The Perfect Roast Chicken

The perfect roast chicken

I’m not going to preach about chickens and how you should only buy free range ones etc. I keep a few hens myself and they are free range but when it comes to buying them in a supermarket I buy whichever one I can afford at the time. Sometimes the ideal world has to wait!

TIPS: Removing the wishbone before cooking makes it much easier to carve. There is no real technique to it just carefully run a knife in around the 2 sides of the bone and in behind it and it should pull free.

If during carving you notice the legs haven’t cooked fully through, don’t panic but don’t serve them. Carve them off and put them back into the oven for 10 mins. Better late than never!

Serves 4:

1x 1.6kg (affordable) chicken

1 medium onion

1 carrot

2 sticks of celery

1 bulb of garlic

1 lemon

Bunch of thyme

Olive oil

Sea salt & black pepper

Method

Remove the bird from the fridge a half an hour before you start. Preheat oven up at max. Wash and chop the veg roughly, no need to peel them. Break the garlic bulb into cloves and give them all a bit of a smack with the flat of the knife.

Throw all the veg into a suitable sized roasting tray minus 3 cloves of garlic. Cut the string that ties the chicken so it ‘relaxes’; push a sharp knife down the inside of the leg beside the breast, as this is the last place to cook fully. Prick the lemon all over with a knife and stuff it into the cavity along with the thyme and 3 cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and rub with salt and pepper.

Pop the bird on top of the vegetables and place in the hot oven. Keep it up max for 15 mins then turn it down to 190°c for 1 hour 10 mins, baste it a few times during that time. Add a little water to the veg if it’s looking dry but there should be enough juices coming from the bird.

After the cooking time is up skewer the meatiest part of the leg insuring the juices run clear. If not, put back in oven for 10 mins.

Set the cooked chicken on a clean chopping board and cover with foil and a clean tea towel. Allow to rest for at least 15 mins.

Carving: Pull off the wings (these can be used as flavouring in your gravy) cut down between the leg and the breast, cut through the joint and pull the leg off. This can be cut again between the thigh and the drumstick to give you 4 leg pieces. Angle your knife along the breastbone (this is easier done with wishbone removed) and carve the whole side off, you can them proceed to slice this. Repeat on other side them get stuck in pulling the remainder of meat off with your fingers, especially on underside. Serve all on a platter in the centre of the table.

Homemade Curry Sauce: Chinese Style

Homemade Curry Sauce: Chinese Style

I have noticed now for a while that most of the curry recipes in cook books are normally Indian style curries, but I honestly prefer Chinese curry so that why I taught myself to cook this one. This is a vegetable curry because let’s face it we don't need meat in all our dishes and when while may not be pushed on particular veg this is a great way of getting them because the curry flavours stick out more than the veg. Choose whatever veg you like, I normally go for cauliflower, butternut squash, mushrooms, courgettes etc. and trust me, you won’t even miss the meat!

Serves 4:

6 tablespoons of vegetable oil

3 onions, finely chopped

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

4 mild fleshy red chillies, seeds removed and chopped

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 tablespoon chilli powder

2 1/2 teaspoon curry powder

125 ml water

2 1/2 tablespoon plain flour

400 - 500 ml vegetable stock

1 teaspoon onion seeds

Method

For the sauce: Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan or wok over a high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry for 3 mins, or until starting to soften but not brown. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and continue stir-frying for 30 seconds, then reduced the heat to very low and leave to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened but nothing colours. 

Stir in the spices, so the turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli powder and curry powder and continue cooking very gently for a further 5 minutes. Don’t burn the spices, sprinkle on a few drops of water if you’re worried. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool a little. 

Put the water in a food processor or blender and add the contents of the pan. Blend until everything is smooth, then add the flour and blend again. Put the puréed mix back into the pan and simmer for 20–30 minutes (the longer the better in fact) over a very low heat, stirring occasionally. Add a little hot water if it starts to catch, but the idea is to gently ‘fry’ the sauce so that it darkens in colour to an orangey brown.

Once you have a thick paste, gradually stir in the stock and simmer, add in which ever vegetables you wish and allow them to cook while the sauce reduces and thickens, for 30 mins or so. Add in the onion seeds… for the image.

Serve immediately with some brown rice.

Heart Healthy Cherry Tomato and Herb Omelette

Heart Healthy Cherry Tomato and Herb Omelette

 This is mainly an egg white omelette, now of course you can make a regular one including the egg yolks but once you give this a try you will see that it is just as good without the yolks and much better for your heart, I add in one yolk just for colour. The sweetness of the cherry tomatoes really comes through to meet the sharp herbs. I normally use herbs like chives, flat leaf parsley or mint… or a mix of all.

Tip. 1 large egg contains

74 calories... 14 of that is for 

the white.. 60 is for the yolk

Calories 314

Serves 1:

4 large eggs (1 whole and 3 white’s)

8-10 cherry tomatoes

A handful of mixed herbs- chopped

Cheddar cheese (optional)

Olive oil

Sea salt & black pepper

Method

Halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes, pour some olive oil into a non-stick grill proof pan and tip the cut tomatoes in. Season them well and fry them off for 1-2 minutes until just soft.

In the meantime put a grill onto high heat and lightly beat the egg whites in a bowl. Scatter the chopped herbs over the tomatoes and pour the beaten eggs over.

Quickly stir the eggs with a silicon spatula to even them out and make sure they cook evenly. Take off the heat as they start to set, grate a little cheese over the top (if using) and place under the grill for about 2-3 minutes.

Slide onto a warm plate and serve immediately.

Buckwheat Salad

Buckwheat Salad

Buckwheat is a fantastic substitute for carbs such as rice or potatoes etc. It is rich in protein, magnesium and iron and contains Rutin, a substance that protects the heart. Buckwheat is gluten free and can be found in most supermarkets and in health food stores.

Calories 662

331 per portion

Serves 2

120g buckwheat

A pinch of salt

1 red pepper

Half a cucumber

A small tin of pineapple chunks

Feta cheese

Black pepper

Method

Rinse the buckwheat in cold water in a fine sieve and place in a medium saucepan, pour in 400ml cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring the water to the boil then reduce to a gentle simmer until all the water is absorbed, this takes about 20 mins.

In the meantime deseed and dice the pepper, dice the cucumber and drain the tin of pineapple chunks. When the buck wheat is cooked, fluff it through with a fork, add it to a mixing bowl and add the diced pepper, cucumber and the pineapple chunks. Mix gently but thoroughly.

Divide out among 2 serving plate, crumble some feta cheese over and season with a good pinch of black pepper before serving. 

Spicy Beef Wrap

This is my 3rd hay of healthier recipe ideas for all you good folk wanting to shift your Christmas pud's... God knows I need to shift my own! I want these recipes to show that cleaner eating doesn't have to be boring, the recipes are full of flavour and very easy to put together. We don't need fad diets that leave you energy-less, just good ingredients that balance our your diet as it should be which is roughly:

50% Carbohydrates

30% Fats

20% Protein

At the end of the day what we eat and drink determines our state of being, food and nutrition are crucial to health not only for the body, but for the mind and the emotions which I think we can all relate to. Modern ailments, sickness and diseases are caused by an imbalanced diet… junk food, takeaways, preservatives, additives, too much salt, sugar and animal fat… that mixed along with too much alcohol, and of course tobacco-which I know doesn’t come into food consumption, however it does surpass hunger and does come in the way of a healthy balanced diet. Now I’m not preaching or bullshitting off the top of my head, all of the above with the exception of tobacco used to be a part of my life… I literally am speaking from experience.

I have changed my eating habits and it has been the best change I have ever made, no downside, no repercussions, no negatives. It has led to a healthier body, weight loss (in a healthy way), a healthier mind and a much happier Paul. The way I see it is this… If you have a car, and most of us do… well, that car won’t function right if you don’t put the right stuff into it. How far would your car go without the right fuel (carbs), the right oil (protein), the right brake/clutch fluid and power steering oil (fats) and the right coolant (water)… now I’m certainly no mechanic but I do know that without the correct type and the correct amounts of all of these you will not have a full functioning car? The only difference is that a car will need serviced once or twice a year, our bodies need serviced on a daily basis-a few times a day in fact.

For me, having a healthy diet and watching what you eat is, or should be common sense. Yes you can get the percentages right-carbs v’s protein v’s fats– and you can be eating very fresh produce too but if you don't watch portion sizes and  don't get up of your backside and do some exercise then you will find that a healthy balanced diet may not make you look and feel as good as it should. There is no point in me going into depth on portion sizes as everyone’s size, metabolism rate and daily exercise routine is different… a bit like BMI (body mass index) it wouldn't be very accurate. As I say common sense goes a long way but if you are really stuck then a dietician would be happy to create a plan for portion sizes taking everything into account.

5 keys to a healthier diet:

 Cut down on convenience food and takeaways

 Try replacing meat with oily fish more often

 Reduce your intake of sugar, salt, coffee, fizzy drinks and alcohol

 Make your diet as varied as possible

 Use fresh ingredients as often as possible

Spicy Beef Wrap

This is a great simple lunch that will blow your socks off. It packs a super flavour punch. Alternatively it can be made with chicken or pork, even chicken dippers for a really easy option.

Serves 2:

2 medium sirloin steaks-fat trimmed

Olive oil

Paprika

Dried oregano

Cumin seeds

1 small red pepper

2 scallions

4 tablespoons of sour cream

1 tablespoon horseradish sauce

2 low-fat tortillas wrap

Sweet chilli sauce

Fresh rocket

Method

Take the steaks out of the fridge 15 minutes before cooking, massage in a drop of olive oil and season both sides with the paprika, oregano and cumin seeds.

De-seed and finely slice the red pepper and the scallions, set aside. In a small bowl combine the sour cream and horseradish sauce and use as a dip.

On a screaming hot griddle pan place the steaks, 2 mins either side should suffice for medium steak, then remove and wrap in foil to rest for a few minutes (ideally 10-15 minutes) but as long as u wish.

Heat up the tortilla wraps as instructed by the packaging. Carve the steak into thin slices and arrange on the wrap how you wish, I spread on some sweet chilli sauce, top with peppers, scallions and fresh rocket. Serve with some low fat crisps and most of all.... Enjoy!

Sea Bass Fillets with Zingy Ginger, Chilli and Spring Onion

I love this recipe, sea bass is a wonderfully flavoursome fish, you could also try sea bream, plaice or red mullet here too. This can be used a s a light lunch or have it with some brown rice to make a dinner out of it.

Sea Bass Fillets with Zingy Ginger, Chilli and Spring Onion

This simple dish combines wonderful Thai style flavours to really compliment the beautifully delicate flesh of the sea bass with crispy skin.

Calories 916

229 per portion

Serves 4:

4 x sea bass fillets, about 140g each, skin on and scaled
1 tbsp sunflower oil

A large knob of ginger, peeled and shredded into matchsticks

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 fat, fresh red chillies deseeded and thinly shredded

A bunch spring onion, shredded long-ways

1 tbsp soy sauce

Season the fish with salt and pepper, then slash the skin 3 times. Heat a heavy-based frying pan and add 1/2 tbsp oil. Once hot, fry the fish, skin-side down, for 5 mins or until the skin is very crisp and golden. The fish will be almost cooked through. Turn over, cook for another 30 secs-1 min, then transfer to a serving plate and keep warm. You’ll need to fry the fish in 2 batches.

Heat the remaining oil, then fry the ginger, garlic and chillies for about 2 mins until golden, add a dash of soy sauce. Take off the heat and toss in the spring onions. Spoon the contents of the pan over the fillets.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

I made this just on Saturday past and had forgotten just how good it tastes with minimal fuss.
I just roasted a chicken for it instead of using chicken fillets as it was more convenient for me. Again if you wanted you could always use turkey here instead of the chicken... either way will have you wanting more.

This would be a great lunch box filler for lunches during the week, I know I will be having it for lunch this coming week at work!

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

I love looking up recipes from around the world, there is a want in me to travel and taste all the glorious recipes from the different continents.  This salad came about using some basic ingredients from home with flair from Vietnam.

Calories 483

242 per portion

Serves 2:

3 shallots

Half a red chilli deseeded

1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

3-4 black peppercorns

100ml rice vinegar

3 tablespoons of oyster sauce/fish sauce

1 large chicken fillet

Sea salt and black pepper

Quarter head of white cabbage

1 large carrot

A few sprigs of mint

A small bunch of coriander

A small handful of salted peanuts

Method

Peel and coarsely chop the shallots, add them to a large mortar and pestle along with chopped chilli and the sugar and black pepper. Grind it until soft and liquid is dispersed. Transfer this mix to a large bowl and stir in the rice vinegar and fish sauce. Set to one side.

Brush the chicken fillet with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill it under a medium/high heat for about 6-8 mins either side making sure it is cooked through. Allow to cool then shred with your fingers finding the natural grain.

Finely shred the cabbage and chop the carrot into fine matchsticks, take your time.  Add these to the vinegar mix, toss thoroughly then add the chicken, mint leaves, coriander leaves, toss like you would a normal salad until combined and top with a scatter of roughly chopped peanuts.