mls cream

salt and pepper

Method

In a large pan or stock pot, heat the oil over a medium heat and add the carrots, onions and potatoes, stir well and cover to allow the vegetables to sweat.

Once the onion is cooked add the garlic and thyme leaves and cook for 2 mins, stirring regularly so the vegetables don’t catch on the base of the pan.

Pour in the stock and bring up to a simmer.

Simmer until all of the vegetables are cooked.

Take the pan off the heat and using a stick blender, process the soup until smooth.

Add the cream, season and reheat gently.

Serve with a few thyme leaves sprinkled over.

Chicken with Sour Cream and Smoked Paprika

This has been ranked as number three in one of the boys favourite meals list, high praise indeed!

As a very simple stove top dinner that just sits and bubbles away quite happily for an hour reducing itself to a thick sauce which really doesn’t need anything fancy to go with it, white rice and a little salad of tomatoes, capsicum and spring onions works well.

Leftovers freeze well, I box individual portions of chicken and rice into take away boxes, label and freeze for quick lunches at work or gluten free options for my dinner another night.

Serves 12-14 but easily halved.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

2kg chicken breasts, diced to 2cm cubes

6 cloves garlic, crushed

4 jalapeños, deseeded and diced finely

2 onions, diced finely

500mls sour cream

500mls chicken stock

3 table spoons sweet smoked paprika

salt and pepper

Method

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over a medium to high heat.

Add around half the chicken and brown quickly, set aside and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Remove the chicken and add the onion, garlic and chillies to the pan.

Cook over a low heat until the onion is very soft but not coloured.

Return the chicken to the pan and add the sour cream, chicken stock,sweet smoked paprika, salt and pepper, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.

Towards the end of cooking you will see the oil rising to the surface, spoon the oil off and discard.

Check for seasoning before serving.