Chicken in a Pepper and Onion Salsa, with Roast Potatoes

Bought a whole chicken from the local co-op. Cooked on a low shelf in the oven for an hour and 45 minutes, at 180 deg. C.  For the last fifty minutes or so I also cooked roast potatoes along with the chicken, drizzled in olive oil (turned once. The potatoes were parboiled first, and then rolled around a casserole dish).

The salsa was made with caramelised white onion (diced), fried in olive oil, along with a crushed clove of garlic, and strips of red and orange peppers. After twenty minutes I added tomato puree, Bisto gravy granules, vegetable stock, basil and tarragon, along with around 150g of water. Cooked for another half an hour.

I separated one chicken leg from the carcass for this meal (the rest of the chicken went into the fridge after it cooled). The dish was seasoned with a dusting of freshly ground black pepper before serving. Absolutely delicious! Tarragon is a great accompaniment to chicken.

Pork Sausages in a Tomato and Sage Salsa

Pricked pork sausages, cooked slowly (30 minutes) in their own fat, under glass in a ribbed frying pan. Turned four times.

The tomato salsa was made with onion (fried in another pan for about fifteen minutes), and later with diced cherry tomato, sliced mushrooms and diced red pepper. All cooked in a little sunflower oil for another fifteen minutes.

After that a little water was added to the salsa pan, along with two squirts of tomato puree, and a teaspoonful of dried sage. Stirred thoroughly.

The chipped parsnips were dressed in sunflower oil with a pastry brush, and were cooked under the grill for twenty minutes or so (watch by eye!). Turned once. Alternatively you can melt a little butter, and dress the chips in that.

Served with freshly ground black pepper.

Chilli Chicken Soup, with Sweet Potato, Leek, and Black Rice

Sweet potato and leek work very well together as a soup base. This soup features chicken, carrot, garlic, paprika, spinach, tomato passata, leek, and black rice.

All the vegetables were cooked first in boiling water, along with the black wild rice. Half an hour to forty-five minutes at a low heat.

Then the chicken pieces were added. Plus the chicken stock. Simmered under glass for another half an hour.

After that the tomato passata was added, along with the herbs (basil, oregano) and a pinch of paprika.

Served with a garlic and coriander flatbread. Delicious!

Roast Chicken, with a Garlic and Bacon Napoletana

Chicken breasts, roasted in a casserole dish in the oven for 50 minutes at 190 deg C. Drizzled in sunflower oil, with a little water. Dressed in coarse sea salt.

The salsa napoletana was made separately, with onion, chopped garlic, tomato passata, chicken stock, oregano, basil, a pinch of paprika, with crispy fried pieces of unsmoked bacon. Cooked for twenty minutes, stirring frequently.

The carrot wedges were boiled in a small pan for thirty minutes under glass, at a low heat. During the last five minutes I added diced spinach leaves. A simple and delicious dish.

Polenta frita with Salsa Napoletana

The Polenta Frita:


The inspiration for this dish is referenced at the end of this post, along with the original ingredients and recipe. However I made some changes. I had no leek, so I used some onion instead. I chose to allow the juices of the the fried and boiled vegetables to cool in a bowl after the vegetables were removed, and then added the cornmeal slowly, whisking with each dessert spoonful added.


When the mixture was at the right sort of consistency, I added butter to a hot omelette pan (non-stick!), and used a medium sized cookie-cutter to get the circular shape for the polenta. The mixture was spooned into the cookie-cutter, and then the cutter was removed from the pan.


Cooked for six minutes on each side, starting at a high heat, and then reducing to the lowest heat on my electric hob. Three of those minutes on each side were spent under glass, which means that the polenta had the opportunity to cook thoroughly, without becoming dry.


The Salsa Napoletana:


The same variation on salsa Napoletana I made yesterday. I diced two rashers of smoked bacon, and fried the pieces in a large saute pan in a little olive oil. I then added a julienned onion, and half a diced pepper. The ingredients were stir-fried for twenty minutes at a medium heat, until the onions began to brown, and the bacon became crispy.


I mashed a tin of peeled plum Italian tomatoes in a bowl and added them to the saute pan, along with about 400mls of boiling water. Stirred through the dish thoroughly, and add vegetable stock. Then I added about 40g of pieces of Blue Stilton cheese. Stirred for about seven minutes at a medium heat, until the cheese had entirely dissolved in the salsa.


The hob was turned down to a low heat, and was allowed to simmer for half an hour, with occasional stirring. Add black pepper, oregano, and some basil.


***

The original ingredients and recipe:

1 cup Cornmeal
6,5 cups water
salt
piece of leek, carrot, celery (to give an extra flavor to the Polenta)
1 TBPS butter

1. in butter, brown the vegetables, then add water, salt and boil.
2. once boiled, take out the vegetables, add cornmeal little by little, please watch out, the meal does not form little balls, you need a whisk.
3. cook in low heat by mixing slowly for about 5 minutes.
4. transfer to a square plate and let it cool down. This took me about 1 hour.
5. form your Polentas, any form you like.
6. in a pan add butter and fry them, 5 minutes each side.
7. serve with your favorite sauce.
Inspiration from Susana at 'Delicioso y Divertido'.

Treacle & Ale Ham, with Egg and Chips

I gave up on deep-fried chips many years ago, in favour of oven roasting them. The result is often just as good, with a fraction of the fat content. Plus you can play around with coating them in herb and sauces.

These chips were a semi-skinned potato before I flat cut them, and then subdivided these cuts into chips.I made a salsa with a squirt of tomato ketchup, oregano, paprika, and some sunflower oil. Add the raw chips, and stir them through the salsa thoroughly. Allow to stand for a few minutes, and repeat every now and then, until the oven is hot.

I preheated the oven to 190 deg C, and greased a glass roasting tray with drizzle of sunflower oil.

When the oven was ready, I added the chips to the roasting tray, making sure all the chips were separate from each other. Cooked altogether for twenty five minutes, turning the chips once.

Served with three slices of treacle & Ale ham from the local Co-op (most other forms of ham will do instead), a fried egg, and a little black pepper. Delicious!

Tarragon Chicken, with a Garlic and Tomato Salsa

Normally Tarragon chicken has a white sauce, suffused with tarragon. But sometimes, as here, it is served with a garlic and tomato salsa.

Diced white onion stir-fried in a little olive oil, along with six diced cloves of garlic, cooked at a medium heat. Allow to brown a little before adding the plum tomatoes and the juice. Break up the tomatoes with a spatula or fish slice. Add the vegetable stock. Stir together thoroughly. Allow to simmer under glass for between 45 minutes and an hour.

Once cooled the salsa was added to a casserole dish, and a teaspoonful of dried tarragon was shaken across it.

The roast chicken was cooked a couple of days ago. I added two chicken breasts from the fridge (with skin) to the casserole dish, and added a dusting of sea-salt to the skin, rubbing it in a little. Place the dish in the bottom half of the oven, preheated to 190 deg. C, and cook for thirty minutes.

Decant the chicken onto a serving plate, and spoon the garlic and tomato salsa on top. . Serve as is, or with some grated cheddar cheese, parmigiano reggiano cheese, or just black pepper.

Also a great dish served with a further dusting of tarragon, and green beans.

Breaded Chicken with Spicy French Fries

The breaded chicken breast came from Sainsbury's supermarket. It had been in the freezer, but was thoroughly thawed before cooking.

The French fries/chips were made from two semi-peeled potatoes, sliced into ovals, and then subdivided into chips.

The chips were decanted into a bowl, and stirred through a spicy salsa, made with tomato ketchup, worcestershire sauce, paprika, oil from a jar of grilled red peppers (sunflower oil), oregano, coriander and rosemary.

Both the chips and the breaded chicken pieces were cooked in a large glass roasting tray. The oven was preheated to 200 deg C. and the tray was placed in the middle. Cooked for twenty-five to thirty  minutes.  Served with freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of tomato ketchup.

Omelette, with Belly Pork and Churrasco Salsa

A simple omelette made with thin strips of grilled belly pork, green pepper, and shredded tomato. The belly pork and the vegetables were stir-fried for three to four minutes in a saute pan, with some churrasco salsa. I prepared two large eggs in a bowl, and beat them together for a minute. Once the vegetables were piping hot, I added the beaten eggs to the saute pan, and covered it with glass, and turned down the heat. The omelette was cooked until the top side was firm (effectively cooked by steam and the temperature inside). The omelette was not turned over. 

Served with white pepper on a spiral of churrasco salsa. 

Omelette, with Belly Pork and Churrasco Salsa

Roast Chicken in a Tomato and Churrasco Salsa

This dish began as a simple chicken chilli in a chicken stock, with an assortment of vegetables - onion, green beans, spring onion, tomato passata or chopped tomatoes, and red or yellow pepper, served with a mixture of brown basmati rice and camargue red rice. On the second day I added some Hellmans' Brazilan churrasco sauce once the salsa was thoroughly reheated, which adds more chilli heat, and a strong (and delicious) smoky flavour. 

The salsa contained a number of herbs to start with, including coriander, basil and oregano, plus a little sage. The rice mixture was cooked for thirty minutes under a partial lid of glass (to prevent boiling over), and once drained, was spooned from the sieve directly into the salsa in a serving bowl. 

Roast Chicken in a Tomato and Churrasco Salsa

Bacon and Tomato Pasta

A relatively simple dish, related in essence to a pasta dish which apparently is a favourite of Sophia Loren. 

Some thickly cut cooking bacon cut into 1 inch long strips, stir fried in olive oil along with sliced Spanish onion, and sliced red and green pepper (half a pepper each). Once most of the moisture from the onion, peppers and bacon has evaporated, add a 400g tin of coarsely chopped tomatoes. Stir together, with a little boiling water, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the bacon is tender. 

Slice 75g of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese into thin squares, and stir in to the pan. Add black pepper to taste. Shred a dozen fresh basil leaves and add to the contents of the pan. Stir. Cover the pan and simmer for another ten minutes or so. 

During the final simmer, prepare wheat free penne pasta in boiling salted water. This usually takes around nine minutes. 

Add four wooden spoonfuls of the bacon and tomato salsa to a pasta serving bowl, and drop the drained pasta on top with a slatted spoon. Mix the pasta into the bacon and tomato salsa with a dessert spoon, and garnish with a sprig of Basil. Extra grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese can be added according to taste.

A slightly different version of this dish without peppers and onion can be found here.  

Add the tomatoes to the saute pan.

Bacon and Tomato Pasta