Chicken & Asparagus Pasta Bake

The weather has cooled somewhat considerably today so a pasta bake is just the ticket!  This is really no more than a tweak of my standard chicken pie recipe, but very tasty and a perfect way to use up leftover chicken. 

As always a pasta bake is a real faff to make and only really worth making if you are doing it in advance.  If you can plan ahead and cook surplus pasta a day or so before you want to make this you can cut down quite considerably on the work.  On working days I would always double up on the pasta for dinner and make the sauce the night before I wanted it.  So long as you let everything cool before you add the cooked chicken there won’t be a problem. 

For two of us I used : 

6oz penne pasta

6oz asparagus

6oz cold cooked chicken (leftovers is fine)

½ pint of chicken stock (about half a cup)

1oz butter

1dsp flour

1 stick of celery

Salt and pepper to taste 

Optional : approximately 1oz cheddar cheese grated to top the dish before baking. 

Simply clean and dice the stick of celery and sweat gently in the butter for about 10 minutes or so.  Add the flour and stir until it is all combined in the buttery juices.  Slowly add the chicken stock, a little at a time and beat well after each addition until all the stock is added and you have a smooth lump-free sauce.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook gently for 5 to 10 minutes so that the flour cooks. 

Cook the penne for 10 minutes in boiling salted water, Prepare the asparagus by snapping off the wooden ends and then cutting the spears into three, roughly the same size as the penne.  Add the asparagus to the pasta for the last two minutes of the cooking time. 

Drain the pasta and asparagus and rinse under cold running water before returning to the pan. 

As soon as the pasta and the sauce are cold add the chicken and combine with the sauce.  Turn into an ovenproof dish.  You could add a grating of cheese to the top if you wish – I invariably do! 

From cold, in one of these enamel dishes the pasta bake will want approximately 25 – 30 minutes (depending on the size of the dish) at 190^oC / 375^oF / Gas mark 5.  In a stoneware dish it will take a little longer. 

Sun Dried Tomato Tapenade Stuffed Chicken Breasts

The sunny weather has got me in full-on Mediterranean mode at the moment!  This is another one of those simple assembly jobs that always seems to impress people.  It’s a twist on the pesto chicken recipe below, and like that I always prefer to make it with home-made tapenade (my favourite recipe is Delia’s sun dried tomato tapenade, link below) but you could, of course, use ready-made. 

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/vegetables/tomato/tapenade-of-sun-dried-tomatoes-olives-and-basil.html

For two people I used: 

2 chicken breasts

4 slices parma ham

2dsp tapenade

2 or 3 basil leaves

Salt and pepper to taste 

Simply butterfly the chicken breasts, season and spread each with a dessertspoon of tapenade.  Add 1 or 2 torn basil leaves and fold over the top flap of the breasts.  Wrap in the parma ham and place in a baking dish.  Drizzle them with a little olive oil and give another seasoning of ground black pepper 

Bake in a hot oven (190^oC / 375^oF / Gas Mark 5) for 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through. 

You can serve this with pasta, buttery boiled new potatoes or over rice.  A crisp salad alongside is always nice too.  Ditto some crusty bread and a bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping! 

The tapenade recipe makes far more than you need for this recipe, but it’s so tasty that it’s worth making the whole amount of tapenade and using it to top slices of crusty bread or as a pasta sauce.

Salami Salad with Griddled Asparagus

This isn’t so much a recipe as a setting out of groceries!  It’s one of my favourite summer light lunch salads and very adaptable to whatever you have to hand. 

The one I made today, for two of us, used : 

8 asparagus spears

Assorted salami (this was Felino and Coppa di Parma),

Mixed spinach, watercress, rocket and lamb’s lettuce leaves 

Simply prepare the asparagus by snapping the spears at the woody section and laying out in a griddle pan.  Drizzle with garlic olive oil and season with freshly ground black pepper. 

Lay the salad leaves and then the salami on the plate while the asparagus cooks, and place the cooked asparagus on top of the salami. 

Dress the plate with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

You could add a softly poached egg and a grating, or shaving of parmesan cheese if you want to.  I often do!

Pesto Chicken

This is an absolute doddle to put together, but one of those dishes that tastes as though you’ve spent hours slaving over it! 

I prefer to make this with home-made pesto (I always use Delia’s recipe, there’s a link below to it) but you could, of course, use ready-made.  If you do, use the chilled pesto in preference to the jar pesto. 

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/galleries/classic-sauces/home-made-pesto-sauce.html 

For two people I used: 

2 chicken breasts

4 slices parma ham

2dsp pesto sauce

2 or 3 basil leaves

Salt and pepper to taste 

Simply butterfly the chicken breasts, season and spread each with a dessertspoon of pesto.  Add 1 or 2 torn basil leaves and fold over the top flap of the breasts.  Wrap in the parma ham and place in a baking dish.  Drizzle them with a little olive oil and give another seasoning of ground black pepper. 

Bake in a hot oven (190^oC / 375^oF / Gas Mark 5) for 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through. 

You can serve this with pasta, boiled potatoes or over rice.

Garlic Mushroom Risotto

I’m in full-on risotto mode at the moment!  Our weather is still very unpredictable, sunny and bright one day, lashing down with rain the next and I’m somewhat fed-up now with the winter staples of casseroles and pies.  It’s time to update the old menu and give us a taste of more springtime recipes. 

This is one of my favourites, full of flavour and quick and easy to put together.  It does use a bit more butter than my usual method, but sometimes you just have to give in to butter! 

For two people you need : 

1 tb olive oil

1oz butter

1  shallot

1  clove of garlic

1 stick of celery

1oz dried porcini mushrooms

1 cup of risotto rice

2 cups of vegetable or chicken stock  

8oz (approximately) mushrooms

1 clove of garlic

1oz (approximately) knob of butter 

1tb finely chopped fresh parsley

Generous avalanche of parmesan or pecorino romano cheese 

Begin by soaking the mushrooms in a little boiling water (1/4 cup or so).  Drain (reserving the water) and chop coarsely. 

As always with risotto, finely chop the shallot, garlic and celery and sweat gently in the olive oil for 5 – 10 minutes.  Add the butter and then the chopped porcini mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. 

Add the rice to pan and stir around in the juices, and then add the mushroom soaking water and then the stock.  You could stand at the stove and add the stock bit by bit until it is absorbed or do what I do – add it all in one go and stir from time to time.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Simmer gently, stirring from time to time.  You may need to add more boiling water if your rice has absorbed the stock too quickly so keep the kettle hot.  Cooking time will vary depending on the type of rice you are using (Arborio, Carnaroli or Nano) but the risotto should cook somewhere between 15 to 20 minutes.   

While the risotto is cooking clean and slice the mushrooms and finely chop the second clove of garlic.  Melt the butter and add the garlic, then the sliced mushrooms and sauté gently until the mushrooms are cooked. 

With the risotto, the consistency you are looking for is what the Italians call All’ Onda (with a wave) – it should be creamy and liquid enough so that when you draw your spoon through the pan the space fills up quickly, but it shouldn’t be sloppy.  If your risotto seems at all dry simply add a little more boiling water from the kettle and stir it through until the right consistency is achieved. 

When the risotto is cooked add the garlic mushrooms and chopped parsley and stir gently to combine. 

This is delicious as it is, it is even better again with a very generous avalanche of good parmesan cheese! 

Yes it’s calorie laden, but sometimes you just have to go with it and make up for the excess somewhere else!

Samphire Risotto

Samphire is one of those rare things that are still very much seasonal and not available year round.  When it is available it’s a delicious treat.  It grows wild here in Wales, in the salt marshes and has a natural affinity with both fish and lamb (salt marsh lamb!), both of which are particular favourites of mine. 

It has a delicious delicate flavour, and needs only simple treatment.  I usually steam it for a few minutes over some boiling potatoes.  Dress it with just a little butter and lemon juice.  It really sings of the sea! 

It also makes a delicious risotto, but keep it simple so that you don’t overwhealm the delicate flavour of the Samphire. 

For two people you need : 

1 tb olive oil

½  shallot

½  clove of garlic

1 stick of celery

1 cup of risotto rice

2¼ cups of very weak vegetable stock (assuming you are making it with stock cube/granules)

4oz (approximately) or so of samphire *

Juice and zest of a small lemon

1oz (approximately) knob of butter 

As always with risotto, finely chop the shallot, garlic and celery and sweat gently in the olive oil for 5 – 10 minutes.   

Add the rice to pan and stir around in what juices there are, and then add the stock.  You could stand at the stove and add the stock bit by bit until it is absorbed or do what I do – add it all in one go and stir from time to time.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Simmer gently, stirring from time to time.  You may need to add more boiling water if your rice has absorbed the stock too quickly so keep the kettle hot.  Cooking time will vary depending on the type of rice you are using (Arborio, Carnaroli or Nano) but the risotto should cook somewhere between 15 to 20 minutes.   

While the risotto is cooking rinse the samphire well in plenty of cold running water, it can be quite gritty so keep going until it is all rinsed away. 

The consistency you are looking for with the risotto is what the Italians call All’ Onda (with a wave) – it should be creamy and liquid enough so that when you draw your spoon through the pan the space fills up quickly, but it shouldn’t be sloppy.  If your risotto seems at all dry simply add a little more boiling water from the kettle and stir it through until the right consistency is achieved.

When the rice is almost cooked, add the samphire and give it just 2 or 3 minutes cooking.  Take the pan off the heat and add the butter, lemon zest and juice and stir through. 

* If you can’t get hold of samphire then you could use shredded mange tout (snow peas) instead.  If you do that they will need only a minute or two of cooking at the very end.

Liver with onions and gravy

I have to share this lovely dish with you all.  Liver is so inexpensive to buy, yet so full of iron that it makes a very nutritious frugal little meal.  It’s also very easy and quick to prepare, even though the onions do take a little while to cook down.   

I always serve it the way my family always have, with what we call potch – a mixture of mashed potato and swede (rutabaga). 

For two people I used : 

2 medium pieces of lambs liver

3 large onions

½ pint beef gravy*

1 tb olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste 

Firstly, peel and halve the onions, cutting the halves into half-moon slices.  Fry gently in the olive oil, at the very lowest simmer possible, for approximately 45 minutes – until the onions are softened and browned. 

While the onions are cooking cut the liver into thin strips and prepare the beef gravy.  You could use leftover gravy from Sunday lunch, or make instant gravy as I did! 

When the onions are cooked, push them to one side of the pan and add the liver, tossing it around until it is cooked to your liking – it will only take a few minutes.   

As soon as the liver is cooked, pour in the gravy and let it simmer in the pan with the liver and onions for a few minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

* For my American readers the gravy I used is the brown gravy we make using meat juices from a roast joint, or instant gravy.