Thick Chicken and Leek Soup

 One whole leek was diced and fried at a medium heat, along with a chopped carrot for about twenty five minutes. While that was going on I diced a whole chicken breast. 

The vegetable and chicken components were added to another pan, along with about three quarters of a pint of water and a chicken stock cube, broken into four. Simmered under glass for an hour, after which the soup was blitzed with a moulinex blender for about five minutes. 

I added the chives, a teaspoonful of paprika, a large pinch of ground coriander, a pinch of sage, and some black pepper. Stirred together, and allowed to simmer for another twenty minutes. Delicious!

Chicken and Roasted Vegetables

Sometimes you get fed up doing the same thing with vegetables. This time I diced the vegetables (carrot, onion, potato and garlic) and put them in a casserole dish with a drizzle of rapeseed oil. Cooked in the oven for half an hour, lidded, and then another twenty five minutes without the lid. The slices of chicken were cooked in a lidded pan with arrowroot (as a thickener) and chicken stock, for about twenty five minutes. Served with black pepper. 

Chicken, Tomato, Coriander, Chicken Stock

 Easy to make and delicious dish. Chicken breast roasted in a casserole dish for about forty minutes (watch by eye). With stir-fried tomato and a chicken gravy. Dressed in some dried tarragon and served with fresh coriander. 

Turkey and Parsnip Stew, with Oven-roasted Chips

Leftover Turkey from a roasted leg joint, stewed in some chicken stock along with diced parsnip and carrot. Cooked for around two hours. The Rosemary and the paprika were added towards the end of the process.

Served with roasted potato chips in olive oil. The potato chips were parboiled for fifteen minutes first. Cook until a little browned. Turn once.
 

Black Pepper Chicken

A classic Chinese dish, which is simple to make, and with minimal ingredients. Roasted chicken breast, diced, dressed in freshly ground black pepper (this is essential if the dish is to work - ordinary pre-ground black pepper won't do. Szechuan pepper is recommended). Celery stalks, topped and tailed, and cut into thin strips, and then diced. Add diced garlic. Add soy sauce and rice wine. Steamed for half an hour before serving.

Pollo Napolitano

Great Italian chicken dish, simmered very slowly under glass (for forty minutes) after sealing with a brief stir-fry, along with four cloves of garlic. I made the neapolitan salsa in the same pan, adding the various ingredients one by one (including the tomato puree), stirring frequently.

The peas were fresh from the Co-op, so I spent ten minutes or so extracting the peas from the pods. Cooked separately in salted water for ten to fifteen minutes under glass.

Utterly delicious meal! Often eaten with a dressing of grated Parmigiano Regiano (or some other Italian cheese), but the dish is fine all by itself. 

Chicken and Chorizo Casoulet

Recipe built on what was left of a Chorizo Casoulet. I added extra potatoes and diced onions. Plus diced red pepper. 

I chopped up one chicken breast, and added the pieces to the pan, along with extra water, and chicken stock, and half a garlic clove. Plus a squirt of tomato puree. Cooked for half an hour under glass at a lowish heat. Dressed with dried basil ten minutes before serving. Fabulous dish!

 

Chicken Gumbo with Green Beans and Red Pepper

Not an authentic Louisiana dish, but inspired by Cajun gumbo recipes. Chicken goujons from the fridge refried until slightly browned in olive oil. I added julienned onion (two small ones), half a diced red pepper, and about 75g of diced green beans.

I made the sauce with a teaspoonful of arrowroot powder in water (normally cornflour or flour), half a 400g can of chopped tomatoes, a teaspoonful of Cajun seasoning, a teaspoonful of paprika, and half a teaspoonful of red chilli powder. Then I added some chicken stock. Cooked for fifteen minutes. 

The sauce was added to the chicken and vegetables, along with about 100g of boiling water. Cooked slowly half under glass until the sauce thickened again. 

Served with some steamed basmati rice, originally cooked with diced root ginger. 

Chicken Curry with Parsnips and Chestnut Mushrooms

A Madras curry made with four quartered chestnut mushrooms, and two diced parsnips, along with diced chicken, finger chillies and two cloves of garlic.Fried first of all in some sunflower oil.  Then I added half a tin of chopped tomatoes and some coriander leaf.. Cooked twice - the second time on the next day.  

Served with Basmati rice, and delicious lime pickle (Patak brand). 

 

Carrot & Yellow Pea Curry

The yellow peas were soaked overnight, and cooked with the chopped carrot pieces for an hour or so. I added two teaspoonfuls of madras curry powder, one teaspoonful of chilli powder, diced garlic, and a dusting of ground cardamom. Cooked for another hour. After half an hour, I added the chicken stock, and three tablespoons of yoghurt, stirred through. . 

The rice was cooked slowly for twenty minutes or so, and then cooked slowly in a drizzle of sunflower oil under glass for half an hour, until the rice was crispy (but not burned).

Served with a generous helping of mango chutney. 

 

Chicken and Brussels Sprout Soup, with Herbs

Fabulous soup made with roasted diced chicken breast (one half). Plus water, chicken stock, and three Brussels sprouts, diced Italian style. Plus one julienned white onion. Cooked together for at least forty-five minutes. Thickened with a teaspoonful of arrowroot.  The herbs tarragon and sage were added ten minutes before serving. 

The chicken breast was cooked with two others in a casserole dish for at least 45 minutes at 180 deg C on the middle shelf of a preheated oven. 

 

Yellow Pepper Soup with Chicken

A simple soup made with half a yellow pepper diced into small cubes, chopped carrots, potatoes, and some leftover sugar snap peas and about one quarter of a chicken breast, finely sliced. I added a dozen mustard seeds, and two small diced cloves of garlic, plus some chicken stock. 

Cooked slowly for two hours. Mash a little before serving. 

 

Minestrone Soup

Always a favourite, and a great way to use up surplus ingredients from another dish. In this case, some yellow pepper, batonned carrot, chickpeas, white onion, chilli, mustard seed, and basmati rice. I added tomato puree (three squirts), two spring onions, diced, a drizzle of olive oil, plus black pepper, and vegetable and chicken stock. And a handful of broken spaghetti. I added the herbs basil and oregano. Cooked for an hour before serving. 

 

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew, with Spicy Chips

A chickpea stew with diced carrot, sweet potato and green beans. The chickpeas were soaked overnight in unsalted water until soft. Drained, and decanted into a pot of boiling water, along with the carrot, sweet potato and the green beans. Add some chicken or ham stock, and ground white pepper. Add a teaspoonful of gravy granules and stir through the stew. Cook at a low heat on the hob for an hour.

Served in this case with spicy chipped potatoes, grilled in the middle of the oven for around fifteen minutes. The chips were allowed to stand in a marinade beforehand for a couple of hours The marinade was made with sunflower oil, malt vinegar, tomato ketchup (or puree), salt, garlic, red chilli, dried coriander leaf, tarragon and oregano (the choice of herbs is up to you). When grilled the chips don't need to be turned, and they are less likely to stick to the roasting tray, compared to oven roasting.

Chcken Paella, with Chorizo Sausage

Chicken pieces with diced chorizo sausage, tomato puree, chicken stock, chilli, mushrooms, carrots, courgette, potato, red pepper, plus the herbs basil, coriander leaf and tarragon. Plus basmati rice cooked in a little salt and turmeric.

The trick is to do it in clearly defined stages (preparation of the vegetables and chorizo, stir-fried in olive oil or butter; preparation of the salsa; adding the pre-roasted chicken; and finally adding the pre-cooked rice).

The vegetables and chorizo, and the salsa, were allowed to simmer for an hour under glass before I added the chicken.

For presentation purposes in future I might just steam the chicken pieces, and add them on top before serving. But it was a delicious meal nonetheless, and well worth the effort.

Chicken, Garlic, and Tarragon Soup

A simple chicken soup, made with carrots (two), chopped spring onion (three) diced chicken from one chicken drumstick (cheaper than chicken breast!), Tarragon, spinach, garlic, and chicken stock.

The soup base was prepared first, and simmered under glass for about two hours. The carrots were batonned.

The chicken drumstick came from the fridge. The chicken meat was peeled by hand from the drumstick (the most efficient way), and added to to the pot. I crushed a garlic clove, and added it to the pot. Simmered for at least another half an hour.  A really flavoursome soup!

Peppered Gougons of Chicken, with Oven-roasted Potato Chips

Pan-fried goujons of chicken, in a peppered chicken gravy (chicken stock), thickened with cornflour or gravy granules. The gravy was prepared separately, and spooned over the goujons, along with a generous dressing of freshly ground black pepper.

The chipped Maris Piper potatoes were dressed in a little vinegar, tomato ketchup, olive oil, and dried basil. Cooked for fifty minutes on the middle shelf of the oven at 190 deg C. Watch progress carefully.

The chips were served with another dusting of basil.

Lentil and Leek Soup

A traditional Scottish soup. Made with boiled carrots, half of a medium sized leek, and 200g of red lentils. Plus herbs and chicken stock.

The vegetables were boiled first, along with the lentils, with a little salt. Cooked for forty minutes, and then mashed together.

After that the contents of the pot were blended with an electric blender. Coriander leaf was added, plus some black pepper,  along with chicken stock. 

Served with two slices of a wheat free bloomer loaf (Warburtons). Easy to make, and delicious!

Chicken, Rice and Bean Soup

Black and white rice cooked originally for a risotto. The black rice was cooked separately for fifteen minutes, and then drained.

Made with red kidney beans, chickpeas, diced leek, carrot, plus vegetable and chicken stock, and tomato puree. With the addition of black pepper, oregano, and coriander leaf.

The chicken came from roasted chicken thighs, and the meat was diced before being added to the soup.

The soup was simmered under glass for an hour and fifteen minutes. Served with home made bread, made with Khorasan wheat (Kamut).

Thai Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice

A delicious and simple Thai style curry made with diced roast chicken from the fridge, with diced carrots, julienned onion, haricot beans, tomato puree, a dessert spoonful of shredded coconut, Thai spices, ginger, and chicken stock.

All the ingredients were added to a single pan, and cooked together under glass for forty five minutes.

The basmati rice was cooked in boiling water to which a single drip of Jasmine essence was added (fifteen minutes). The coriander leaf was sprinkled over the dish as a garnish.