Summer Roast Chicken with Pesto New Potatoes

Sundays are the perfect time to get family together but when it’s hot outside, a roast dinner just isn’t what people fancy. This is a lighter and (we think) easier alternative to a traditional roast.

Summer Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

• 12 chicken thighs (allow for 3 per person)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Juice and rind of a lemon
• Handful of fresh thyme (leaves only)
• Large glass of wine
• Olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

• Trim the excess fat from the chicken thighs using a pair of scissors, then put the thighs in a large bowl ready for the marinade.
• Crush the garlic and add to the bowl along with the lemon juice, lemon rind, thyme and seasoning. Get stuck in with your hands and ensure all the chicken is coated, then cover. The chicken can be left in the marinade from 30 minutes to overnight before cooking.

• When you’re ready to start cooking, take the chicken out of the fridge and pre-heat the oven to about 180 degrees (Gas Mark 5).
• Place the thighs on a baking tray with a little bit of room between each to allow the fat to go crispy. Carefully pour the wine in to the bottom of the tray and cook in the oven for about 35 minutes.

Once the chicken is in, you can start preparing the potatoes. Timing wise you have about 20 minutes in between cooking the chicken and the potatoes so it’s a good slot to prepare the vegetables or salad to go with it. We recommend Green Bean Salad with Mustardy Dressing and Tzatziki

• Once the chicken has been cooking for 20 minutes (set a timer if you’re being organised), bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
• Chop any bigger ones in half and add the potatoes to the pan. Boil for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through then drain.
• After 35 minutes, take the chicken out of the oven and transfer to a plate, covering loosely with a sheet of tin foil. Pour the juices from the bottom of the roasting tray in to a saucepan and leave on the hob ready to make the gravy.
• Put the potatoes in to the roasting tin, add a tablespoon of olive oil (not extra virgin) and plenty of salt and pepper, then toss everything around to ensure the potatoes are evenly coated. Turn the oven up to 200 degrees (Gas Mark 6) and roast for 20 minutes.
• Once the potatoes are looking golden, transfer in to a large bowl or dish and add a heaped tablespoon of green pesto. Stir the pesto through the potatoes and take to the table.

Now would be a good time to shout ‘dinner’s ready’ and get a helper to set the table.

• Heat up the cooking juices from the chicken until the gravy starts to thicken slightly then pour over the top of the thighs. Finish with some chopped parsley if you love it as much as us. Take everything to the table with lots of serving spoons.

I think this would be good with a classic green salad as an alternative, or try some steamed carrots and broccoli if you prefer a less calorific lunch. Wine wise, lots of whites would work well. We had a White Rioja (Spanish) and a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (Australian) on the go during cooking and eating.

 

 

 

Day 7 – Green Bean Salad with Mustardy Dressing #7daysofsalad

We made our final salad as part of a summer roast dinner for family but the quantities I’ve listed here would feed two. It is worth noting that I base everything on mine and my family’s appetites so you might have a bit left over if you’re not big eaters – who doesn’t love leftovers though!

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of trimmed green beans
• 1 bag of pre-mixed and washed spinach, rocket and watercress salad
• 1 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the beans. Cook for 5 minutes then tip in to a colander and rinse for a couple of minutes under the cold tap.
• Add the oil, lemon juice, mustard and seasoning to a small sealable tub and shake vigorously for 30 seconds! The dressing should turn from oily to creamy like the photo below. If not, carry on shaking.

• Take a big handful of the salad leaves and scatter over a serving bowl/plate.
• Tip over the beans then pour over the dressing. Toss the salad well to make sure all the beans and leaves see some dressing.
• Dig in!

We served this with tray baked chicken, roast new potatoes with pesto and tzatziki.

 

 

 

Three Ideas for #BBQ

I made these recipes over the weekend and wanted to share in the hope that we’ll have a LOT more BBQs and hot weather this summer. Burgers and sausages taste so good on the BBQ, but we always like to go a little further and try something new.

Grilled Fennel

Raw fennel has a very strong aniseed taste (think Sambuca…or maybe not depending on bad experiences) so based on my (bad) experiences, I don’t really like it raw – for example in a salad. Braising or grilling the fennel makes it taste amazing and it is perfect for a BBQ. To try it, just slice the fennel in to 1cm slices, drizzle with some olive oil then season with lots of salt and black pepper. Grill or BBQ for about 10 minutes, turning a couple of times. Fennel can be friends with any fish, and is also good with pork.

Mackerel with Chilli Butter

Fresh mackerel has a milder, less fishy taste than the smoked version you can buy vacuum packed. I got the fillets from the fish counter at my local supermarket and they were happy to fillet the whole fishes for me so I could put them straight on the BBQ without mess or fuss. These fillets cost about 80p each and are SO good for you.

Make some slits on the skin side of each fillet then season on both sides and place skin side down on the BBQ or under a hot grill. Mash up some salted butter with a chopped chilli and cut a lemon in to wedges. Cook the mackerel for about 4 minutes skin side down, then flip over for one minute. Transfer to a serving plate, top with the butter and serve with lots of lemon.

Pork Loin Chops with Red Pepper Marinade

I absolutely love pork loin chops any day of the week – they go with so many ingredients, they’re always on offer and it’s easy to make them healthier by trimming the fat off. To make them even better, I made a marinade from red pepper paste (Turkish ingredient but you can pick it up in the world food aisle of most supermarkets), 2 cloves of crushed garlic, a handful of chopped parsley, juice of a lemon, teaspoon of cayenne pepper and salt.

Once you’ve mixed the ingredients together, you can rub it on pretty much anything! I wonder how many of my friends with smirk at that statement. You can leave it on meats, fish or even halloumi over night or just use it at the last minute, brushing more on as the food cooks.

On this occasion, I shredded up some lettuce and toasted a piece of tiger baguette, then topped with mayo. Makes a good change from a burger in a bun, but still fills everyone up without costing the earth. You might need napkins!

 

 

Day 4 – Green Salad with Capers #7daysofsalad

Our absolute favourite lettuce to use in a green salad is baby gem because there is a contrast in flavour between the sweet outer leaves and the slightly bitter, crunchier centre. You can add cucumber, spring onions, green pepper or just keep it simple as we’ve done here. This is really great with fish.

Ingredients:

• 2 baby gem lettuces
• 1 tablespoon capers
• Handful of flat leaf parsley
• Classic dressing

Method:

• Cut off the cores of the lettuce, slice in half lengthways then cut each half in to three.
• Pick the leaves from a handful of parsley and add them in.
• Add the capers
• Add the dressing just before serving (we recommend olive oil, lemon, Dijon)

Day 3 – Potato Salad #7daysofsalad

This salad is a real favourite with our friends – they would definitely pull a face if they turned up to a BBQ or party and we hadn’t made it!

These quantities will serve 4 people as part of a main meal or more as part of a buffet. Purely because they’re in season, we’ve used Jersey Royals on this occasion, but we usually go for Charlotte potatoes otherwise.

Basic Ingredients:

• 1kg new potatoes
• 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise (use light or extra light to cut the calories, or try 0% fat Greek yoghurt for a tangier version)
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
• Salt and black pepper

Method:

• Boil the potatoes in a large pan for about 15-20 minutes then drain and set aside to cool.
• Mix the mustard and mayo together.
• Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl and season with plenty of salt and black pepper.
• Loosen the salad by adding the juice of half a lemon.
• Add a flavour combination of your choice.
• Taste and adjust if necessary then chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Our suggested flavours:

• 1 mug of thawed peas, 3 chopped gherkins
• Bunch of chopped spring onions, smoked paprika and cress
• Crispy bacon and red onion

For something less creamy, instead of mayo try stirring through green or red pesto with some baby cherry tomatoes, or if you can find it, red pepper paste and some flat leaf parsley make a delicious version too. Think about the textures and tastes and always taste, taste, taste until you’re happy!

Potato salad with peas, gherkins and lemon juice

Day 1 – Classic Greek Salad #7daysofsalad

This is the first post in the Salads section of the site, but I think it’s going to grow rapidly once we start on it! There is so much to say!

Classic Greek Salad (serves 2)

This always goes down well at a BBQ but for a normal tea, we recommend grilled meat (anything you like) to go with this salad. If you want to add a sauce (bought or homemade depending on energy and time), tzatziki , red pepper, houmous or chilli sauce are good choices.

Ingredients:

For the salad:

• Half a cucumber
• 4 ripe tomatoes (plum are good)
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red onion
• Dried oregano
• Block of feta cheese (if you’re feeling flush get some barrel aged from the cheese counter – it’s delicious and not too dear)
• Flat leaf parsley (optional but we love it!)

 

For the dressing:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt and black pepper

 

Method:

• Combine the oil and lemon juice very well (fork and mug technique is good!), then season to taste and set aside until you’re ready to serve.
• Slice the cucumber lengthways and remove the seeds by scraping down the centre with a teaspoon. Slice in to 2 cm thick pieces.

The rest of the salad ingredients can be chopped however you like them but here are my suggestions for a good texture.

• Tomatoes, quartered then chopped in half again (really don’t know what that shape would be called but you should get 8 pieces per tomato).
• Thinly slice the green pepper and red onion.
• Roughly chop the parsley if using.
• Crumble in the feta with your fingers or chop in to bite size pieces with a knife.
• Combine all the ingredients in a deep bowl and sprinkle over the dried oregano.
• Give the dressing a quick whisk before you pour over the salad and toss gently to coat everything.
• Serve straight away!

Classic Salad Dressing

This dressing is an absolute staple and can be adapted either to your taste or to suit whatever ingredients you decide to put together.

The general rule here is 3 parts oil to one part acid, so once you’ve chosen your oil (olive, sesame and rape seed are good choices) you can add any acid (lemon juice, lime juice, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar or malt are nice) to make your own favourite. I always make dressings in a mug because it’s easy to give it a really good whisk with a fork without splattering yourself with the ingredients.

Charlotte’s favourite:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Few twists of freshly ground black pepper

For a slightly milder, sweeter version:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon malt vinegar
• 1 teaspoon  wholegrain mustard
• Few twists of freshly ground black pepper

For a creamy texture, add a tablespoon of mayonnaise and combine really well using a fork or a small whisk.