Chicken with Flageolet Beans, Leeks and Rosemary

Posted on 06/02/2019 by Anna

I am on a bit of a mission to increase our intake of pulses – they are cheap, filling and with a little magic can be quite delicious. I love them (now) but one of my children isn’t mad about them so inevitably I have a bee in my bonnet to think of delicious ways to serve them up. To be fair I didn’t really like pulses much when younger and would pick them out of a cassoulet or chilli and line them up around my plate. It was always disappointing then to be asked to finish them, at this point cold and without anything more palatable to help them on their way.

This is a delicious combo then, leeks and beans to please me and crispy skinned chicken to please us all. Don’t panic that four thighs aren’t enough, this is surprisingly filling and you can always serve another green veg or perhaps a crusty baguette and salad alongside.

The leeks, flageolet and rosemary work particularly well together and this makes a great side dish to roast lamb. Pop it into an ovenproof dish, top with breadcrumbs and finish in the oven until crispy above and bubbling beneath.

Roast chicken with leeks, flageolet beans and rosemary

You can of course use dried flageolet, just remember to soak and cook them according to pack instructions prior to using them below.

4 chicken thighs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large or two medium leeks

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 sprig rosemary, leaves finely chopped to yield around 1 teaspoon

1 tin (400g) flageolet beans, drained and rinsed

250ml chicken stock

2-3 tablespoons double cream

Chopped chives or parsley (optional)

Heat the oven to 200, put half a tablespoon of the oil into a roasting tin, turn the chicken in the oil, season with salt and cook for half an hour. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan and cook the leek gently, without colouring, until soft. Add the garlic and rosemary, cook for a minute or two then add the beans, stock and cream. Simmer for about 10 minutes until a little reduced then check for seasoning. After its 30 minutes remove the chicken from the oven, add the leek mixture to the pan without getting sauce on the now crispy skin and return to the oven for a final 5-10 minutes until gently bubbling and gold skinned. Scatter over the chives or parsley if you are using them. Serves 4.

Chicken with Harissa, Potatoes and Broccolini

Posted on 02/05/2018 by Anna

A few of you may recognise this as one of my earliest recipes on these pages. So long ago in fact that it doesn’t even have a photograph. Although I cook my recipes over and over again this is the first time I’ve duplicated one here. The reason being I felt it lacked fanfare originally and is such a reliable and delicious lunch or supper that I thought it deserved a shout out, as they say. Also and somewhat inevitably, I have tinkered with it adding potatoes to the original to make it a complete one pan meal.

It is this sort of dish that I find an absolute Godsend on weekdays when I’m frazzled and need to think of (yet another) family supper that is quick, easy, undemanding, not too expensive and above all delicious – clean plates after all are what we want to see. This ticks all those boxes, cooked in one pan which you can bring to the table, incorporates potatoes, meat and veg along with a super easy spice addition by way of the harissa. I refer you here to a comment I made about the original which still stands – “Crisp skinned chicken sliding off the bone in a spicy red jacket with crunchy greens to give verdant vigour!”

Chicken with Harissa and Broccolini

If you like things a little spicier feel free to add more harissa and if you want it a little saucier, add a glug of white wine with the final teaspoon of harissa.

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

8 waxy potatoes, halved

5 teaspoons harissa paste

1 pack tenderstem broccolini

Chopped parsley (optional)

Preheat the oven to 190. Put the potatoes and oil in a large baking pan and turn to coat. Put half a teaspoon of harissa under the skin of each thigh and squidge a bit to spread. Put the chicken in with the potatoes, season and roast 30 minutes. Towards the end of this cooking time blanch the broccolini in boiling water for 1 minute and drain. Remove the chicken from the oven, stir the last teaspoon of harissa into the cooking juices and then fit the broccoli in and around the chicken and potatoes (put some of the chicken on the potatoes if that helps). Return to the oven for 10 minutes. Season, sprinkle with parsley if you like and serve, this is enough for 2 adults and 2 children but you can multiply it at will.

Camp Fajitas

Posted on 31/07/2016 by Anna

I only have to hear Van McCoy’s The Hustle and I am transported back to Yorkshire that hot summer of 1976. The fair came to our local town, Ripon and one evening, as a treat, we went to check it out. The market square was full dodgems, waltzers and even a big wheel. The air was heady with excitement, the music and the residual heat of the day. Girls in their cheesecloth tops and cut off jeans hot pants and the boys watchful with their James Hunt hairdo’s and a packet of JPS tucked casually into capped t shirt sleeves. The memory stays with me and reminds me of that long dusty hot summer with the school holidays reaching ahead for weeks. Without any internet or electronic games we had to amuse ourselves and there was a lot of playing in the garden, den building, making camps followed by general milling around.

These summer holidays have started off promisingly warm and I am keen for my children to fill their time as I did, mucking about outside, splashing in the river and climbing trees. One way I’ve found to keep them busy is to get them to cook and campfire cooking has got to be up there as the best kind. Even the most bored or bolshy child desperate to get onto their phone can usually be tempted by the thrill of the fire and ensuing feast.

These fajitas are perfect for a camp cook out, a doddle to make and seem to keep everyone happy. You can cut up the vegetables and chicken or depending on their age, get your little darlings to do it for you, I am all for a bit of delegation/child labour. We made the flatbreads you see in the picture and they could not be easier but by all means buy some if that is a step too far. Much to my childrens’ disapproval I like to add lettuce to my wraps and if you are particularly carb-phobic you could dispense with the bread all together and fold your chicken and peppers into a large lettuce leaf.

There are all manner of goodies you can add to your wraps. I don’t add too much chilli when cooking to keep these family friendly so a drop of two of sriracha is mandatory for me and we always have sour cream or greek yogurt. I might make a chunky guacamole or my quick pickled onions (August 2014) which add fabulous crunch and tang – the point is that the children love making these to their own specifications. If you make the bread dough first then this can rise whilst you get on with the chicken and vegetables. I use my usual bread recipe but on this occasion it only needs one rise before rolling them out. If you are dong these on a camp fire I find a paella pan or large frying pan the best option. Cook the filling first then put it on a plate to one side whilst you cook the flatbreads, they only take a few minutes each and this way you can use just one pan.

Camp Fajitas

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onions, peeled and sliced

3 large peppers, cored and sliced

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

2 large chicken breasts, sliced into fairly small pieces

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

A pinch of cayenne pepper (more if you want it a little more spicy)

Salt and pepper

500g strong white bread flour plus a bit extra for rolling out

10g fast action yeast

10g fine salt

300ml lukewarm water

Mix the flour, yeast and salt with the water and combine to a dough. If you are at home and have a stand mixer use this otherwise knead by hand for about 10 minutes then leave the dough covered for an hour to prove. Put the oil into your large pan (see intro) and cook the onions and peppers with a good pinch of salt over a medium heat until soft, probably around 20 minutes. Towards the end of this time add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Put the peppers and onions on a plate and cook the chicken in the same pan, you shouldn’t need anymore oil but add a bit if necessary. Once golden add the spices and a pinch of salt, cook for a few more minutes then add around 100ml of water to create a bit of sauce, check for seasoning. Put all this onto the plate with the peppers and onions and wipe the pan with a bit of kitchen roll but don’t bother washing it.

Take balls of the bread dough about the size of a satsuma and roll out in a little flour until the size of a large side plate. Keeping the pan on the heat cook these for a couple of minutes either side until slightly puffed up and browning at the edges. Put each flatbread into a folded tea towel to keep warm and soft while you do the rest – you should get about 8 to 10. Bung the filling back into the pan if it needs warming through and then tuck in along with any extra bits and pieces you have decided on (see intro).

Chicken with Chorizo, Parsley and Lemon

Posted on 04/03/2015 by Anna

It is a funny time of year. Yesterday I got caught in a hailstorm whereas today there is a definite whiff of Spring in the air. Primroses are nudging snowdrops out of the way, lambs are bouncing and I am tempted to put washing out on the line. Rather as fashion magazines talk of that tricky between seasons time, what to wear, what to wear? So in the kitchen we can feel caught on the hop. Rich, hearty, belt loosening stews feel a little de trop now but salady lunches are still a way off. Winter veg remains on offer and the bounty of Spring produce is yet to appear.

This then is the answer. An unbelievably easy, one pot wonder that is both cooked and served in the same pan (less washing up, marvellous) and doesn’t require any hard to find or particularly seasonal ingredients. Indeed, if like me you tend to keep chorizo in the fridge, then you may well have all the necessary to hand. This will serve you well for lunch or supper and is just the ticket if you have friends over for dinner as it will tick along in the oven quite happily whilst you sit with a glass of something chilled. You don’t really need to serve anything with it but my favourite green salad (January 2014 without the croutons I think) would be a verdant, refreshing side dish if you want.

For pudding I can’t think of anything better than Vanilla Pannacotta (July 2014) but instead of the summer blackcurrants in that recipe serve it with some baked rhubarb. I made this last week for a girls lunch and was delighted with the combination, both creamy and refreshing, perfect for Spring – see the photograph at the bottom.

Chicken with Chorizo, Parsley and Lemon

I serve this alongside a bowl of yogurt that has a little finely chopped garlic and salt added, it works an absolute treat with the chickpeas. By the way, if chickpeas are really not your thing (ahem Miss and Master May) then omit them and serve with waxy little new potatoes which will be equally fabulous. Incidentally don’t scrimp on the parsley, it is very much part of the dish and not just a garnish!

1 red onion

100g chorizo, sliced into discs

4 chicken thighs

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lemon, halved

1 tin of chickpeas

1 small packet parsley, chopped

Plain yogurt to serve, see introduction

Preheat the oven to 200. Peel and cut the onion into eighths and put into a large roasting pan with the oil, chorizo, chicken and garlic and turn it all over in the oil. Season with salt and put in the oven for 30 minutes. After this time take the pan out, baste the chicken, add the chickpeas and squeeze both lemon halves over it all and put these halves in the pan too. Cook for a further 10 minutes, remove from the oven. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve. This amount serves two but it is easily doubled or tripled.

Vanilla Pannacotta with Rhubarb

Chicken with Peppers and Onions

Posted on 05/03/2014 by Anna

I look through cook books and magazines checking out the new recipes or twists on classics and whilst I love some of the ideas and promise myself I will try this or that, what I really want is a simple idea for supper. What to cook for supper. How many times do you ask yourself that in a week? Well presumably 7 but add to that some children’s teas or a supper party for friends and it become a highly repetitive question. What I would rather not have however, is highly repetitive suppers – you know, chicken on Mondays, sausages on Tuesdays etc.

So we need more supper dishes. Something stress free that won’t demand too much attention or time at the end of the day, won’t break the bank and is properly lip smacking delicious.

This then, ticks all those boxes. A few ingredients bunged in a pan and roasted in the oven. What a testimony to the sum being so much greater than the parts. Crispy skin on the chicken, soft sweet peppers and onions with a winey sauce that is nothing short of divine. This cooks itself whilst you pour yourself a glass of wine and get on with something else, or better still, with nothing at all.

Chicken with Peppers and Onions

I serve this with something green, usually wilted spinach or green beans and new or waxy potatoes, roasted in the oven at the same time as the chicken. It’s a great, easy, weekday supper but also something I would happily serve to friends. You can up the amount of chilli flakes if you like, I usually leave them out if the children are eating this with us.

2 medium onions, peeled and cut into sixths

1 large pepper, red, orange or yellow, cut into slices

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 desertspoon olive oil

2 chicken legs (or 4 chicken thighs in which case reduce the cooking time a little)

Salt and pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optional)

100ml white wine

Fresh parsley or oregano, a small handful chopped

Preheat the oven to 200. Put the onion, pepper and garlic in a baking pan and turn in the olive oil. Put the chicken legs on top, give it a good sprinkle of salt and pepper and the chilli flakes if using. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes then pour in the wine and give it a further 15 minutes. If your chicken legs are large you may need a little more time. When the chicken is bronzed and cooked and the vegetables soft remove from the oven, sprinkle over the herbs. Serves 2 but easily double or tripled.

For some other fab supper ideas try Claypot Chicken (May 2013 and no, you don’t need a clay pot) which still reigns supreme in top spot. Nipping at its heels though is Chicken with Harissa (October 2012)…. one of my very early recipes and one still without a photograph I’m afraid but well worth a try.

Claypot Chicken

Posted on 21/05/2013 by Anna

You know that feeling at the end of the day – the one when all you are fit for is the sofa. Ideally with a glass of wine in one hand and the other held out expectantly for a plate of food which someone else has cooked to be placed in it. I regularly feel like that and I am sure I am not the only one. Much as I love cooking and I do, I really do, there are times when I feel like I can’t be bothered. Invariably at the tired end of the day, possibly after a difference of opinion with one of my children, the house refusing to clean itself or the dog taking himself on a long unscheduled walk and having to be found.

These are the evenings when you need this recipe – easy, quick and totally restoring, Never mind my top 10 or top 5, this one is firmly on the podium in the top 3.

I must point out one thing, which you may have spotted already, it is not a looker. As they say though, never judge a book by its cover and in culinary terms, this is that book. I’ve tried prettying it up, sprinkling it with this or that but it doesn’t work. Moreover it would be missing the point. This recipe is beyond simple, uses very few ingredients and is cheap. To zhuzz it up just for the sake of the photograph would be wrong.

I gave the recipe to one of my brothers ages ago and kept asking him if he had made it. I guessed not because I hadn’t heard the rapturous applause. Eventually (after some badgering from me I must admit) he cooked it for this wife – he says they now have it once a week. So do we, it really is that good.

So please take my word (and my brothers, and my husbands) for it and try this.

Claypot Chicken

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, chopped

1 thumb of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

4 chicken thigh fillets, each cut into 6 pieces

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon soft brown sugar

4 tablespoons basmati rice