Thursday 28 July 2016

CHICKEN & HAM PASTA "CREAM SAUCE"!

Hey Guys!
Hope you're week is treating you well and are looking forward to the weekend!

In our house, pasta in "cream sauce" (even though no cream is used!) is a major hit and a great treat.
My creamy sauce for this dish is a bechamel sauce to which i add a little sneaky ingredient!
Today i cooked it with gluten free pasta and cornflour, making it a great gluten free option.

It really is simple to make but have all your ingredients ready and at hand as there are a few steps going on at the same time!

So here's what i do:
  1. Prepare water for pasta by boiling it up in a saucepan, adding a drop of oil and salt to season the water.  Add pasta to boiling water and simmer for about 8 - 10 mins.
  2. While that's going on, fry off some chopped up chicken in a little garlic oil in a pan over medium to high heat, adding sea salt and black pepper to season. Cook for about 5 minutes and add some bacon bits cooking for a further 5 mins.
    Add a little drop of water to the pan if it starts to dry off too much.
    Ensure chicken is cooked through.
  3. In the meantime prepare your bechamel sauce.  Add 2tbsp butter to a skillet over medium heat and let melt.  To this add 4-5tbsp of cornflour, whisking.  Mix over the heat for about 2 minutes.
  4. To this add 200ml milk little by little, whisking to ensure no lumps form.  Once it starts to boil up, turn down to simmer for a couple of minutes, whisking in more milk if it thickens up too much.  Add salt and white pepper to season.
  5. Once the bechamel is ready, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 tsp nutmeg.
    You are now ready to assemble your pasta dish by adding your chicken and bacon to the bechamel.  Stir until all combined and spoon over the drained plated pasta. 
And enjoy with a grind of black pepper and some basil leaves (optional)
Large glass of chilled Pinot Grigio optional!

Saturday 9 July 2016

Jamie Oliver inspired POTATO SALAD

This is a great delicious little quick potato salad with the volume turned right up! 
Inspired by Jamie Oliver's potato salad.

The amount of ingredients depends on how much you want to make.
Here i have made enough for 2-3 people.

Simple combine:

  • BABY POTATOES - warm and halved
  • OLIVE OIL - a drizzle
  • SALT & PEPPER
  • LEMON - grated zest and juice
  • FRESH PARSLEY
  • SPRING ONION
  • YOGURT - i used 2-3tbsp "Glenilen Farm" natural live yogurt
  • MUSTARD - just 1/2tsp
  • SALAMI - chopped small and fried to crispy.  Could also use bacon or chorizo
Check out my video on You Tube here:



Thick & Tasty CHICKEN CASSEROLE - and it's Gluten Free!

Chicken Casserole
Chicken Casserole
Hi Guys. This Casserole is super easy.  I tend to just go with the flow when cooking sometimes and just add things in that will seem to go together.  Or flavours i fancy on the day!
This casserole is one of those days!  But super tasty.
And is great for GLUTEN FREE diets as I'm using Cornflour to thicken instead of flour and "Knorr" chicken stock pots, which are also Gluten Free.


Chicken is such a versatile meat.
Chicken Legs i find great for curries - baking them beforehand and shredding the chicken from the bone.   They have lots of flavour.  

The breast meat is great for sambos and salads.  But i also find them great for casseroles like this. 

So, here's what i did:
  1. Preheat oven to 200degrees.
    In a large skillet/pot, add a little Rapeseed Oil on a med-high heat.
    To this add a shaking of: chicken spice; meat spice; salt; pepper and mix. 
  2. Place chicken breasts in and brown on one side for 4 mins. Add same spices to top side of chicken and then turn when ready to brown off.
    (Tip here: Do not be tempted to lift the chicken up before it's browned off as it will only stick to the pot.  You'll know when it's ready to turn as it won't stick and will easily turn.) Remove when browned and set aside.
  3. Add a squeeze of Flora Cuisine to the pot and give it a stir to get all those yummy flavours and juices infused.  Next, saute chopped red onion for about a minute. 
  4. To this, add a good splash of white wine and a clove of garlic, grated.  Cook until the wine is cooked off and then mix in 2tbsp of cornflour, mixing for about 30 secs. 
  5. Add about 200ml water with a chicken stock pot, mix and return the chicken breasts to the pot. Finally, add some chopped carrot to the pot, bring to a boil and place in the oven for 25 minutes. (check on it and stir it after about 15 mins)
Serve with your favourite sides
Suggestion: boiled potatoes and broccoli