Summer Chicken One-Pot

Well the Good Food Magazine June 2011 just leapt off the shelf at me this month, mainly due to the fabulous picture of this dish in the cover.  My One-Pot love continues.  Similar to the chicken & spring vegetable stew I posted a few weeks ago but just, if not more, delish.  I have made a few changes to suit what I had in the fridge at the time.

Summer Chicken One-Pot

Serve 4

8 chicken thighs

2 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp olive oil

8 rashers streaky bacon (I used smoked) - chopped

400ml chicken stock

250g new potatoes, halved

200g full-fat soft cheese (I used 100g lower fat soft cheese)

200g broad beans (I used frozen peas)

200g sweetcorn, fresh, frozen or in a can

200g cherry tomatoes (I had baby plum toms to hand)

Dust the chicken with flour seasoned with S&P and fry in the lidded pan until brown.  I found this a really good tip - usually when I brown chicken it gets stuck to the bottom of the pan, but using the flour I ended up with lovely crispy brown chicken and no sticking!  Remove from the pan and fry the bacon until crispy.

Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the potatoes and cover again and continue simmering for another 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and potatoes tender.

Stir in the cheese, peas, tomatoes and sweetcorn, cook for a further 5 minutes and then serve.

Really bright and colourful, packed full of fresh flavour.  Another super easy one pot.

Paprika Roast Pork

My quest for slow roast pork dishes continues and the search is gong rather well.  I came across this recipe in another magazine filched from my Mother.  House Beautiful April 2011

Paprika Roast Pork

serves 6

1 lemon

1.25kg Pork shoulder, bones and rolled

2 cloves garlic, slivered

2 tsp paprika

6 rashers streaky bacon

4 sprigs fresh Thyme

For the stuffing

4 rashers back bacon, finely chopped

50g mushrooms, diced

110g fresh breadcrumbs

2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

50g Stilton crumbled

Grate the zest of half the lemon, cut three rounds off the other end of the lemon, then squeeze out the juice.  keep all to one side.

Cut slits into the pork and insert the garlic slivers, then place into a roasting pan.  Mix the lemon juice and paprika and spread it all over the pork. Lay the rashers of bacon, lemon slices and sprigs of thyme over the top of the joint.

Place into the oven at 190oc/170oc fan GM5, cover loosely with foil if the bacon browns too much. Cook for 35mins per 500g, plus 35 mins.

Make the stuffing.  Dry fry the bacon on a frying pan for 3-4 minutes, add the mushrooms, cook for a further 1-2 minutes then add the breadcrumbs, thyme, Stilton and lemon zest.  Mix well and remove from heat.

Either form into 6-8 balls and roast on a tray with the pork 20 mins from the end of cooking time, or I put the mixture into a lightly buttered pyrex dish to roast for 30 mins from end of cooking time.

Remove pork and allow to rest and make a gravy from the juices.

Serve up in thick slices and green beans and new potatoes.

The pictures are from my first attempt, in which I only had a loin joint to hand and had butterflied the joint before I re-read the recipe and realised I did not need to stuff it with the stuffing!  I did however put a couple of lemon slices, thyme sprigs, paprika rub and bacon inside, this help the flavour go all the way through the dish.  Pork and garlic is delicious, never knew that before, the stuffing is so tasty, I did add extra mushrooms and bacon to subsequent attempts, the lemon zest really comes through to balance everything out.

Lamb in a Pan

Whilst flicking through some of Mother's magazines I spied this receipe and it ticked all my boxes - easy, one pot dish, yummy looking - so I pinched it.  It came from the April 2011 issue of House Beautiful, but I have changed a few bits to suit 2 greedy people.

Roast Lamb with Summer Vegetables & Mint Pesto

500g Jersey new potatoes

500g lamb neck fillet, cut into chunky cubes

3 cloves garlic - chopped finely

1 small aubergine, cut into chunks

1 red pepper, deseeded and chunked

1 onion, chunky chopped

2 tbsp Olive Oil

S&P

For the Pesto

6 tbsp toasted roasted flaked almonds

Big bunch of fresh mint leaves

2 tsp Dijon mustard

4 tbsp Olive Oil

S&P

Place the potatoes, lamb, garlic, aubergine, red pepper and onion into a roasting pan, drizzle over the oil, season well and toss around to get everything coated.

Pop into an oven at 190oc/170oc fan and roast away for 45 minutes.

In the meantime, take your almonds, mint leaves and mustard and blitz in a blender, when a rough paste is achieved dribble in the oil whilst the machine is still whirring away, season to taste.  Plate up and serve the dollop of pesto over the top.

This really was easy and it looked special and was extremely tasty.  The mint pesto was so fresh and cut through the fatty lamb.  Next time I may add a few herbs to the roasting tin with the lamb, a sprig of fresh rosemary probably, just something to give it a little lift or may be even spike to pesto with something a little sharper, lemon maybe, just to give it a little zing.

Apologies for the piccys, only had my phone to hand!