Chicken Archives - Page 11 of 11

This is my new favorite easy and light chicken dish. The spices are refreshing but different and the sauce is so light and fragrant. c/o BBC Good Food.

serves 4 Ready in 45 minutes

Ingredients
groundnut or canola oil
1 large onion, sliced
2-3 green chillies, sliced
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger root
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets (I use free range, organic)
5 good sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, chopped into pieces
1 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves picked off
1 small pot natural yoghurt
steamed rice or naan
(I serve it with roasted cauliflower florets tossed in roasted cumin and olive oil)

Spice Mix
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin (again, I roast my cumin then grind it as it’s more pungent that way)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves, ground

Method
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan. Add the onion and a good pinch of salt, then fry for about 6 – 8 minutes until golden.

Add chillies, garlic and ginger. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes. Add the spice mix and cook for another couple of minutes until fragrant.

Add the chicken and cook for 3 – 4 minutes then add the tomatoes and green peppers and a splash of water or chicken stock, and stir well.
Cover the pan and cook for about 30 minutes until the chicken is tender and the sauce thickened. It’s worth uncovering the chicken after 15 minutes so the sauce can thicken a bit.
Stir the yoghurt into the chicken off the heat (it will curdle if it boils) for a creamier sauce. Stir in the cilantro and check the seasoning.
Serve with the rice, naan bread or roasted cauliflower florets.

This is a very easy and fast way of roasting a chicken in only 40 minutes as you have all the bones removed except for the wings bones. Ask the butcher to keep it in one piece as you will be putting some good stuff between the skin and the meat.
I always buy organic, free range chicken, especially as I once took a holiday next to a chicken farm (by mistake) and after taking a look around the farm, decided never to eat non-organic, free range chicken again, after what I experienced.

Some markets like WholeFoods look at you blankly when you ask them to bone out a chicken, but my local Bristol Farms doesn’t flinch at my request.

Lay the chicken flat on a lined baking sheet (I use non-stick aluminum foil). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Stuffing
This stuffing is going to be put between the skin and the meat.
1 small 5.5oz log goat cheese, room temperature
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
grated rind of a large lemon
4 good sized scallions, chopped fairly small
1 heaped tbsp fresh sage, chopped fine
2 heaped tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1/2 heaped tsp sweet paprika
cayenne pepper (if you like a kick)
salt and freshly ground pepper

Put all the stuffing ingredients in a bowl and mix together well.
With your fingers, gently separate the skin from the meat of the breast of the chicken and shove the stuffing mixture in between wherever possible, pushing it down to the bottom of the breast.
Also the thigh/leg area can take the stuffing too. Turn the chicken over and slather any remaining stuffing on the underside of the chicken.
Sprinkle with a little olive oil and more salt and pepper then turn the chicken over.
You should be able to see the stuffing under the skin of the chicken. Again, sprinkle with a light drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper, then put in the oven for about 40 mins until the skin is browned and it is cooked through. Sometimes it can take a little longer, so test it for done-ness. When cooked, transfer it to a wooden chopping board and let rest about 5 mins.

PS Of course, I completely forgot to take a picture of the browned crispy topped chicken when it was cooked as we fell upon it!!

Tag: Chicken

Chicken Jalfrezi

Boned and roasted chicken stuffed with goat cheese, lemon and herbs