Two chicken & Tomato Recipes

Ok, if you have read my blog before, you will know of my quest for as many different chicken and tomato dishes as possible, or so it seems. Obsession? Possibly. So this week I found myself cooking two similar dishes, there are subtle differences, so you get 2 for the price of 1 with the following recipes.

Chicken & Tomatoes on the Oven

Serves 2 Weight Watchers Pro Points per serving 17

4 chicken thighs with skin on

1 can chopped plum tomatoes

Handful chopped mushrooms
2 tsp olive oil

1 red pepper chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp Harissa paste

1 sprig thyme leaves, fresh

120g cous cous, dry weight

Heat the oil on a pan, add the garlic and Harissa paste and chicken and fry gently until golden.  Pour over the tomatoes, add the pepper, mushrooms and thyme and bring to a simmer, them pop into the oven at 160oc for 1 hour.

Make up the cous cous as per instruction and serve.

The harissa gives a lovely delicate spice flavour and the skin will go lovely and crispy on the chicken - a bit of a treat.  I used my terracotta cooking pot - for use on hob and in oven and it worked a treat, not to harsh on the frying, retaining the heat well in the oven.

Spanish Chicken in the Slow Cooker

Serves 2 Weight Watcher pro Points per serving 14

4 chicken thighs - skinless

80g Chorizo, cut into cubes

2 cans chopped plum tomatoes, or less if you prefer less sauce

1 onion, chopped

4 carrots, cut into batons

1 tblsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne

Toss everything in the slow cooker and cook on low all day or on high for 6 hours.

Serve with 150g new potatoes at 3pp to bring the total up to 17pp for the dish.

The meat was so tender in this dish it just fell off the bone, the seasoning was subtle but very tasty, the flavour of the chorizo really comes through.  I did make it up with the two cans of tomatoes and there would have been enough sauce for 4! so I will reduce the quantity next time.

This recipe I picked up from the Weight Watchers recipe exchange online, I think you have to be a member to view, but well worth it for a wide range of healthy recipe ideas.

Mexican Chicken with Garlic & Chilli

After two glorious weeks on the Greek island of Kefalonia, I have returned back to the UK - 4lbs heavier than when I went, but that is OK, the Stifados, Feta & Spinach Pies and Baklava on offer were all more than worth it.  But now it is back to the Weight Watchers grind stone.  I found this recipe on their website and thought it light and summery (to match our Indian Summer in the UK) and still pretty light on the calorie front.

Garlic Mexican Chicken with Chillies and Crispy Polenta

Serves 4, 6 Pro Points per serving.

450g Chicken breasts, skinned

Fresh coriander

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 chicken stock cube

90g raw polenta

8 tbls tomato puree

2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Radishes - sliced

Spring onions - sliced

Low cal cooking spray

S&P

In a pan place the chicken, a couple sprigs or coriander and a clove of garlic, cover with boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is tender.  Drain and retain the cooking juice, discard the garlic and coriander.

Shred the chicken and set aside.

Back into the pan place 600ml of cooking liquid and the stock cube, bring to the boil and slowly add the polenta, stirring for a minute, then reduce heat and continue to cook for 4 minutes stirring occasionally.  Spray a baking sheet with low call oil and then pour out the polenta and spread flat to a thickness of approx. 2cm.  Leave to set.

Heat a small pan and toss in the remaining unpeeled garlic cloves. Dry fry until blackened ad soft, remove, peel and chop.

Cut the set polenta into 4 and spray a non-stick frying pan with low cal oil and fry the polenta pieces a couple of minutes each side until golden and crispy.

In a pan mix together the tomato puree, chilli flakes, cumin and garlic with 2 tbls water (I also used the juice from a can of plum tomatoes to loosen it up a little) S&P to taste. Add the chicken and heat gently for a couple of minutes.

Serve the chicken on top of the polenta with sliced radish, sping onions and some chopped coriander.

Pot Roast Chicken with Chorizo, Leeks & Cider

It was my parents 41st wedding anniversary this past weekend and to celebrate I said I would cook them Sunday lunch.  I wanted something quick and easy yet still spectacular and this recipe from Rick Stein's Spain fitted the bill completely.

Pot Roasted Chicken with Chorizo, Leeks and Cider

Serves 4

1.75kg FR chicken

2 tbs olive oil

2 Chorizo cooking sausages, sliced

50g butter

700g leeks, sliced

300g baby carrots (I used chartenay), cleaned, topped and tailed

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Fresh thyme, 2 sprigs worth of leaves
2 fresh bay leaves
200ml dry cider (I used 300ml to get more sauce)
S&P

Set oven to 160oc/GM3.  Season chicken.  Heat oil in large lidded pan/casserole dish.  Brown the chicken all over, remove from pan.

Lower the heat and add to the pan the chorizo, butter, leeks, garlic, carrots, thyme and bay.  Cover and cook for 5 mins, until the leeks have softened.

Place the chicken back on top of the veg.  Pour over the cider, re-cover and pop in the oven for 1 hour.  Uncover and increase the oven temp to 200oc/GM6 and continue to cook for another 20 mins.

Remove from oven and lift the chicken out onto a serving plate, cover with foil and rest.

Place the veg on to the hob and at a fast simmer, bubble away for 5 mins to reduce the sauce, at this point it should be a lovely orange colour and will have thickened naturally, season with S&P if needed, we found the taste had really come together and concentrated.

Spoon the sauce around the chicken and serve with boiled new potatoes and green beans.

I really cannot believe how tender and juicy the chicken was, how intense the flavour of the veg/chorizo were with so few ingredients, it was a very special dish and utterly enjoyed by all.

Chicken & Basil Stew

A lovely fresh and light supper dish again from Good Food.  Modified it slightly to suit new diet.  Easy and filling.

Summer Chicken & Basil Stew

Serves 2 WW Pro Points 15 per serving

2 tsp olive oil

4 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless

1 tbsp plain four, seasoned with S&P and mustard powder

2 peppers, I chose red and orange chopped

300g new potatoes, halved

Handful of button mushrooms, halved

125ml white wine

150ml chicken stock, from cube

15g fresh basil leaves

Heat the oil in a large, flameproof casserole. Dust the chicken thighs with the seasoned flour and add to the casserole. Cook over a high heat, turning once, until golden all over.

Add the peppers, potatoes and mushrooms to the casserole and cook for 3 mins. Pour in the white wine and chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Cover the casserole and simmer for 20-25 mins or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the basil and cook for another 5 mins.

Chicken & Polenta

I have never really tried polenta before, well once when the recipe asked for me to pan fry it and it turned turned out to be a total disater, bland, stodgy and burnt.  So when I saw this recipe from the Good Food website I though I may as well give it another go and boy was I pleased I did.  A total Friday night treat, delicious, moist and very flavourful.

Chicken & Polenta

Serves 2, WW Pro Points 21 per servings approx.

500g Ready to use Polenta

25g grated Parmesan

2 chicken breasts, FR corn fed skin on approx 200g each

250g cherry tomatoes

1 clove garlic, sliced

2 tbls olive oil

Leaves of a couple sprigs or rosemary

Heat oven to 200oc. Crumble the polenta into small chunks and scatter in the bottom of a small roasting tin. Tip in the Parmesan and mix. Sit the chicken breasts, cherry tomatoes, rosemary and garlic on top of the polenta, drizzle with olive oil, then season to taste.

Roast for 25 mins or until the chicken skin is crisp and golden and the meat fully cooked. The polenta and cheese should have turned crusty around the edges. Serve with a green salad.

So very simple, yet utterly scrumptious.  I now love polenta!

Chicken & Pepper Pilaf

Here is a super easy one pot dish I got from http://www.mydish.co.uk/recipe/10216/One-pan%20Chicken%20&%20Pepper%20Pilaf the author janenicola1976's picture is far better than mine, (only had iphone to hand again!) so go check it out.  I changed it slightly to suit.

One-Pan Chicken & Pepper Pilaf

Serves 6

6 chicken thighs/drumsticks & 3 FR breasts (I only had the leggy bits) skin on.

240g jar English Provinder Hot Chilli Relish

2 tbsp Olive Oil

250g Chorizo, sliced
1 large red onions, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
400g long grain rice
1tsp paprika
1/2tsp Cayenne pepper - my option
1 ltr chicken stock
400g tin chopped tomatoes
chopped parsley & lemon wedges to serve.

Marinate the chicken in the relish for 30 mins.
Heat the oil and lightly brown the chicken, remove to one side. 
Fry the chorizo until crispy, put aside with the chicken. 
Fry the onion on the chorizo oil, add the peppers cook a while then add the rice, paprika and cayenne, coat the rice fully in the oil.
Return the chorizo to the pan and add the stock and tomatoes, mix well.  Place the chicken on top and season.
Bring to the boil and then cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes until chicken and rice are cooked.
Serve with sprinkles of parsley and lemon wedges.

The relish gives the chicken a lovely spicy and sweet flavour.

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.

Chicken & Spring Vegetable Stew

It was Hubby with low tolerance levels birthday on Tuesday.  I asked him what special dish he wanted me to cook for the big day - as usual the answer was lasagne, which I duely made.  The following day I said he could request another dish, he said "the chicken one with beans and a creamy sauce".  Well I went to bed that night racking my brains over what the heck that dish was, I certainly did not remember it, it was not one I had blogged before (my aid memoir).  During the night my brain worked it's little socks off and came up with the answer.  A dish I had probably not cooked in two years, but it had been a favourite, I hunted out the cook book, Good Food 101 One-Pot Dishes  and opened it to the following page:

Chicken and Spring Vegetable Stew

Serves 2

2 Chicken breasts, skin on - I had Corn Fed FR ones

1 tbsp olive oil

200g new potatoes, sliced

500ml chicken stock

200g mixed spring veg.  I chose brocoli, courgette, popped podded peas and broad beans, I also increased the quantity because they are super delish.

2 tbsp creme fraiche

handful of rough chopped fresh tarragon or 1/2 tsp dried.

Fry the chicken in the oil in a wide pan for 5 mins each side.  Add in the potatoes and coat in the oil.  Pour over the stock, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and turn the heat up, boil the stock down until it just coats the bottom of the pan.  Toss in the veg, cover and cook for about three mins.

Stir in the creme fraiche tarragon and season.

Serve.

Very simple, very tasty and jam packed full of delicious green spring veg.  Yummy, just how I remember it from two years ago, it was a favourite then and will be again now we have remembered and blogged it.  Praise be for hubby's brain/stomache or it may have been forgotten forever!

Hubby and his birthday lasagne!

Fried Five Spice Chicken

As one of my treats for my 40th, my sister in law's father Norman, cooked a fabulous Indonesian Banquet, he included many of my favourite delicious dishes, but a new one he added and a really simple one was Fried Five Spice Chicken.

Ridiculously easy, but so very tasty and quite special.

2 Chicken breasts, sliced in to thin strips

Flour to coat

Chinese 5 Spice mix

Salt & Pepper
Oil to shallow fry

Mix about 2 tbsp flour with approx 2 tsp Chinese 5 spice and add a hefty grind of pepper and salt and mix together thoroughly.

Heat oil in a pan, I have a deep sided wok and filled it to a depth of an inch, this is enough to cover the little strips of chicken.

Dredge the chicken in the flour mix and add about 6 pieces to the hot oil and fry until crispy, should only take a couple of minutes, turning them once, remove onto a piece of kitchen roll to drain and repeat.

I served this on a noodle and vegetable stirfry, very very scrummy.

Moroccan Chicken with Sweet Potato Mash

A very tasty and different dish from the Good Food Magazine October 2010.

Moroccan Chicken with Sweet Potato Mash

Serves 4

1kg sweet potatoes, cubed
2 tsp Ras el Hanout
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
200ml chicken stock
2 tsp clear honey
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Handful of green olives
Fresh coriander

Boil the potatoes until tender, approx 15 minutes.  Mix the ras el hanout with seasoning, then sprinkle all over the chicken.  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan then brown the chicken.
Remove the chicken and add to the pan the garlic and onion, cook for 5 mins.  Add the stock, honey, lemon and olives.  Return the chicken to the pan then simmer for 10 mins until the sauce is syrupy and chicken cooked.
Mash the potatoes with the remaining oil (or butter, like I did), thickly slice the chicken (which I didn't do) stir the chopped coriander in to the sauce and plate up.

I was not sure of this dish to start, I have had some bad Moroccan dishes which usually have incorporated preserved lemons, my most loathed ingredient, but the honey and the lemon in this dish combined beautifully and the ras el hanout spices gave a lovely kick to the chicken, very very tasty and super healthy, according to Good Food!

Pollo en Salsa de Ajo (Chicken in Garlic Sauce)

OK, it has been ages since I blogged, far too long indeed. I hope to now bombard you with loads of new recipes. I hit a little cooking rut and lost my foody mojo, but a holiday to Menorca and a new Spanish cookbook and I am all fired up. This recipe is taken from the World Kitchen - Spain cook book.

Pollo en Salsa de Ajo

Chicken in Garlic Sauce

Serves 4

1kg boneless, skinned chicken thighs

1 tblsp sweet paprika - pimenton

2 tblsp olive oil

8 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

60ml Fino sherry

125ml chicken stock

1 bay leaf

2 tblsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Trim fat from chicken and cut each thigh into thirds. Combine in a bowl with the paprika, S&P to fully coat.

Heat half the oil in a frying pan and over high heat fry the garlic for 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan.

Now add the rest of the oil and fry the chicken in batches for 5 mins or until brown.

Return all the chicken to the pan and add the sherry, boil for 30 seconds, then add the stock and bay leaf. Cover and simmer from 10 mins.

Make a picada, by squeezing the garlic from it's skin and pound in a pestle and morter with the parsley.

Stir the paste into the pan and cook covered for a further 10 mins.

I served this with oven roasted peppers and potato chunks.

A very delicious dish, the picada really helps to thicken and freshen the dish. It is not overpowered with sherry or garlic.

Mexican Chicken Stew

Another one from the hallowed pages of Good Food Mag, with a couple of minor changes to suit my store cupboard. Quite a low fat but tasty dish.

Mexican Chicken Stew

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp dark brown sugar

2 dried chipotle peppers - re-hydrated and chopped.

400g can chopped tomatoes

2 skinless chicken breasts

1 small red onion - sliced into rings

Veg oil

Fry the onion in a pan with a little oil until soft, add the garlic,

Stir in the sugar, tomatoes and chipotle.

Put chicken into the pan and spoon over the sauce, simmer gently for 20 mins - add a little water if gets too dry.

Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks then stir back into the sauce.

Serve on a bed of rice and scatter the red onion rings on top.

A lovely dish, but in future I will be adding a couple more chipotles or even a few chilli flakes as there was not much of a kick to it. The chipotles added a really nice smokey flavour and on the whole the dish was very fresh.

French Style Chicken With Peas & Pancetta

My take on another great recipe from June 2010 Good Food Magazine

French Style Chicken with Peas & Pancetta

6 rashers of dry cured smoked Pancetta - chunky chopped

6 Chicken thighs and drumsticks - skin on if being naughty, skin off if being good

2 cloves of garlic - thinly sliced

1 onion chopped (should have been a bunch of spring onions, but I forgot them)

300ml Chicken stock

250g Frozen peas

1 Little Gem lettuce, rough shred

2 tbsp half fat Creme Fraiche

In a large pan add a little oil and gently fry the chicken skin side down to get it golden and crispy, turn over and continue frying for about 10 mins in total.

Meanwhile use another frying pan to crisp up the Pancetta.

In the main pan remove the chicken whilst you pour off any excess fat and then fry the onion and garlic briefly.

Add the chicken stock, bacon and return the chicken to the pan. Cover and simmer for about 20 mins.

Turn up the heat and add the peas and lettuce for about 4 minutes until the lettuce has wilted.

Stir in the creme fraiche and serve.

I served with crushed new potatoes.

This was a really very delicious dish as well as being colourful. Good Food suggest using skinless boneless chicken thighs which would make the cooking time shorter and saves you having to man handle the drumsticks in order to get all that lovely tender meat off!

Spanish Chicken

It seems that my usual inspiration for cooking comes from a quiet afternoon in the office a little surf over to the Good Food website to get together a recipe for that evening. It really is a brilliant site. Last night I grabbed the following recipe from its pages.

Now, you know I am all about the ease and simplicity of one pot dishes, especially during the week, well this one is no exception.

Spanish Chicken

8 Chicken Thighs - skin on with bone in

3 Onions - thinly sliced

2 tsp Paprika

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Parsley, good handful chopped

150ml Stock

1 Tbs Olive oil

Heat the oven to 190oc. Put all the ingredients into a large ovenproof dish. Mix everything together and season.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken is golden and the onions tender. Stir the onions after 20 mins. Serve with rice.

See simple!

Baked Chicken with Soft Cheese and Thyme

This recipe is my take on one I had seen the the Good Food magazine April 2010. A really easy and satisfying one pan dish.

6 x Chicken thighs / drumsticks - skin on

Enough new potatoes for two - cut in half

200g Baby Plum Tomatoes

4 Banana Shallots, peeled and left whole

Soft Cheese with garlic and Herbs

Olive oil

Dried Thyme (fresh would be better)

Gently peel the skin away from the meat and push a tea spoon or so of soft cheese under the skin and massage into place on all the chicken pieces.

Pop them into a roasting tin add the potatoes, tomatoes and shallots to the tin.

Drizzle with a little oil and season well. Sprinkle over a nice large pinch of thyme.

Put in oven at 180oc for 40 minutes.

The dish came out gloriously crispy on the skin with a lovely ready made sauce from the cooking juices and melted cheese. Very yummy.

Curried Chicken Tagine

After the ad hoc tagine meal my brother and I created in Holland a couple of weeks ago it got me thinking that I should drag out my tagine again and cook something different in it. Normally I cook lamb dishes slowly or homemade meatballs in a tomato sauce in my tagine, but I thought why not a chicken? The recipe needs a bit refining and probably would have been aided by not having a knock at the front door just as I was frying spices which subsequently ended up a little burnt, but on the whole it was alright.

1 small corn fed FR Chicken

1 Onion chunky sliced

2 cloves sliced garlic

1 heaped teaspoon each of ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and curry powder - mixed together

Oil

Chicken stock

1 cup cous cous

Handful spring onions

Handful chopped parsley

Heat the oven to 190oc and place the tagine in to warm with some water inside.

I took a huge knife and cut the chicken in half length ways. Coated it in half the spices and seasoning. Added the chicken halves skin side down into a frying pan with oil in until the skin was crispy and brown, turn to get all the chicken sealed.

Remove the chicken a place to one side whilst you add the onions, garlic and remainder of the spices to the frying pan - at this point don't burn it like I did! Add the chicken stock approx 2 cups worth and bubble away for a while.

Transfer the onions and stock to the hot tagine (having removed the water first) place the chicken halves on top, cover and put back into the oven for 45mins. Next time I think I will try adding olives or lemon pieces to give a tang.

After this remove the tagine lid and continue cooking for a further 15 minutes to crisp up the skin.

Whilst this is crisping make up your cous cous, 1 cup of cous cous per one cup of hot stock, cover with cling film and leave for 10 mins. It will end up light and fluffy, stir in the chopped parsley and spring onions.

Remove the chicken from the tagine and place onto a heap of the cous cous, thicken the remaining sauce slightly with a little flour or tomato puree and pour over.

The chicken remained very juicy and tender with this way of cooking, certainly will try this method again.

Chicken Chompers

We were invited round to a friends for a BBQ at the weekend and I decided to bring a faithful standby, a recipe that has served me very well for party food - Chicken Chompers. The recipe originally came from an Ainsley Harriot cook book.

4 x Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 tsp Black Peppercorns

4 x Garlic Cloves

2 tbs Coriander Leaves

1 tsp sugar

1 x Lime - Juice

1 tsp Fish Sauce - Nam Pla

1 tsp Light Soy Sauce

2 tsp Oil

Skewers soak in water

Grind the peppercorns, garlic and coriander with a pestle & mortar until a paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well.

Slice the chicken breasts - I manage to get about 10 strips from each breast, depending on size, the aim is for a mouthful or two size when cooked. Add these to the marinade and leave for at least an hour.

The thread one strip each onto the skewers and either place on BBQ or I tend to cook them in a frying pan with low sides beforehand, that way although cold they are ready to take to the party.

To go wit this there is a Chili Dipping Sauce, where you heat 3 floz of red wine vinegar and 3oz of caster sugar in a saucepan until dissolved, boil and then simmer for 3 mins. Add 2 finely chopped and de-seeded chillies and a pinch of salt and leave to cool.

A lovely afternoon was had by all, with lots a varied and delicious food available, the chompers as always did not let me down and were very well received.

Basque Chicken

Saturday night brought myself and my Hubby down to my parents house, on the pretext of keeping my Mother company whilst my Father is in Hong Kong, but really so that we could watch the Rugby Lions lose in the 2nd test match and therefore the series - boo ;(.

To compensate I cooked one of my most favourite dishes ever - Delia Smiths' Basque Chicken (along with drinking a fair bit of pink fizz and giggling like schoolgirls with my Mum).

Basque Chicken

Serves 4

8 pieces of Chicken - skin on and bone in

Approx a 12cm length of Chorizo cut into 5mm chunks

1 large onion - cut in to chunky slices

2 large red peppers cut into chunky slices

1/2 jar of sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic - chopped

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp Tomato Puree

1 cup of Basmati Rice

Salt & Pepper

1 1/2 glasses of White Wine

300ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock

1 Large orange cut into 8 slices

Handful of pitted black olives (not added to this dish in deference to Ma's dislike)

Olive oil

Heat the oil in a large shallow paella pan, cook the chicken skin side down until golden and crisp, turn and seal the other side.

Remove from the pan and put to one side. In the pan then add the onions, garlic, chorizo and peppers, gently fry for a few minutes.

Pour in the Rice and make sure it is completely coated in the oil.

Then add the wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan, pour on the stock, sun dried tomatoes and tomato puree, season and mix.

Place the chicken and orange pieces back on top and olives. sprinkle over a pinch or two of mixed herbs - I used Oregano and Marjoram.

Cover in foil and leave to simmer for 50 minutes, occasionally stirring to avoid the rice sticking on the bottom, add more stock or wine if it gets too dry.

Mustard & Marjoram Chicken BBQ

Yes, I know I am a bad person, not posting for so long. I have a pile of pictures waiting to be uploaded with a suitable amount of verbage and recipe, but it is just getting round to it that seems to be the problem, so I will start off with something nice and easy today.

Last night the garden beckoned us with it's glorious warm sunshine, the end of the working day feeling and good book and barbecue. I mooched around the fridge to see what could be thrown on and decided on two plump free range corn fed chicken breasts - perfect.

I mixed together some fresh chopped Marjoram, a crushed clove of garlic the zest of a lemon (retrospect, it should have been only half a lemon) a dollop of wholegrain Mustard around 2 heaped teaspoons and a dribble of oil to lubricate.

I eased the skin away on the breasts and pushed some of the mixture underneath, with the rest going inside the breast which I had sliced halfway through.

These were then placed skin side down on a medium BBQ for 25 mins - we have a kettle BBQ so with the lid on the chicken remains moist and tender.

Along with the chicken I made up parcels of baby courgette and baby plum tomatoes a little oil and seasoning and loosely wrapped in tin foil, these too were place on the BBQ for 20-25 mins.

The final accompaniment were some crushed new potatoes with a little butter and grated cheddar. Not bad for a summery spur of the moment dish.

Sort of Chicken Giouvetsi

Whilst perusing my blogroll I came across this recipe from Kevin at Closet Cooking for Chicken Giouvetsi and while I did not have all the correct ingredients in the cupboard I thought I would give it a go with what I did have and make some similar substitutions. I am a huge fan of one pot cooking - in fact looking back over my recipes most of them are one pots and this is another one to be added to the list.

4 Chicken Thighs, skin on.

1 tablespoon oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

250g Riccioli pasta

400ml chicken stock
Big dollop tomato puree

salt and pepper

Pre-cook pasta in boiling water for 7 or so mins, so it is still on the firm side of al dente - drain.

Heat oil in a deep pan, fry the chicken pieces until the skin is crispy and brown. Put to one side. Fry the onion and pepper until tender, then add the pasta, stock, tomato puree and seasoning. Place the chicken on top, pop in oven for 40 mins at 200oc until the stock is absorbed.