Pollo Arabbiata

 A simple Italian dish: a steamed breast of chicken with some fried mushrooms and chopped tomatoes. Plus some peeled and steamed potatoes, which is the normal accompaniment for this dish in Italy. Easy, and delicious. 

Crispy Chicken, with Rice and Peas

 A simple chicken dish, made while I was waiting on a Wimbledon match starting a couple of days ago. A bit like a Louisiana Gumbo. Made with roasted chicken thighs, which then were chopped up and refried. Last time I had a real Louisiana Gumbo was actually in the British Embassy compound in Abu Dhabi, in the mid 90s. They served quite a lot of it, and it was pretty good.

Abu Dhabi is one of the original Trucial States, which signed a deal with the UK to allow British access to territory for the protection of the states. So Britain has access to harbour facilities, as does the US, who signed up later (we have the bigger embassy compound :-). I mention this, since it is likely that the chefs who cooked the Louisana gumbo were American, and knew what they were doing. 

Rice, with Torunska Stew

 I found my ice-cream scoop, and was able to produce balls of turmericed rice and coriander once again. This was an interim dish, using up existing ingredients from the fridge.  Served with fresh spinach. 

Chicken Stir Fry

 Chicken Stir Fry with diced carrot, chilli, red onion, mushroom, yellow pepper, two colours of cabbage, and soy sauce. The chicken was pre-roasted in the oven, and then diced. The stir fry took five minutes at a high heat, stirring frequently. 

Vegetable Stir-Fry

 Pretty straightforward and tasty dish. Everything diced and sliced apart from the bean sprouts and the red chillies. Cook for five minutes at a high heat. 

Beef and Chickpea Curry

 Excellent beef curry, made with ground Scotch beef. The chickpeas were softened in a slow cooker over several hours, and the beef was browned in a flat pan in a little olive oil for an hour and a half at a low to medium heat. I added diced mushrooms, a red chilli, and a julienned red onion. 

Water was added to the beef along with the chickpeas, and was simmered for a couple of hours, after which the herbs and spices were added. The Madras curry powder was the most important of these. 

Served with some fresh coriander, Basmati rice, and Pataks Lime pickle. 

Beef Chilli with Butternut Squash and Leek

A hot beef chilli, simmered for two hours on the hob. Completely delicious! But I have to say that the amount of effort involved in preparing the butternut squash was out of all proportion to its contribution to the flavour of the dish. It may be a nutritious vegetable, but it has no particular taste of its own. I will be giving it a miss in future.
 

Serrano Ham Salad

 Another easy salad, with thinly sliced Serrano ham, a baby leaf lettuce salad, and fresh coriander. Plus sliced white onion and garlic, boiled potato and sweet potato. Dressed in some freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil on the greens. 

Chicken, Egg Noodles and Beansprouts

 Fresh egg noodles bought from Aldi, along with a large bag of beansprouts. 

The chicken was cooked first at a medium heat in some rapeseed oil, along with the spring onions and diced chestnut mushrooms. Then a large handful of beansprouts was added to the pan at a high heat. Once they looked done I added  the egg noodles (which I'd soaked in a pasta bowl with boiling water while the beansprouts were cooking), and turned the heat down to medium again. Constantly stir, otherwise the noodles will stick.

Add chilli and garlic and soy sauce according to taste.

Chicken and Green Bean Minestrone

 The contents of the fridge needed to be reorganised. I rescued what could still be used to construct a dish, and I ended up with a minestrone. The onion and the chicken were cooked first in some olive oil, The rest of the vegetables were prepared and added to the flat pot at a medium heat, along with about half a pint of water. Cooked for ninety minutes under glass, stirring frequently. Delicious!

Cajun Chicken

Chopped chicken breast, onion, garlic and chilli. The chilli, onion and garlic were cooked first in some rape seed oil. Then I added the chopped chicken breast after about 12 minutes. Cooked at a medium heat until the chicken began to brown. Stirred frequently. The cajun seasoning was added to the basmati rice (cooked in a separate pan) along with a shake of paprika. 
 

Hungarian Goulash

Some leftover diced scotch beef, transformed into hungarian goulash, with lashings of paprika and smoked paprika, plus diced garlic. The  brussels sprouts were prepared in Italian style. 
 

Vegetable Stir-Fry

 Fabulous stir-fry made with white cabbage, dark cabbage, beansprouts, carrot strips, chunks of yellow pepper, white onion, red chilli, diced and pressed garlic, and black pepper. I used rape seed oil in the wok.

Chicken and Chickpea Stew

 The chickpeas were cooked in a slow cooker until soft, along with the chopped tomatoes and a diced clove of garlic. The green beans were cooked later in a separate pan. Served together with some sea salt and black pepper. 

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 Minestrone

Minestrone has always been a dish based on using up various left-over ingredients. This version used left-over diced roast chicken and carrot. With added garlic and some red chilli. I used arrowroot as a thickener. Great dish!
 

Diced Pork Loin Steak with Cashews

The rice was steamed first and allowed to cool. Regulary turned with a fork until ready (20-30 minutes). Reheated shortly before serving the vegetables and pork on the bed of rice. The red pepper and the onion were diced, along with the mushrooms, garlic and chilli. Stir-fried along with the  (preroasted) pork steak pieces, and the cashews. Served together with a drizzle of soy sauce. 
 

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.

Spicy Garlic Lamb and Spinach

Ground minced lamb which had been browned and then simmered under glass for two hours. Then I added diced mushrooms, lamb stock, oregano, and two bay leaves. Then simmered again under glass for another 45 minutes, with some onion gravy granules. I added diced spinach leaves and spring onion, plus half of a chopped yellow pepper. 

I added several crushed cloves of garlic, and a couple of red chillies, which I removed (along with the bay leaves) after an hour or so. 

Served with steamed potatoes (thirty minutes or so), and boiled podded peas. 

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.