This salad is heavenly. Leaves tossed together with the reddest vine tomatoes, nocellara olives, capers, slithers of onion,
roast chicken and chunks of leftover sourdough. A rare entity in my house. Did I mention how much I love bread!
I love a salad all year round and this one conjures up memories of summer. It’s like sunshine on a plate.
Serves 2
Ingredients
Bag of salad leaves
4 vine ripened tomatoes
1 onion – sliced thinly
1 tablespoon capers
2 teaspoons oregano
2 chicken breasts
Slice of leftover sourdough
Glug of extra virgin olive oil
Dressing
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt and cracked black pepper
1 clove garlic – grated
Squeeze of lemon juice
Method
Start by pan frying your chicken breasts on a griddle pan coated in a little olive oil.
Season with salt and cracked black pepper and sprinkle either side with oregano.
Once the chicken is cooked through add the sourdough slice and press with a pan slice to soak up the juices. Keep the bread on the griddle until it is lightly toasted.
Set aside.
Arrange your salad items in a bowl , chop your chicken into pieces, rip up your sourdough and drizzle over your dressing. Toss together to fully coat in the dressing and serve.
This is a favourite in our house. I make this for my Mia who has a few dinners on rotation that she will eat but she could eat this every day she loves it so much.
You can add as much or as little chilli as you like according to how hot you like it. The addition of chorizo really elevates the flavour.
This is one I make most weeks. Serve with fresh basil, parmesan cheese, garlic bread and a nice glass of red.
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 chicken breasts – diced
1/2 ring of chorizo
1 small onion – diced
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
2 tablespoons spoons pasta water
Glug of red wine – any will do
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons chilli flakes
fresh basil and parmesan cheese to serve
Extra virgin olive oil
400g rigatoni
Knob of butter to stir through pasta.
Method
Start by cooking down your chopped onion in a pan of hot olive oil until the onions soften. Keep stirring so they do not burn. Turn the heat low while you chop the chorizo.
Once you have chopped your chorizo into rounds about 1cm thick add to the pan of onions along with the chilli flakes. Pan fry the chorizo until it starts to get a little crispy. Set aside both the onions and chorizo on a separate plate.
In the same pan add your diced chicken breast. The oil will be fragrant from the onions, chilli and chorizo. You may need to add a little glug more to make sure the chicken is lightly coated.
Once the chicken is almost cooked add your onions and chorizo back to the pan. Now add the chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, butter and red wine, stirring to combine. Simmer gently for 10 minutes or so while you are boiling your pasta. This should take roughly 10 minutes but I always finish it 1 minute less than cooking time so it is al dente. Always add salt to the pasta water. We want it salty like the Med. Give it a stir now and then.
Once your pasta is cooked. Drain and toss through a knob of butter and add to the pan of sauce. Season with salt and cracked black pepper.
Serve immediately with fresh basil, parmesan cheese and garlic bread.
I’ve made jerk chicken before but always with chicken thighs or wings. Truth be told I think I prefer it that way but this is still delicious and bursting with Caribbean flavour.
The mango salsa gives a bit of welcome relief to the spiciness of the chicken.
Make sure you make the marinade the day before you serve the chicken and marinate overnight in the fridge. This is an absolute must for maximum flavour. If you are bbqing the chicken I recommend making double of the marinade so you have lots to baste the chicken with while it is sizzling away on the bbq.
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
Marinade
2 limes – juice of
1 onion – diced
5 spring onions – chopped
6-8 sprigs of thyme – remove the stalk so leaves only
3 scotch bonnet chillis – no others as only these will do
Heaped teaspoon of all purpose seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
3-4 dessert spoons honey
1 dessert spoon grated ginger
4 tablespoons light brown soft sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons olive oil – to pan fry
Method
You must without fail marinade the chicken the night before you cook it or else it won’t be how it should be. Scotch bonnet chillis are also a must for the most authentic flavour.
Put the chicken in a large bowl, score with a knife and squeeze over the juice of 2 limes. Obviously wash your hands after you’ve handled raw chicken and all that.
Roughly chop your onion and spring onions, thyme, chillis, chopped garlic and all the spices and other ingredients for the sauce and blend so it is a bit of a gritty consistency, basically not too smooth. It will smell wonderful.
Now pour this all over the chicken and rub in. I put sandwich bags on my hands and do this. Give it a little massage in to lock in the flavour!
Cover, refrigerate and leave overnight!
If you are going to cook on the hob heat a couple of tablespoons olive oil over a medium to high heat and once hot add your chicken breasts. Continue to pan fry turning every couple of minutes until the chicken is bronzed and crisp. Baste all the while with the marinade, there should be plenty for this.
Alternatively if you are bbqing the chicken simply place on the bbq grill until full cooked through basting and turning all the time.
Serve with my coleslaw and rice and peas recipes under my sides section or with this delicious mango salsa recipe below which you simply mix together and serve alongside the jerk chicken.
A beautiful dinner that is full of vibes of mediterranean sunshine. Buttery lemony orzo with chicken and asparagus, added protein with the chickpeas. What’s not to love? If you prefer a veggie option simply leave out the chicken add a little more chickpeas and asparagus. Beautiful with an ice cold glass of white or rosé.
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts – chopped into cubes
160g orzo ( 80g per person)
Vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic – minced
Cup of chickpeas
Juice of a lemon
Salt and cracked black pepper to season
Splash of white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Method
Start by boiling a pan of water and a vegetable stock cube. When the water is boiling add your orzo and set a timer. Mine took 6 minutes.
At the same time bring another pan of water to the boil and add your asparagus.
While your orzo is cooking heat a tablespoon of olive oil in your large frying pan. Add your chicken pieces to the pan and pan fry along with your garlic, splash of white wine and the lemon juice.
Now your orzo should be ready. Drain and add a knob of butter, do the same for your asparagus. Transfer both to the the pan of ingredients along with your drained chickpeas.
A quick and easy marinade to liven up chicken but works great on salmon too. I served it with lots of fresh salad packed with lettuce, olives, cucumber and peppers. I make up a dressing with 3 parts oil and 1 part vinegar along with a clove of minced garlic and some salt and cracked black pepper.
Best served in the sunshine with an ice cold glass of your favourite white wine.
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 chicken steaks or breasts
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Clove of garlic – minced
Salt and cracked black pepper to season
Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon while cooking
Method
Mix up your marinade in a large bowl and add your chicken to it to marinate, coating fully. If you have the time to marinate the night before, then all the better otherwise half an hour or so would be fine while you are preparing the salad etc.
Simply add a little olive oil to your griddle / frying pan and cook the chicken until it is fully cooked through. If I’m using chicken breasts rather than steaks I would recommend cutting them in half to reduce cooking time.
Portuguese food brings back so many happy memories of being in Portugal laughing and drinking rosé with friends. Chicken peri peri is a Portuguese classic that I’ve sampled many times. It is amazing with chips, rice or my oregano and feta potatoes. I’m all for a simple no fuss dinner but tastes like you’ve gone to so much effort.
Literally mix up the marinade, massage it into the chicken (rubber gloves optional) and whack it in the oven. The marinade is also lovely on chicken cooked over the bbq just make double for basting.
Ingredients
1 large whole chicken. I used a 1.9kg chicken
For the marinade
2 teaspoons chilli flakes
4 cloves garlic – minced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons oregano
Salt and pepper to season
Juice of a lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
Method
Pre heat oven to 200c / 180c fan
Mix up your marinade in small bowl or cup.
Place your chicken in a large baking dish and pour over the marinade massaging it in so every part of the chicken is coated. I use surgical gloves for this!
Roast in the centre of a hot oven according to instructions on how long you need to cook your chicken. I cooked my 1.9kg chicken for 1 hour 45 minutes. Don’t forget to baste every half hour or so with the cooking juices this will keep the chicken moist and make sure it doesn’t dry out during cooking.
Tip: Serve Nando’s style with hot buttered corn on the cobs.
This recipe was inspired by Mary Berry’s kashmiri chicken curry but modified somewhat. It was amazing and the chicken was so tender. A truly delicious curry with a real depth of flavour. I hope you like my take on it.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon hot curry powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
Half tablespoon turmeric
Half tablespoon ground all spice
2 tablespoons ground nut oil or sunflower oil
Teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoons flour
4 chicken breasts – chopped
1 onion – diced
450ml vegetable stock
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Thumb sized piece of ginger – grated
2 garlic cloves – minced
Method
Measure out all of your spices into a large mixing bowl except the ground coriander and chilli flakes, stir to combine and set aside.
Add your chopped chicken to a separate bowl and sprinkle over half of the spice mix and coat thoroughly. Marinate for at least an hour but overnight if time permitting.
Add your oil to a large pan and heat. Add your chopped chicken and brown. Set aside still reserving the oil in the pan.
Add our diced onions, grated ginger and minced garlic and cook down until the onions are soft and translucent.
Now add the chicken back to the pan along with the rest of the spice mix, stock, chilli flakes and flour.
Stir to combine and add your lime juice and zest. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Transfer to an oven proof dish with a lid and cook in the oven for approximately 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and stir in your ground coriander.
Serve with soft pillowy naan breads and some fluffy basmati rice.
My mum used to make beef stew and dumplings all the time in the Winter when we were little and I think of it as the ultimate comfort food. I’ve made a chicken version that’s a twist on a classic but still really rustic, delicious and full of flavour.
What’s better it’s a one pot dinner so it’s nice and easy with hardly any washing up which is always a bonus.
Thick slice of bread and butter obligatory.
Ingredients
800ml vegetable stock (x2 veg cubes)
1 medium potato – chopped into about 8 cubes
1 medium red onion – chopped into about 8 cubes
1/2 can butter beans
1/2 can lentils
Salt and cracked black pepper to season
3 cloves garlic – minced
Teaspoon dried rosemary
Can of cream of chicken soup
Dumpling mix – feel free to make your own.
Method
Pre heat oven to 180C / 160C fan
This is literally the easiest dinner ever.
Get yourself a large cook pot that is oven proof and put all your ingredients in except your dumplings and soup.
Pop in the oven for approximately 1 hour making sure it’s covered with a lid.
Now’s the time to mix up your dumplings and leave them to rest in the fridge for a while.
After about an hour remove stew from the oven and put on a low heat on the hob for another 20 minutes or so. 15 minutes before the end of cooking time add in your dumplings and 5 minutes before the end stir in your chicken soup. Simple!
This is one of the loveliest dinners I’ve had in ages, so quick and easy. Hoisin is always a winner in our house. So rich and full of flavour. The spring onions and cashews add a nice crunch. It’s great served with some jasmine or coconut rice and prawn crackers.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
5 spring onions – chopped
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
Handful of cashews
Juice of half a lime
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and cracked black pepper to season
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cloves garlic – minced
Method
Cut your chicken into cubes.
Mix up your hoisin sauce, honey, ground ginger and lime juice in a large mixing bowl and add the chicken pieces. Set aside.
Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil in a pan over a fairly high heat. Add the spring onions, cashews and garlic. Stir for a minute or 2 then set aside.
Now add another tablespoon of sesame oil to the hot pan and pan fry your chicken cubes until they are cooked through. You need the heat fairly high to make sure your chicken browns nicely. Add your spring onions and cashews back in and season to your taste.
Love To Cook With Suzi 