Cheesy Corn Chip Chicken Wings

To be honest these wings have never been near a corn chip but the masa lista and Parmesan give them a fabulous texture without frying and the coating does taste like corn chips!

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

1.5kgs chicken wings, tips removed and cut in two

1 cup masa lista, Mexican corn flour

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salta and pepper

2 eggs, beaten

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Centigrade. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.

In a bowl, combine the masa, Parmesan, oregano, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Take a piece of chicken, dip in the egg and then in the flour mix.

Lay on the baking sheet skin meaty side up and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, turn once and then bake for a further 10-15 minutes until fully cooked.

Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving with some sour cream dip.

Tempeh With Sumac And Zatar

Having lived in Indonesia I love tempeh and it works really well with the Middle Eastern flavours of sumac and zatar. I needs to be fried a little with the spices before popping it in the oven for a final roasting.

You could use a firm tofu here but just stir fry it in the pan without the baking in the oven.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

200g tempeh

50ml oil

1 small red onion, sliced finely

1 garlic clove, sliced finely

2 teaspoons sumac

3 teaspoons zatar

1 small capsicum, sliced into strips

a few thin slices of lime

salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Centigrade.

In an oven proof pan, heat the oil gently.

Add the onion and cook slowly until the onion is soft, add the garlic, sumac and two teaspoons of zatar and cook for one minute until fragrant.

Turn the heat up to high and add the tempeh, cook for one minute stirring well.

Add the capsicum and stir through.

Top with the lime slices.

Pop the pan into the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the capsicum is beginning to colour.

Sundried Tomato Pasta Sauce

This sauce has a real tomatoey kick to it!

It is also my pantry go to sauce when I need a quick dinner, it is seriously tasty, just adjust the sugar, salt and pepper to your own taste.

To make this gluten free just use gluten free pasta, to make it dairy free and  vegan just omit the mozzarella.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil from the sun dried tomatoes

1 onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

a pinch of chilli flakes

150g sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped

750mls passata/sieved tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

caster sugar

salt and pepper

100g fresh mozzarella, drained, dried and torn

Method

Heat a large frying pan over a medium flame.

Add the oil and once hot add the onions and cook until soft.

Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the chopped sundried tomatoes, oregano and chilli flakes followed by the passata and tomato paste.

Season well and bring up to a simmer.

Simmer gently until thickened, check seasoning and add a little sugar if needed.

Cook your pasta as per instructions, drain and tip into the frying pan, stir well and tear some fresh mozzarella, if using, over the top.

 

Bacon Meatballs With Spicy Tomato Sauce

If I’m making meatballs I like to make double quantity, one for now and one for the freezer, especially just now as the boys break up from school for two weeks of winter holidays.

To freeze, I use a large foil dish, no washing up one night, and fill it with meatballs  and sauce. Freeze at this stage, defrost and bake as below.

I don’t top these meatballs with cheese, they are rich enough!

Makes 30 meatballs with sauce.

Ingredients

500g minced pork shoulder

500g minced bacon, back and streaky

1 tablespoons dried oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chipotle chilli p

50mls olive oil

1 large onion diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 chipotle chillies in adobe sauce, diced

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes

1litre passata

50mls maple syrup

salt and pepper

Method

Combine the bacon, pork, oregano, garlic, chilli and a good grind of pepper in a bowl, using your hands, mix it all really  well together. Pop in the fridge for 4-24 hours.

Form the meat into balls, around 3-4cm diameter.

Using a large non stick pan, heat over a high flame  and then brown the meatballs in batches, you shouldn’t need any extra fat as the meatballs will release the bacon and pork fat.

Set the balls aside in a large oven proof dish.

Heat the olive oil over a medium heat and add the onion, cook until soft and then add the garlic, cook until fragrant.

Now add the chipotle chillies and adobe sauce, smoked paprika, diced tomatoes, passata, maple syrup and seasoning.

Bring up to simmering point and simmer gently for 30-40 mins until the sauce begins to thicken.

Pour the sauce over and around the meatballs.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade and bake the meatballs for 40- 45mins until the sauce is bubbling and the balls have darkened on top.

Chicken Schnitzel

We all love chicken cooked this way and it makes lots of schnitzels! Around 15.

I use gluten free breadcrumbs but use regular if you can. Gluten free bread is expensive here so when it’s on special or reduced I buy up big, process into breadcrumbs and freeze in ziplock bags. Due to the price and being a tight Scot I don’t even cut of crusts! These breadcrumbs were made from gluten free rolls!

If you would rather not fry the chicken it bakes well too, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade and bake for 25-30 mins.

The schnitzels can be frozen uncooked and cooked. Leftovers are popular in rolls as fast food chains chicken burger!

Ingredients

5 large chicken breasts

3 eggs, beaten

300g gluten free fresh breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons dried mixed herbs

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon salt

freshly ground pepper

Method

Take each breast and cut into three chunks.

Line a chopping board with baking parchment, place a piece of chicken on and top with another piece of parchment.

Using the flat side of a meat tenderiser, bash the chicken into a thin shnitzel, around 3mm thick, set aside and repeat with the remaining chicken.

In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, herbs, salt and pepper.

In another bowl, beat the eggs.

Dip the chicken into the egg and then into the breadcrumb mix to coat, set aside and repeat with the rest of the chicken.

Pour enough oil into a frying pan to just cover the bottom, heat over a medium high flame.

Once hot, add a few pieces of chicken, don’t over crowd the pan, cook until golden and crisp, turn over and repeat.

Herby Sausage Rolls

I make a silly amount of sausage rolls at this time of year for filling my freezer and various school and club wind ups.

These rolls don’t have the traditional sage but marjoram, oregano and thyme instead.

I use pre made puff pastry sheets which come with a piece of plastic between each layer, once I make the rolls I then use the plastic to wrap two long rolls separated by plastic to make it easy to just take individual rolls out of the freezer at a later date.

If freezing, roll and seal the rolls but don’t brush with egg. Once they are defrosted, brush with egg and cut to your desired size.

Makes 20 large sausage rolls or 80 mini rolls.

Ingredients

1kg minced pork

1/2 onion, chopped very finely

75g fresh white bread crumbs

2 teaspoons dried marjoram

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 egg, beaten

5 ready rolled puff pastry sheets, 25x25cm, defrosted

Method

Preheat the oven to 200degrees Centigrade.

Combine all of the ingredients, except the egg and pastry, in a large bowl, mix really well by hand.

Lay the pastry out on your work surface.

Take handfuls of the sausage meat and form into long sausages to fit the length of the pastry sheets. The sausages should be around 1-2cm thick.

Place one sausage at the top and one at the bottom of each sheet.

Using a large knife, cut across the middle of the sheet to give you two separate sausages.

Brush the beaten egg along the cut side, fold over the pastry and use a fork to press and seal the pastry where the egg is.

Repeat with all of the rolls. Brush the long rolls with egg.

Cut into your desired size and place on a baking sheet, bake for 25-35 mins depending on size.