Food And Nutrition

Spiced soy roast chicken

Published

3 months ago

June 16, 2023

admin

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Ingredients

For the brine

75g/2½oz salt
60g/2¼oz sugar

For the chicken

1 x 1.5kg/3lb 5oz free range chicken
½ tsp salt
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
5 garlic cloves, unpeeled, lightly smashed
10 slices fresh root ginger, skin on
2 spring onions, roughly chopped
4 tbsp vegetable oil

For the basting sauce

4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Irish Whiskey
2 tbsp chilli sauce
2 tbsp honey
pinch chilli flakes

For the medley of vegetables

100g/4oz carrots, sliced
100g/4oz green beans, topped and tailed
100g/4oz asparagus tips
100g/4oz cauliflower, small florets
100g/4oz broccoli, small florets
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp fresh root ginger, finely chopped or grated
2 tbsp light soy sauce

Method

Dissolve the salt and sugar in 1 litre/1¾ pints water, to make the brine. Add the chicken to the brine and leave for 1 – 2 hours. Drain and pat dry.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
Mix the salt and five spice powder and rub it over the chicken, inside and out. Place the garlic, ginger slices and spring onion in the cavity and tie with string.
Heat the vegetable oil in a roasting pan and lightly brown the chicken on each side on top of the stove.
Transfer the chicken to the oven and roast for 15 minutes at 220C/ 425F/Gas 7.
Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the basting sauce. After the chicken has been roasting at a high heat for 15 minutes, turn the oven down to 170C/350F/Gas 4 and roast for another 50 minutes. During the last 30 minutes, baste the chicken with the sauce frequently.
At the end of the cooking time, remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest.
For the medley of vegetables, heat a pan of salted water, up to the boil. Add the carrots then after a minute, add the green beans. After another minute add the asparagus. Repeat at minute intervals until all the vegetables have been added. When all the vegetables are cooked thoroughly, drain.
Melt the butter with the ginger and soy, either in the microwave or a small saucepan. Drizzle over the vegetables, toss lightly.
Once rested, joint the chicken by removing the legs and breasts. Cut each in half and arrange on a serving platter and serve with the pan juices and the vegetables.

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Food And Nutrition

Classic Italian Sub Sandwich Recipe

Published

3 months ago

June 16, 2023

admin

1 large Italian sub roll
1 tablespoon Italian vinaigrette
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 pound sliced provolone cheese
1/3 pound sliced rosemary ham
1/4 pound sliced mortadella
1/4 pound sliced hot soppressata
3 tomato campari tomatoes, thickly sliced
1/4 small onion, thinly sliced
1 packed cup baby arugula
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped banana peppers
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Gather the ingredients.
Use a serrated knife to cut the Italian sub roll in half lengthwise.
Place the sub roll in the middle of a sheet of wax or butcher paper and drizzle the inside of the bread with Italian vinaigrette and balsamic vinegar.
Next, add the provolone, ham, mortadella, soppressata, tomatoes, onion, lettuce, banana peppers, salt, and pepper.
Wrap the sandwich tightly in the butcher paper and slice the sandwich into 4 quarters.
Enjoy now or wrap up tightly in more butcher’s paper until ready to eat.

Tips

Depending on how hungry you are, this thick flavorful sandwich can feed up to 2 or 4 people.
As this sandwich sits, the flavors begin to meld and make it more flavorful over time. If you’re waiting to eat it, be sure to wrap it tightly in butcher or wax paper so the ingredients stay intact and the sandwich doesn’t get soggy.
Don’t have these exact ingredients on hand? No worries. Any variation of Italian ingredients will do. Experiment with a mix of different lunch meats to see what you like best. Try to use different veggies and cheeses such as a nice pickle-y giardiniera with fresh mozzarella or roasted red peppers with asiago cheese.

Food And Nutrition

Courgette gratin

Published

3 months ago

June 16, 2023

admin

This simple courgette gratin makes a great side dish as it’s creamy and flavoursome without being too rich. Serve with a salad for a light supper.

Each serving provides 273 kcal, 10g protein, 5.5g carbohydrate (of which 4g sugars), 23g fat (of which 12g saturates), 2g fibre and 0.7g salt.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
800g/1lb 12oz courgettes, sliced into 5mm/¼in rounds
few sprigs thyme
few basil leaves
100ml/3½fl oz crème fraîche
50ml/2fl oz milk
1 tsp plain flour
75g/2½oz gruyère or similar cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6
Put the olive oil in a large, lidded frying pan. Add the courgettes and herbs and season with salt and pepper.
Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring every so often, until the courgettes have softened slightly but are still al dente. The oil should have taken on a deep, rich green colour from the courgettes.
Transfer to an oven dish. Whisk the crème fraîche, milk and flour together in a bowl and season with salt. Pour this mixture over the courgettes – it will not be enough to completely cover the courgettes, but this is fine – it will bubble up when cooking.
Sprinkle over the cheese. Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes, or until brown and bubbling.

Food And Nutrition

Preparing Super spring salad

Published

3 months ago

June 16, 2023

admin

This vegetarian salad is simply bursting with the fresh flavours of spring, the perfect meal for a sun soaked day.

Ingredients

For the spring salad

12 Jersey Royal potatoes
10 green asparagus spears, sliced on an angle
150g/5½oz young broad beans, podded
150g/5½oz peas, podded
150g/5½oz fresh or frozen soy beans
3 spring onions, sliced on an angle
drizzle of olive oil
4 purple asparagus spears, sliced using a peeler
1 lemon, juice only
2 shallots, cut into rings
15 mint leaves, 10 torn, 5 shredded
small bunch of chervil
handful watercress
punnet of pea shoots
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing

1 tbsp Dijon mustard
5 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp walnut oil
300ml/10½oz extra virgin olive oil

Method

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and blanch the potatoes, drain and carefully slice in half.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Drop in the green asparagus, broad beans, peas, soy beans and spring onions and cook for a couple of minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop them cooking but not to cool them.
Spread on a tray with the potatoes. Sprinkle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Put the purple asparagus in a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice and salt to cure and soften.
For the dressing, whisk together the mustard and vinegar in a bowl, slowly adding the oils. It should have a thick consistency, like a sauce. Season with a good amount of salt and black pepper.
Mix all of the vegetables with the shallots, mint, chervil, watercress and pea shoots and pour over the dressing.
Divide between four plates and dig in.