I’ve been on a sugar high of late and I’m slowly, but surely realising that this is not a very good thing. Although I keep telling my mum that I will be a more conscious eater once I hit the 25 mark, I know that starting sooner could only hold me in good stead. To move forth in this direction I cooked up some with grilled chicken and vegetable pasta, using very little oil and that too extra virgin olive oil.
Pasta with cream is not the ideal light food, but then I used only a few spoonfuls and lots of vegetables!
Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta
Yield: 4 servings
250g dried durum wheat pasta, boiled according to package instructions
300g tomatoes
A few sun dried tomatoes, chopped up
250g, baby aubergines, sliced
A splash of balsamic
300g chicken, boneless
5 tbsp cream (3 for marinating the chicken and 2 for the pasta)
1 onion, chopped coarsely
3 tbsp parsley, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil, a little at a time as required
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Parmesan shavings, more for the table
For the chicken:
- Poke the chicken with a fork, rub it with sea salt and then add 3 tbsp cream. Let it sit for an hour on the counter top or in the fridge overnight.
- Next, heat the pan or a ridged grill pan if you have one (not necessary, but I *love* the beautiful lines that appear) and add a little oil. Place the chicken in the pan. Do not keep turning – let it cook through for a few minutes.This keeps the chicken moist and will help achieve uniform, distinct lines when using a grill pan. Let it cook for a few more minutes, until it’s not pink anymore.
- Remove from heat, and then slice the chicken into bite sized pieces or strips. Reserve for later.
For the vegetables:
Tomato: Peel (you have an aversion for skins like me) and deseed the the tomatoes and grill them until slightly tender, but still hold shape.
Aubergine: Wash the sliced aubergine with salt – I think I do this because gramma said it helps get rid of the bitter flavour that exists sometime. In a grill pan, heat a little oil and spread the sliced aubergine to cook. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Once both are done, reserve for later.
Finally, for putting it all together:
- In a large pan or Dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp oil and add the chopped onion. Let it cook till it’s translucent.
- Add the reserved chicken and vegetables and the pasta and toss everything together.
- Sprinkle the chopped parsley. Season to taste. And serve with Parmesan shavings!
And that’s how you get yourself a healthy meal! My lil’ sis polished off her plate of pasta although she’s not an aubergine fan.
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Every food blogger would agree with me when I say way blogging changes how you cook. For me, not having too much time means I take time out only to make and photograph (sometimes this takes forever!) things I really, really like. Therefore, sweet bakes and desserts take centre stage for me. But today I cooked myself a Chinese meal.
Knowing my love for food, my aunt got me some bottled sauces that she uses back in London. Did I say
bottled sauces? And you thought I’d never mention those words knowing my love for things made from scratch. But what’s a girl to do when it’s a gift, right? Although, I did use a whole lot of fresh vegetables! Now that I have a (somewhat) clear conscience, let me tell you what I did with my first bottle of Sharwood’s Black Bean and Red Pepper Sauce.
Chicken in Black Bean Sauce
Yield: 4 servings
2 chicken breasts, cubed and marinated with 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger and some salt (30 minutes should be fine, I left mine overnight in the fridge)
1 onion, quartered and separated
7 oz. / 200g mixed peppers
7 oz. / 200g broccoli
4 oz. / 100g mushrooms
4 oz. / 100g baby corn
Peanut oil for frying ( a little as you go)
1 bottle black bean sauce
1 cup water (or as per consistency desired)
- Cut the vegetables except for the onion and fry them separately on high flame in a wok with just enough oil. Add salt, but not too much since the sauce already has enough of it. Also, the vegetables are going to cook further in the sauce, so leave them a little crunchy.
- Now heat about 1 tbsp oil and add the cubes of chicken and onion to it. Let it cook till it’s not pink anymore and got a slightly golden ginger crust.
- Add the reserved vegetables and the black bean sauce. Simmer for a few minutes and it’s ready!
Chicken fried rice
Yield: 4 servings
4 cups rice (leftover from yesterday or cooked a day before in chicken stock and refrigerated overnight, like I did)
4 oz. /100g chicken, diced finely
4 oz. / 100g mushrooms
1 carrot, diced finely
Some broccoli for the bust of green
2 scrambled eggs
Peanut oil for frying
- Just like in the sauce, fry the vegetables separately.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons oil in the wok and cook the chicken till it’s completely done.
- Next, add the rice, stirring frequently so that it doesn’t get too crispy on the side that is in contact with the wok.
- Add the vegetables. Stir a little more.
- Let the rice heat through completely till you can see it steaming.
The rice turned out to be more delicious that I expected. It wasn’t something too elaborate since it was going to be paired with the chicken in black bean sauce, but yet it was excellent just served on it’s own. Cooking it in chicken stock gives it so much flavour. The chicken gravy turned out to be a tad on the sweet side, so the next time around I’ll add some fresh green chillies to counter that. All in all, a nice meal.
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I have never made a whole stuffed chicken before and I was daunted by the task at hand. Folks at home usually prefer to buy boneless chicken or pre-cut pieces. And there is never any skin; so I’ve never seen a whole chicken being made. To begin with I read through Jamie Oliver’s The Naked Chef where I found a wonderful roast chicken recipe and step by step instructions as to how I must handle the bird. It was basically some herbs, lemon and seasoning.
I bought some bell peppers, pearl onions, baby corn, mushrooms and pre-cut vegetable (cauliflower, french beans, carrots). I must mention here that I NEVER use pre-cut vegetables – it’s against my cooking principles. I strongly believe in putting in that extra effort and doing things from scratch, even if it is something as simple as making that choice of not buying pre-cut vegetables – but when life gets in the way of cooking, there is little one can do.
And so I began my first roast chicken. I unwrapped the chicken I had bought I peeped into the cavity. It was clean. After rinsing it with water a couple of times I saw some offal sticking out. I immediately summoned my mum to help me with the eeky stuff. I admire the ease with with she cleaned it with her bare hands. I could never do that. If I see something that’s not to my liking I’ll probably just cook it and not eat it at all. (That’s what I did when I made lobster – I just couldn’t get myself to eat it after all the cleaning. No, my mum wasn’t around then).
So anyway, after cleaning the chicken and rinsing it thoroughly with salt water I dabbed all the water in and around it so that I could begin with the stuffing. I used a mix of fresh and dried herbs, whatever was available.
Roast chicken does not make a pretty picture. But it’s delicious!
Roast Chicken
For the chicken stuffing and sprinkling:
Tarragon
Oregano
1 lime, halved
Freshly cracked pepper
Lime and pink pepper salt
Olive oil
Veggies I put in the same pan:
Cauliflower
Carrots
French beans
Potatoes
Pearl onions
Whole garlic cloves
Red Jalepenos
- Preheat the oven to 225ºC/425ºF. Rub the cavity with salt and a little olive oil. Pull up the skin from the tip of the breast, making sure it doesn’t rip. Separate the skin and stuff this area between the skin and the meat with the stuffing mixture. Pull the skin back in place.
- Stuff the cavity with the herb mix and the lime and tie the chicken tightly.
- Slash the thighs. Rub oil all over the chicken skin and season with salt and pepper and the herb mix.
- In a tray place the chicken, breast side down and allow it to cook for 5 -10 minutes. Also place the vegetables around it and sprinkle with some seasoning. Now place the chicken on its bottom and cook for 1 hour. The excess fat that drips of the chicken will cook the vegetables.
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Balsamic Roasted vegetables
I like to nibble on roast veggies along with my meal, and balsamic roast vegetables were a perfect accompaniment to the roast chicken (even though I’d already put enough in the tray).
It’s so easy to make. Just put together your favourite vegetables in a tray, I used yellow and red bell peppers, baby corn, halved mushrooms, zucchini and cauliflower. Sprinkle this with salt (used my favourite lime and pink pepper salt again 
), splash with a good amount of balsamic and let it cook at 200ºC/400ºF for 30 minutes.
Serve the chicken and vegetables with a crusty baguette. This makes for a delicious Sunday afternoon meal.
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