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Baked Chicken with Onions & Leeks

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This mustard-glazed chicken is roasted on a bed of sliced onions, leeks and garlic which you can serve alongside it. It is a delectable meal in itself which you can eat with rice pasta. Add more pepper for some spice.

 

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

2 large onions, thinly sliced

4 stalks leeks, washed and the white and green parts thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2-3 pounds chicken, cut into pieces, skin removed and trimmed

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons minced shallots

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

 

Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly grease a baking dish with oil.

Combine the onions, leeks garlic, thyme, oil and salt in a large bowl. Toss well and make sure that the vegetables are coated in oil. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and place the chickens on top of it.

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, shallots, rosemary, soy sauce and pepper. Gradually add one tablespoon of oil. Continue to whisk until well combined.

Glaze the chicken with the mustard mixture. You may use a brush or marinate the chicken. Bake it for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is browned and the meat is tender. Transfer it to a serving plate or individual plates. Serve with the baked onions and leeks.
Photo Courtesy Of:  VirtualErn

Spring Vegetable Parcels

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Cooking each guests Vegetables in their own Paper parcel keeps the flavour in the vegetables for longer, increases the flavour, looks sophisticated and classy too!

Baby Carrots

Serve it with a joint of Meat (or Fish!), out on the Table, fresh on peoples plates, ready for them to open themselves on the table when they’re ready to be served

To Serve 6
3 Small Courgettes, cut into 1cm thick wheels
300g Baby Carrots, ends trimmed
350g Baby Leeks, trimmed
340g Sugar Snap Peas
6 Sprigs Mint
100g Butter, cut into 12 cubes

1. Heat the oven to 190C, and cut six squares about thirty centimetres square out of Baking Paper, and lay them out on a clean, dry work surface.
2. Divide the Vegetables into six portions, and lay them out in the centre of each piece of Baking Paper, add a sprig of Mint and a cube of Butter and drizzle a tablespoon of water over each parcel. Fold the parcels up and tie with a bit of cooking string at the top.
3. Place each parcel on a baking tray, and cook for fifteen to twenty minutes, then remove and place each parcel onto a different plate. Cut the string, trying to keep the paper intact, and serve with freshly cooked Meat.

Photo Courtesy of: ccharmon

Crusty Mediterranean Parcels

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Light, fresh, and full of flavour – this vegetarian dish is great. It’s easy enough to add some meat too – simply brown some Meat off (say cubed Pork), then add it in before placing in the oven for twenty five minutes.

Crusty Mediterranean Parcels

To Serve 8
700g Mixed Vegetables, like Carrots, Leeks, Courgettes, Red Peppers, Aubergines and Sweet Potatoes, cut into 2.5cm Chunks
2tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
225g Onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and crushed
400g Can Chopped Tomatoes
1tbsp Tomato Paste
125g Gruyere Cheese, grated
200g Mascarpone Cheese
50ml Single Cream
2tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Chives
50g Toasted Pine Nuts, toasted
450g Puff Pastry
1 Egg

1. Roast the Vegetables by placing them in a small Roasting Tin, then place a tablespoon of Olive Oil and Season well. Cook at 200C for forty or forty five minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
2. Heat the rest of the Olive Oil in a frying pan, add the Onions and Garlic, then fry for five minutes, or until lightly coloured. Add the Tomatoes and Tomato Paste, then simmer for around fifteen to twenty minutes uncovered, until thick and pulpy. Set aside.
3. Mix half of the Gruyere with the Mascarpone, single Cream and Chives. Mix the Vegetables with the Tomato Sauce, half the Pine Nuts and Season to taste.
4. Roll out the Pastry to a two thin rectangles, measuring about thirty centimetres by thirty five centimetres. Beat the Egg with a pinch of Salt. Place half of the Vegetables down the centre of each rectangle, covering an area about ten centimetres wide. Brush the sides with the Egg mixture.
5. Fold the Pastry in to make a seam, and seal well. Top with the remaining Egg glaze, and top with Salt, Pepper and the remaining Gruyere Cheese and Pine Nuts.
6. Place on a baking tray, cook at 220C for twenty five minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove from the pan, and serve in slices.

Photo Courtesy of: goyumcha

Vegetable and Apple Stir Fry

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This Vegetarian dish is a fast dish to make – taking only half an hour to prepare and cook. To make sure that the Vegetables don’t burn, keep them moving when stir-frying them – it’s a good habit even with meat so that they’ll cook evenly.

Vegetable Stir Fry

If you’re creating this as a side, try serving with some freshly Grilled Pork Chops – the Apple and range of Vegetables compliments the dish greatly.

To Serve 4
4tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and crushed
350g Small Leeks, trimmed and sliced
4 Sticks Green Celery, sliced
225g Courgette, sliced
1 Red Pepper, deseeded and chopped
2tbsp Medium Curry Paste
1tsp Ground Ginger
1tbsp Clear Honey
2 Green Eating Apples
50g Unsalted Cashew Nuts
Salt and Pepper
Juice of 1 Lemon

1. Heat the Oil in a large, non-stick Sauté pan, and cook the Garlic off for a few seconds over a medium heat, before increasing the heat, and adding the Leek, Celery, Courgette and Pepper to the pan, and cook for ten minutes, stirring throughout.
2. Add the Curry Paste to the pan, along with the Ginger, Honey and three tablespoons of Water, and stir until smooth. Make sure that all of the Vegetables are evenly coated with the flavours.
3. Roughly chop the Apples up – it’s personal preference for leaving the skins on. I do to give a mix of textures in the finished dish, but it is okay to remove them if you want. Add the Apple Chunks to the pan, with the Cashew Nuts and season to taste.
4. Cook for five more minutes, until the Vegetables are tender, but not soft. Squeeze the Lemon Juice, and stir one last time, before serving.

Photo Courtesy of: swanksalot

Cock-A-Leekie Soup

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You can get two courses for one lot of work with this recipe. Serve the broth as a starter, and you can serve the Chicken for the main course. Sadly, there’s no part of this dish for dessert, so you’ll have to think of that yourself!

Cock-a-Leekie Soup

This is a traditional Scottish dish, adjusted slightly for more modern palettes – in the traditional recipe a piece of Stewing Beef weighing around 550g is added in place of half the Chicken.

This dish works best in a Slow Cooker, so it’s great for when you are entertaining guests. You can put it on and then forget about it for the first seven hours, and then just do a few simple tasks to get it ready for serving.

To Serve 8
12 Ready to Eat Prunes
4 Chicken Portions
450g Leeks, Sliced
1.4l Hot Chicken or Beef Stock
1 Bouquet Garni
Salt and Pepper (to season)

1.       Place the Chicken portions and the Leek in the Slow cooker, and pour the Stock over the top and stir to make sure that all surfaces have had moisture on them. Add the Bouquet Garni, before covering and cooking on low for seven hours.

2.       If you’re serving the Chicken with the Soup (i.e., not in two courses), remove from the Cooker with a slotted spoon and cut the meat off of any bones. Cut the Chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to the cooker. If you’re serving in two courses, leave the Chicken Portions intact in the cooker.

3.       Add the Prunes to the cooker, and season to taste with Salt and Pepper. Cover again, and cook on a high heat for the final thirty minutes.

4.       Remove and discard the Bouquet Garni, and then serve as you prefer – if in two courses, use a slotted spoon to remove the Chicken Portions and then ladle the broth into bowls, otherwise ladle as it is.

Photo Courtesy of: Laurel Fan

Best. Leeks. Ever.

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leeks

Ah, leeks. I love how affordable, yet deliciously luxurious, they are. That’s right, I said luxurious– and if you don’t agree, you will once you’ve tried this recipe for Melted Leeks. There’s something about cooking these green and white stalks this way that makes them unbelievably rich, and perfect for many applications: spoon them on top of some roast chicken, or just serve them as a side dish:

Melted Leeks

2 tablespoons olive oil
some butter
7 medium-sized leeks, sliced thin, white and light green parts only
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
kosher salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper

In a saute pan over low-ish heat, melt about two to three tablespoons of butter. Add the leeks, and stir gently, around five minutes. Add the garlic, and cook around a minute more, until everything’s soft and your kitchen smells like heaven. Add chicken stock, raise heat, and bring to a boil. Then immediately lower heat to simmer… you want to reduce the liquid until it’s nearly evaporated, and the leeks have absorbed all of that flavor. Season with kosher salt and pepper, and a bit more butter if you’re feeling extra naughty.