Chicken, mushroom and tarragon pie

1 onion

1 large leek

200g pancetta cubes

2 large garlic cloves, crushed/minced

400g mushrooms (a chestnut and small button mix is good), chopped to the size of the smaller button mushrooms

1 chicken stock pot (these Knorr ones http://bit.ly/1P5ZFX9)

200ml double cream

The leaves from 6 sprigs of fresh tarragon, chopped

Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Jus-rol puff pastry in a roll

Olive oil

1 egg

1. Fry the onion and 1 massive leek in lots of olive oil until soft. Then push them to the side of the pan and add the pancetta cubes.
2. Add the garlic, and cook for two mins stirring regularly.
3. Add the mushrooms and stir through. When they’re beginning to turn golden brown, take the mix out of the pan and set aside. Don’t worry if you miss a few bits. If you have a massive pan, just leave it in, but even my cast iron Le Creuset couldn’t take it all.. you don’t want it too squished or the chicken won’t cook.
4. Put the chicken in the pan and cook until it’s just cooked and no longer pink in the middle (test one of the biggest chunks), then add the leek and mushroom mixture back in.
5. Mix the stock jelly pot with 400ml boiling water then pour half of that in and bubble it down for a few minutes.
6. Add the tarragon, 150ml of the double cream and bubble down again for 4-5 mins, stirring regularly. Add a LOT of freshly ground black pepper, it’ll need it. Taste, and add a pinch of Maldon sea salt, more if needs be. If it’s too rich, adjust with more stock, or just thin it with some hot water. If it’s not rich enough, add more cream. 
7. Preheat the oven to 200C.
8. Roll out your puff pastry until it’s the thickness of a £1 coin. Any thinner and it won’t puff properly and that would be very sad.
9. Put a black pie bird/pie funnel/egg cup in the centre of the pie, then lay out the puff pastry on top making sure that it goes over the side of all the edges. I like to leave the excess on, because it’s delicious to pick at.
10. If you want, cut out some letters, leaves etc with any leftover pastry. I wrote YOLO and RAHA (the initials of everyone present-  Ru, Abi, Andreas and me, Harriet) because I was a bit drunk and thought it was funny.
11. Put the pie in the oven for 18-20 mins until golden and puffed.
12. Serve with sweet potato mash with a bit of butter and mustard, and green beans.

Easy Sri Lankan chicken curry

I made this on Wednesday night for a dinner party after work. I did something which I never normally do (but will now ALWAYS do), which is do loads of prep the night before. I had seen a recipe in the Sunday Times Mag for an Easy Sri Lankan Chicken Curry which looked delicious. It didn’t only sound delicious, it was super tasty – the (very discerning) guests have already asked for the recipe which is an excellent sign.

The ingredients list for the roasted curry powder is LONG. But it’s worth it, and then you’ll have them for next time. Also this is the bit you can do in advance the night before. Just plan ahead, ideally go to a great corner shop/vegetable shop (easier if you live in London) or massive supermarket where they’ll be about a quid each.

The only slightly strange thing about the recipe was that it involved almost no liquid, yet the picture looks juicy and saucy. As I didn’t want a dry curry, we were slightly liberal with the amounts (added loads more than suggested – see my annotated italic notes below). I also served it with wild rice (from M&S, which my Mum always gives me when I go home to the Lakes, in my ‘back to school’ Red Cross parcels) rather than steamed white rice because then it actually tastes of something, plus is good (ish) for you. Recipe is below the curry – it’s really very easy not to eff up rice, I promise – just follow my Dad’s rules as below.

Easy Sri Lankan chicken curry

This is a basic Sri Lankan curry. You can buy Sri Lankan roasted curry powder online or make it yourself. The harder spices will take longer to toast than the more delicate ones.

Serves 3-4

For the roasted curry powder
½ tbsp uncooked rice
A 2.5cm piece of cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods, seeds removed
½ tsp black peppercorns
2 cloves
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
½ tsp black mustard seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
A 5cm piece of pandan leaf (optional)
1 curry leaf
For the curry
1kg jointed chicken
1 tsp red chilli powder
1½ tbsp coconut (or cider) vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
A knob of ginger, chopped
A sprig of curry leaves
A 5cm stalk of lemon grass
3 cardamom pods
3 cloves
A 2.5cm piece of cinnamon stick
25ml coconut milk
1 tbsp black mustard seeds

To make the roasted curry powder, toast the rice, cinnamon, cardamom seeds, peppercorns and cloves in a large dry frying pan for 30 seconds, stirring often. Add the fennel and cumin seeds, then toast for another 15 seconds. Add the remaining spices and toast until lightly browned and aromatic. Remove from the heat, cool and grind until smooth in a coffee grinder or mini processor. You may need to remove the cinnamon stick if it is too hard. (Nutribullets are REALLY good for whizzing up spices with the two-prong whizzer- including the cinnamon stick)

In a large bowl, marinate the chicken pieces in 3 tbsp roasted curry powder, the chilli powder and 1 tbsp of the vinegar for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, curry leaves, lemon grass, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon stick. Fry until the onions are golden.Add the marinated chicken and fry until brown all over. Add 2 tbsp water to the bowl that contained the chicken, then add the liquid to the pan with the chicken. Add loads more water at this point – probably about half a pint, if not a bit more… Cover and cook on a medium heat for 20 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk (loads more than they said – I added about 3/4 of a tin), season with salt, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Grind the mustard seeds with the remaining vinegar and add to the pan. Cook for a further 2 minutes. Serve with steamed rice.

HOW NOT TO MESS UP RICE

I always use wild rice (M&S is best)

1. Chop up an onion into small pieces. Boil a massive kettle of water at the same time.
2. Rinse the rice in a sieve to remove the starch. I always used to skip this stage for laziness but honestly, it is worth it. Shake it to dry as much as possible.
3. Heat a large saucepan and put an enormous, long glug of olive oil in it. Heat it, add the onion, soften the onion gently until it’s translucent and yellow but not brown around the edges (if it goes brown, the pan is too hot)
4. Add the rice to the onion, stir it around well so that it mixes with the onion and the oil. Keep stirring, over a medium heat – don’t let it stick. In a couple of minutes, it will start to sizzle.
5. When it starts sizzling, pour in the boiling water. I aim for 1:2 (one third water in the pan, two thirds water). Sometimes, I put a bit more water in and it’s delicious and sticky. Sometimes I put a bit less in, and it’s more textured and al dente. Both are tasty. Make sure the heat under the pan is such that the water is just bubbling. Add an enormous, over-generous pinch of sea salt (Maldon is best) then give it a big stir, then bugger off and leave it alone.
6. Put a pinger on for 15 minutes. It’ll take 18 mins probably, but check that it’s ok for water after 15.
7. It shouldn’t need to be strained – the rice should have eaten all the water, and it should be perfect. Give it a big stir and serve.

Delicious chicken and aubergine tray bake with preserved lemons

A few Fridays ago (when it was still 2014), I had a dinner party for lots of fellow wine hags and made Annie Bell’s chicken and aubergine tagine traybake from her completely excellent Low-Carb-Revolution book. The aubergines go all gooey and soak up the syrupy lemony chickeny juices. I cannot for the life of me remember what I exactly served it with,  but I presume that in the interests of carb avoidance and middle-class grain worship, it was probably quinoa. I’d even go so far as to say it was probably quinoa mixed up with lemon juice, chopped coriander, lots of Maldon sea salt and some very good quality olive oil (which, by the way, every kitchen should have for drizzling. Ask Santa for some next Christmas in your stocking). As this is made with chicken legs and thighs, it’s pretty cheap to make. Hopefully you have a nice market or veg shop who will sell aubergines at a normal price, not sodding Tesco who sells them for about a pound a piece. Then again, aubergines are the meat of the vegetarian world so….

THE RECIPE

Serves 6

1½ tsp ground ginger

1½ tsp paprika

½ tsp ground cumin

About 20 saffron filaments, ground

Extra virgin olive oil

6 free-range chicken thighs

6 free-range chicken drumsticks

3 aubergines, cut into 1-2cm thick slices, ends discarded

Sea salt and black pepper

3 red onions, peeled, halved and sliced

100g preserved lemons, thinly sliced if baby or chopped if large, seeds discarded

Coarsely chopped coriander, to serve

1 Blend the spices with 3 tbsp olive oil in a small bowl and brush all over the chicken pieces to coat them, placing them in a large bowl as you go. Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 1 hour, but preferably several.

2 Preheat the oven to 210C/Gas 7. Place a ridged, cast-iron griddle over a medium heat. You will need to cook the aubergine slices in batches. Brush one side of as many slices as will fit on the griddle with olive oil, season and grill for 2-3 minutes until striped with gold. Brush the top side, turn and grill. They should still appear underdone, as they will cook further in the oven. Remove to a plate. Season the chicken pieces on both sides and grill for 1-2 minutes on either side to colour – again, you will need to do this in batches. Toss the onions in a bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil.

3 Arrange the aubergines, onions and preserved lemons in a couple of roasting dishes (about 25 x 38cm), and nestle the chicken pieces between them, thighs skin-side up. Drizzle over a little more oil and roast for 35-40 minutes, turning the vegetables halfway through with a spatula, leaving the chicken pieces uppermost. The vegetables should be golden and sitting in syrupy juices. Scatter with coriander and serve.