Chicken Cacciatore

 

This recipe came originally from Gary Rhodes across Italy.  Sadly Gary Rhodes died just after he completed the series, where he was able to get Italian chefs to show him the 'root' recipes of classic dishes.  

The recipe has no tomatoes in it, and it is important to use chicken on the bone.  I usually make this with chicken legs.  I keep an herb jar with the mixture of dried herbs, with salt and chilli added and use it for lots of recipes.  I also usually add some black kalamata olives to the dish before the end as well as at the end.  Use a dry white wine, not a sweet one.

Gribiche Sauce

Is this a sauce or is this a mayonnaise?  Both actually! 

My first encounter with this sauce was my mother making a tartare sauce this way, and actually this sauce is very close to tartare but different in that it has more herbs in it.  I serve it the way I saw on Adam Liaw's show, as a bed for a chicken snitzel, but you could use the oil, mustard, lemon and egg yolks and just make mayonnaise with those.

When you make the mayonnaise, you do not have to drizzle it in like a normal mayonnaise, but if you just dump it all in it will split.  So, just add it slowly mixing all the time.

I use chives and parsley but you can vary the herbs to whatever you like, try basil, thyme, tarragon or even celery or carrot tops.

This is really a very versatile sauce and goes really well with fish, chicken, or vegetables (think asparagus with sauce gribiche!)  Once you have made it you will want to keep making it.

Gribiche Sauce

Ingredients

20 g capers, finely chopped
15 g pickled jalapeños, finely chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
½ bunch chives, thinly sliced
½ small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper

4 boiled eggs
1 lemon, halved
150 ml olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Method

I use two bowls, in one bowl put the yolks of the eggs.

Chop the egg whites, capers, onions, jalapenos, chives, parsley and add salt and pepper.  Add this to the other bowl.

Mash the egg yolks, add about 1/2 the juice of the lemon and all the mustard, mix until it is smooth.

Add the oil in slowly until it is a mayonnaise, just keep whisking or mixing.

Now just check the seasoning and add more lemon if required.

Mix the chopped herbs etc into the mayonnaise and refrigerate. 

Chicken, Orange and Fennel.

When a husband says "We should have this again" you know its a winner!  This will become a family favourite, and so easy.  Thanks to the wonderful Nigella for the original.

Family Chicken Cacacciatore -

A request from our son, because "mine does not turn out as good as yours does!  Here is the family favorite Chicken dish.  The vegetables change depending upon what is in my fridge!  The ingredients are not exact, you can add more garlic, or leave it out, and increase the carrots or mushrooms, depending upon your taste.  If you dont have chicken thighs, use any chicken cut.

Sticky Chicken Wings for a Crowd

This recipe has been adapted from one by Matt Sinclair.  I buy 2-1/2 Kilos of chicken wings, then take off the tips and chop it into 2 pieces.  That gives me about 2 kilos of actual wings to cook.  The first time you cook these, maybe back off the chili flakes to 1 tbsp. if you have some chili-phobes in the family!  These are also good served with lime wedges.

Huli Huli Chicken.

So, I love HuliHuli Chicken in Hawaii, actually I love Hawaii!  Huli means to flip.   Here is an easy marinade for chicken anytime.  You only need to marinade for an hour or so, but as long as you like.  Best done on a BBQ, adjust the chili to our liking.

Mix the marinade:
1/3 cup tomatoe sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sherry - or white wine, or brandy, or whatever you have
2inches ginger grated
3 cloves garlic grated
chili sauce or chili flakes to your taste (try a few glugs of sauce first off)
juice of 1/2 lime

Marinate the chicken while the BBQ heats up.  While cooking, turn constantly and  brush chicken with extra sauce.
Serve with lime to squeeze over the top (this does make a difference!).

Balti Chicken Curry

I adapted this from one of Jamie Oliver's recipies, it suits my family because one does not eat coriander, another not so hot on the chilli.  This will serve 4 very large servings, if you want to increase it to 6 just add some sliced carrots and potatoes about 1/2 way through the cooking time.  This will extend the dish perfectly.

You can use chicken thighs (as I do) or chicken drumsticks, or a whole chicken cut up, it is quite versatile really.  It is important to use a yellow capsicum, it seems to have the right amount of acidity for the recipie.  If you don't have any fresh tomatoes handy you can easily leave it out, and if you dont have any tomatoe puree, you can use canned tomatoes, but make sure you drain the juice off.  

If you like fresh coriander, add about 1/2 a bunch to the curry paste and blend with the other ingredients.  As always, adjust the chilli, garlic and ginger to your taste.  If found it did not need any salt and pepper, but taste and adjust accordingly.

If you want a good curry one of the secrets is to cook the curry paste really well, you want the  onions and pepper to fry with the paste until the oil splits from it if possible.

Quick chicken and veg soup

This is my quick chicken and vegetable soup, you can make it in about an hour, from first chop to finish.  Keep some chicken in the fridge already cut up to make things really easy.  You can vary the vegetable ingredients to suite your family.  I have included some suggestions/alternatives for you.  Cut all the vegetable into similar size pieces.  

To make a chicken and noodle soup, simply add noodles about 1/2 way through cooking.
To make chicken and sweet corn soup, omit about 1/2 the vegetbles,and all the cabbage, and cut the corn from 3 corn ears, including them instead.
To make a ministrone style of soup, include some red kidney beans, add small pasta 1/2 way through, use Kale or spinach instead of cabbage, and when it is cooked, add some Parmesan cheese cut into very small cubes right at the end.  Also, ramp up the tomatoe ketchup, or add a can of tomatoes.
For a very old fashion style of soup, add some dried soup mix (about a cup) and some additional water.

Little morsels of tender chicken.

Thanks to Madue Jaffrey for this wonderful recipie from many years ago.  It is so simple and you can make it in the oven.  But you MUST get the oven to the highest temperature possible, so preheating is the first step.  The chicken needs to be marinated overnight.  Don't be worried too much about the quantity of chicken, it is a forgiving recipie.  I was served Tandoori Chicken with coriander leaves sprinkled on the top at a wedding (the bride was from a traditional Indian family) and it tastes wonderful.

 

Neil's Chicken and noodle salad

Neil Perry's Saturday recipie in the Herald is looked forward to in my house, we have tried quite a few of them.  This one has stuck for several years as a firm favourite.


To make your own chilli oil, lightly toast and seed 20 fresh chillies, then grind them in a spice grinder. Heat 2 cups of oil to 155°C and pour it on the chilli powder. Leave for 1 hour, then strain.
Prawns are also lovely in the salad.

Rocky's Chicken Korma

I got this recipie from Rick Stein's program, it is an authentic Indian Chicken Korma and tastes wonderful.  

If you can't get white poppy seeds just leave them out.  I used dessicated coconut as I could not get coconut flesh - it turned out fine.