Cranberry Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Pancetta with Pan Fried Brussel Sprouts

This dish is full of festive flavors and makes life simple for anyone not completely convinced on tackling a full traditional Christmas dinner this year.   Serves 4 2 tablespoons of butter 4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 2 stalk of celery, finely chopped 100g of bread crumbs 60g of cranberries 60g of walnuts, toasted and finely chopped 1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped 1 teaspoon of all spice Zest of 1 orange 4 chicken breasts on the bone 8 rashers of pancetta 600g of brussel sprouts, washed and outer leaves and stalk removed Sea salt and ground black pepper Rapeseed oil   Preheat the oven to 180˚C.   Place a large frying pan over a medium high heat heat, melt the butter until it foams, then fry the bacon until golden.   Add in the onion and celery and cook until tender.  Add in the breadcrumbs, cranberries, walnuts, rosemary, thyme, all spice, orange zest and season with sea salt and ground black pepper.  Stir through until combined.   Using a sharp knife, slice open the chicken breasts just enough to make a little pocket big enough to add the stuffing too.   Fill each of the chicken breasts with the stuffing and then wrap each one with pancetta.  Place the chicken breasts in a roasting tin and give a final seasoning of sea salt and ground black pepper and a drizzle of oil before popping in the oven.   Cook the chicken breasts for approximately 45 minutes or until cooked all the way through.   Remove the chicken from the oven and cover with tin foil while you prepare the brussel sprouts.   Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a knob of butter and melt it until it foams.  Add in the brussels sprouts and cook until they are tender and have a nice golden colour.   Season with sea salt and ground black pepper and serve alongside the chicken breasts.  

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Vitnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

The Method

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Electric Picnic Here We Come and Addictive Chicken Cravings…

Today we are all about checking lists and packing the car ahead of this weekend at Electric Picnic!  I've never been down to it before and my only lasting impressions of a music festival were from Oxegen a few years ago.  At the time I was working for the now defunct Bubble Hits, producing snappy little interviews with the artists.  Now that might sound glamorous, but part of the job was to head down to the campsite to capture some of atmosphere from the festival goers on camera.  In theory that all sounds fine, but late on a Saturday afternoon, after a good days drinking on behalf of the campers, bringing a camera man into a festival camping ground, is essentially the equivalent of shoving a gazelle into cage full of lions! What is it with drunk people when they see a camera, that makes them think that it will gain them instant access to an appearance on telly?

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Spatchcocked Buffalo Chicken with Rosemary Roast Chips and Red Cabbage Coleslaw

This is a proper beast of a weekend meal, ideal for a crowd! The buffalo sauce can be used on chicken wings. The coleslaw mix makes quite a lot, but will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge. If you want you can skip the step of blanching your potato chips in boiling water, but this will result in less fluffy insides.

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Boozy Bum Chicken

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Mediterranean Spatchcock Chicken

My mega way of serving chicken in the summer, it looks absolutely  fantastic served and carved at the table. You can experiment with  different flavours for the marinade, I love different combinations like  garlic and mixed herbs or even a spicy cajun mix!

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Spicy Chicken and Avocado Salad

I constantly go back to this salad dressing, I can make it in my sleep! I  get annoyed at myself for using it so much at times, but it really does  taste good and it's a cinch to make. Opt for streaky rashers, as the  more traditional ones won't crisp up and crumble into the salad. Serves 2 2 chicken breast fillets 2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning 1 tablespoon of olive oil 1 ripe avocado, stone removed and cut into thick slices About half the leaves of a cos lettuce, washed, dried and torn into bitesize pieces 1 small punnet of cherry tomatoes, washed and sliced in half 4 streaky rashers For the dressing 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard 1 garlic clove, pressed through a garlic press A generous seasoning of sea salt and ground black pepper   Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together in a bowl, or pop into an old jam jar, stick the lid on and give it a good shake!   Sprinkle the chicken with the cajun seasoning on a plate, and then place a frying pan over a medium high heat with a little olive oil.  Fry the chicken on both sides for about 4 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.  You can check if they are cooked by slicing through the thickest part of the chicken breast, if there are any signs of pink, throw it back on the pan.   Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a chopping board.  Keep the pan on the heat and fry the bacon until crispy.   Slice the chicken and bacon thinly.   Place the cherry tomatoes and torn lettuce leaves in a bowl and toss with half the dressing.   Assemble the salad on serving plates, topping with with the chicken, avocado and bacon.  Drizzle over the rest of the dressing, sprinkle with a little ground black pepper and you are ready to eat!

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Sweet Chilli Chicken Maki

Maki is one  of the most common types of sushi, and it's known by its outer layer of  dried green nori seaweed. This is the best starting point for first-time  sushi rollers.  For the less adventurous sushi samplers among your  guests, this sweet chilli chicken maki is a little less daunting.  You can poach the chicken breast in water until cooked through and then it will be quite easy to shred; otherwise, simply use leftover cooked chicken.   Ingredients 1 cooked chicken breast, shredded 2 tbsps sweet chilli sauce 1-2 sheets nori Cooked sushi rice 50g rocket In a bowl, mix the chicken with the sweet chilli sauce.   Take a sheet of nori and place it shiny-side down on a rolling mat with the longest end facing towards you. Using wet hands -- this will prevent you having a fist coated in sushi rice -- spread one-sixth of a portion of the rice in an even layer on the nori, leaving 2cm of nori visible at the end farthest away from you. Don't squash the rice or make the layer too thick -- you should be able to see the nori through the rice.   Spoon the chicken mix in a line across the nori, about half way through the middle of the rice. Top with a few leaves of rocket.   To roll the sushi, fold the mat over, starting at the end where the ingredients are and tucking in the end of the nori to start the roll. Keep rolling, lifting up the mat as you go and keeping the pressure even but gentle, until you have finished the roll. Moisten the top edge of the nori with water to seal the sushi roll closed. Don't worry if anything falls out the sides, just push it back in. The edges may look ragged, but it doesn't matter.   Remove the roll from the mat and cut it into four even-sized pieces with a very sharp, wet knife. If you do not use a sharp knife the roll will squash as you cut it. Arrange the rolls on a plate. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.   Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

Variation:

Spicy tuna maki 1 fresh sushi-grade tuna steak, chopped roughly 2 spring onions, finely chopped 1 tsp schimi powder 1 tsp soy sauce In a bowl, mix the chopped tuna with the spring onions, schimi powder and soy sauce. Then follow the same instructions for making up the sweet chilli chicken maki.

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Fragrant Thai Chicken Stew

This is very similar to a Thai green curry but it's a lot lighter in terms of spices, sticking mainly with the fresh ingredients like ginger and lemongrass. I use Kaffir lime leaves here, which some supermarkets carry in the herb section, Asian markets are also bound to have them. Improvise with finely grated zest of lime. If you haven't used lemongrass before it's a fantastic little ingredient which is responsible for giving this dish that wonderful light and fragrant flavour. To prepare, slice off the woody ends and the root, you should be left with about 2-3 inches. If you don't have a food processor, just chop the paste ingredients until they're as fine as you can get them.

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Roast Chicken with Lemon and Oregano

Roast chicken really is one of the dishes I cook the most, so I am always looking for ways to mix it up. My favourite way to roast a chicken is to smother it in a garlic and herb paste, but this method comes a very close second, and makes a nice change. The beautiful thing about roast chicken is that it has so many uses. With some added extras like crunchy roast potatoes and some steamed veggies it will feed a crowd of 4-6 people, but on top of that it's what you can do with the leftovers, that gets me excited! Chicken noodle soup, Leftover chicken stir fry, Chicken and sweetcorn soup, the possibilities are endless! Whatever you do with yours, this recipe makes a beautifully cooked chicken which is left with delicious subtle citrus flavour. The general rule when it comes to roasting chicken is to cook 20 minutes per pound and then 20 minutes extra. Serves 4-6 1 chicken about 1kg in weight 3 onions, halved 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1 lemon, halved 1 tablespoon of dried oregano A generous seasoning of sea salt and ground black pepper For the gravy: 1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon powder 1 glass of white wine 1 tablespoon of plain flour   Preheat the oven to 200oC and place the chicken and red onion halves in a roasting tin. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and give it a good squeeze of lemon juice. Slice the top of the garlic bulb and push inside the chicken along with the lemon halves. Sprinkle with the dried oregano, sea salt and ground black pepper. Place in the oven for around 50 minutes or until the juices run clear and the chicken is cooked all the way through. Transfer the chicken and onions to a chopping board with grooves that will allow the juices to run off without loosing any.  Cover with tinfoil and allow to sit while you prepare the gravy. You could scrape the contents of the pan into a small saucepan, and add the wine if you want but I find it just as easy to plop the roasting tin on top of the hob, whack up the heat and add in the white wine. Whisk the white wine into all the encrusted bits and juices in the pan, it should help to loosen everything up.  Whisk in the vegetable bouillon powder and then a little boiling water (about another wine glass full) until you have a consistency you are happy with. If you want a thicker gravy, whisk 1 tablespoon of flour into the gravy.  Simmer until it reaches your desired thickness and pour into a small jug or gravy boat. To carve the chicken, I find the easiest way is to start with the legs, cutting each off, by inserting a knife in where the leg meets the breast and jiggling your knife around until you can cut all the way through.  Using a similar technique remove the wings.  I like to slice the breasts off in one foul swoop, so starting at the top of the bird in the middle, slice the breasts off on either side.  You can then slice the breasts into smaller pieces, so that everyone gets a bit of white meat too!  If you want to get every last bit of meat off the chicken at this point I recommend you get your hands involved and pick any remaining breasts meat off along the little bits of meat along the back. I pop the carcass into a resealable bag and then into the freezer, and when I have 3 or 4 (and am feeling weird about having carcasses in my freezer), I make a big batch of chicken stock! Serve the chicken with gravy, roast potatoes, some steamed veggies or even my latest obsession creamy roasted jerusalem artichokes.    

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