Charming Chicken Pie

Using dishes available

When I first moved out of home, I had quite a glory box stashed away – linen, lots of pottery, fine bone china, kitchen odds and ends etc. I also had a few cookbooks – not many, as I had not done much cooking apart from at school, and didn’t know how much I would come to enjoy playing around with food later on. This was pre-Internet too (wow, I cannot imagine going back to that!).

One of the cookbooks I had was a small, slim hardback, a pocket sized book almost, containing chicken recipes. It was part of a set, and I think I had 3 or 4 different ones. I can’t remember much about the books, but I do know that my chicken pie recipe came from this time, and was one of the first successful recipes I actually cooked in my new “adult” life. For many years it was a staple in my house, and I later adapted it to make a vegetarian version by just leaving out the chicken and putting in chunks of carrot, potato, pumpkin or whatever else I had lying around.

This week I decided to make a chicken pie for the first time in about 4 or 5 years. The only trouble was, as I am in between houses (move part 1 down, move part 2 coming up in about 10 days’ time!) and most of my kitchen stuff is in boxes, I have limited baking dishes at hand – and my favourite pie dish is not at hand! I am trying to use up what is in the fridge/freezer this week, and I had two sheets of shortcrust pastry to use, but they don’t quite stretch to fit the larger-than-pie-dish I had available. I ended up just improvising and making the shape of the pie slightly freeform (that’s all the rage now anyway, right?) within the dish. I was a bit worried the filling might ooze out during cooking, but in fact it worked out really well and was totally delicious.

Freeform is trendy…

Conveniently using a store-bought cooked chook, this pie is great cold the next day, and also reheats well.

I did blind-bake the underneath pastry sheet this time, but if short of time I don’t always bother – it depends how you like your pastry, and I don’t mind mine a bit soft and raw underneath (and yeah, I did used to nick bits of pastry and raw sausage meat when Mum was making sausage rolls, as a kid).

I also had to place a square of foil over the centre after the first 10 mins or so, or else the pastry would have burnt.

Served with eggplant skewers

Chicken Pie

1 barbequed chicken

2 sheets frozen puff or shortcrust pastry, thawed

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

2 button mushrooms, finely chopped

½ green capsicum, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

⅔ cup milk

1 ¼ cups chicken stock

cracked pepper, to taste

beaten egg, to glaze

Line a greased pie dish with 1 sheet of pastry. Optional – bake-blind for a few minutes until puffed up slightly.

Pull the meat from the cooked chicken, discarding skin/bones. Depending on the size of the chicken you will probably need about ⅔ of it, so put the rest aside to use in something else.

Chop the chicken meat and place in a dish with the mushroom, capsicum, celery and parsley. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat; add flour, stir well to break up any lumps and cook until bubbling. Add the milk first and then the chicken stock, gradually, stirring constantly to form a smooth sauce. When all liquid is incorporated, fold the chicken mixture through the sauce and gently combine over low heat for a minute or so.

Pour chicken mixture into pie dish. Top with the second sheet of pastry, press down to seal edges, and glaze with beaten egg.

Bake in 200C oven for approx 30 minutes, or until pastry is puffed up and golden brown. If the pastry puffs up too quickly and starts to burn, cover with a square of foil over the centre.

For vegetarian version – leave out the chicken and instead, add chunks of vegies of your choice – if using hard vegies like potatoes, partially steam for a couple of minutes in the microwave first before adding them to the sauce. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken.

Serves 4-6 depending on appetites and what you have with it.

Happy Fooding!

 

Cold Curing Cauli Consommé!

Well, not consommé exactly, but “soup” doesn’t start with a C!

I really hate Winter. With a passion. A big passion. My flat is freezing, and even with the heating on I have to sit with 2 pairs of socks on, a quilt on my lap and a hot water bottle under my feet, in order to feel warm enough to work on my embroidery. Thank goodness Winters here are very short. This 3 month period is a nightmare for me every year and I just can’t wait for Spring and shorts/bare feet weather to be here again!

I’ve got a cold at the moment, my second this Winter which is very annoying. This time it isn’t as bad as back in April (that was a real shocker, I even went to the doctor’s which is just not like me!), but still I’ve been needing to nurture myself a bit. I picked up a whole cauliflower very cheap so decided to make cauliflower soup – but in the past I’ve never been able to make one with decent flavour. I’ve made many variations and it’s always a bit bland and boring, so this time I just made it up as I went along and in order to cleanse my nostrils haha, I chucked in a teaspoon of chilli paste. Well, that did the trick. Spicy and flavoursome, and really good for clearing my head!

Cauliflower & Leek Soup

1/2 head of a large cauliflower, cut into big chunks

1 carrot, peeled & cut into chunks

1 leek, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp chilli paste

1/4 cup white wine

4 cups chicken stock (use a vegetarian stock if you prefer)

2 tbsp soy sauce

cracked pepper, to taste

1/3 cup milk

chopped fresh parsley, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the cauliflower, carrot & leek until leek is softened – about 5 minutes.

Add thyme and chilli paste, stir to coat and saute for 1 minute.

Add wine, chicken stock, soy sauce and pepper. Bring to boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until vegies are cooked.

Remove saucepan from heat and blend the soup using a stick blender (or put in a food processor in batches, then return to saucepan).

Place back on low heat, add milk and parsley and slowly bring JUST to a simmer then turn heat off.

Serve with fresh bread and a glass of something bubbly (for medicinal purposes, of course….).

Serves 4.

Happy Winter Fooding!

Something Fishy….Or Not So Fishy.

Since returning from my amazing 🙂 UK trip I have really not done much cooking – I think I’m trying to stay in holiday mode as long as possible, and frankly sometimes it is difficult to get motivated to make stuff when there is no one to share the meals with – it’s just not the same on your own. I do, however need to eat, and you can only make do with sandwiches, couscous and home-delivered gourmet Crust pizza (mmmmm….) for so long!

I made this very easy and healthy “baked fish pie” last night, from the May issue of Recipes+ magazine. I halved the quantity, but have listed the full amounts (feeding 4) below.

I like the concept of this recipe – kid-friendly, quick and easy, economical, healthy etc – but I did find the fish itself too bland. When a recipe says “firm white fish fillets”, well you can use anything can’t you, but I do find that I just prefer salmon or tuna all the time, and apart from flake (shark) from Victorian waters, nothing much else cuts it in the fish flavour department. I will make this dish again, but use salmon for better flavour, and also I think some sort of cheese on the top of the mashed potato would finish it off nicely.

So, I like to think of this recipe as a basis to go on with, experimenting with adding other things. The celery was a great inclusion for a start, but there is scope for further improvement….and I also think you could use tofu instead of fish, if you wanted a vegetarian version.

Baked Fish Pie

1 kg potatoes, peeled, cut into 3cm pieces

1/3 cup milk

1 cup frozen peas

cracked pepper, to taste

550 gm jar tomato pasta sauce (any flavour)

2 celery sticks, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or basil

800 gm (=4) fish fillets, cut into 2 cm pieces (I used ling, but will try salmon next time – or prawns would be good!)

Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan forced).

Place potato in large saucepan; cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain; return to plan and add milk and peas. Mash until combined. Season with pepper.

While the potato is cooking spray a 2 litre (8 cup) ovenproof dish with extra-virgin-olive-oil spray. Spoon pasta sauce over base of dish, then sprinkle over celery & herbs. Arrange fish pieces over the top and bake for 10 minutes.

Spoon potato mixture over the fish (add some cheese now ??). Bake for a further 15 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Serves 4.

Happy Fooding!

Zucchini Slice

I know there are a LOT of versions of this yummy quiche dish. It’s such a great standby recipe to whip up when zucchinis are plentiful – lovely cold or hot, cut into squares as an appetizer or in larger serves as a main course. I’ve made versions with carrot or pumpkin in as well, coriander instead of parsley, and I’ved used polenta instead of flour, for a gluten-free version.

This is my “basic” recipe, which comes from my aunt and is the one I’ve been making since Zucchini Slice became trendy about 20 years ago (or longer – don’t know where all those years went).

Zucchini Slice

2 cups grated zucchini

3 spring onions, finely chopped

1 cup grated tasty cheese

1 cup SR flour

1/3 cup olive oil

4 eggs

cracked pepper, to taste

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spoon into a 20 x 30cm dish lined with baking paper, and level the top. Bake in 200C (190C for fan forced) for 20-25 minutes, until a light golden colour on top and just firm to touch. Cool in the tin and cut into squares.

Makes 24 appetizer-sized squares.

Happy Fooding!

Chicken Tagine

Marinating it all.

From one of the Two Fat Ladies‘ cookbooks – Potty, by Clarissa Dickson-Wright, I adapted this chicken dish, which is very suited to preparing in the morning before work and then easily plonking on the stove at night. And speaking of plonk, I think you should also have a glass of wine in hand while you’re keeping an eye on the chicken…..I usually have wine in one hand and a book in the other, because I am such a nerd!

I think next time I will add some green olives to this – I thought of it too late, as I had already started cooking and the shops were shut!

Chicken Tagine with Green Peas & Preserved Lemons

800 gms skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed off any fat and cut into 3cm pieces

1 large brown onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

3 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

1/4 tsp cumin seeds, ground

3 tbsp olive oil

skin of 1 preserved lemon, thinly sliced

350 gms frozen peas

cracked pepper, to taste

Place chicken in a bowl with the onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, cumin and olive oil. Mix well to coat, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to marinate.

Transfer chicken mixture to either a tagine or large saucepan, and add just enough water to cover the chicken.

Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, covered. Stir occasionally.

Add preserved lemon, peas and pepper, bring back to a simmer and cook for a further 15 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Serve with couscous or rice, naan bread and yoghurt.

Serves 4

Happy Fooding!

Wonderful White Stuff

Sometimes, you can go literally years in between making something, and then you suddenly rediscover it. That’s what happened with this recipe – I was looking for an easy dip to make, to take to a cheese-&-wine-by-the-river evening, so that I wouldn’t be just taking a lump of cheese and a packet of crackers. I wanted to flesh it out a bit, to make my little cheese platter contribution amongst 25 people, a little less plain.

Rummaging around in my recipe e-files, I saw this dip and thought hmmmm why haven’t I made this in so long?! A trip to the supermarket post-dentist (I am funding my dentist’s retirement at the moment, with all of the work I’m having done!) to buy a can of cannellini beans, and 5 minutes later the dip was sitting in the fridge alongside a Wensleydale-with-cranberries block of cheese and a bottle of Yellow, all ready to go.

The texture and flavour of this dip is similar to a chickpea hummus, only minus the garlic. It’s great spread on toast too.

White Bean Dip

425 gm can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup low-fat Greek yoghurt

1/4 cup hulled tahini (sesame paste)

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp paprika

cracked pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together in food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to eat, then serve with crackers, squares of fresh bread, triangles of pita bread, or carrot/celery sticks. And wine and friends of course 🙂

My city at dusk

Happy Summer Fooding!

Cheese & Herb Tomatoes

I’ve raved about the Australian Women’s Weekly cookbook series before, and this tasty tomato side dish is from the AWW Microwave Cookbook 2. Both of the microwave books are out of print, but I just picked up a secondhand copy from the local Salvos for my daughter – op shops and market stalls always have a few AWW cookbooks going for a song, so they’re very easy to find.

I fought having a microwave at all, for years, because I thought I would only use it for heating things up and defrosting. When I finally bought one, about 20 years ago, I was determined to learn how to use it properly and actually COOK in it, to make it worth the cost investment (they were a lot more expensive then, and my budget was tight!).

Both of the AWW microwave cookbooks were invaluable in helping me get the hang of this newfangled, quick-cooking technology, and I still use recipes from both books on a regular basis. I’ve shared a couple with you – Satay Chicken and Scalloped Potato & Bacon – and I’m sure I’ll share more with you in future.

I had children who were fussy eaters (thankfully they grew up and got over it, eventually), and a husband who was even worse! This tomato dish suited everyone’s tastes, although I had to pretend that the cheese on top was tasty cheese, as just mention of “spew cheese” would have made the dish inedible in the kids’ minds!!!

I use fresh basil whenever I have it growing (it loves the hot Summers here in Perth, and there’s a big clump growing at the moment in the communal bit of garden belonging to the flat I live in), but dried is fine too.

Cheese & Herb Tomatoes

500 gms tomatoes

30 gms butter

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/3 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese

Cut tomatoes into 1cm thick slices. Place slices, slightly overlapping, in a large shallow dish (I find a pie plate works well).

Melt butter in a small bowl in microwave; stir in breadcrumbs and herbs, and cook on HIGH for a further 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Stir in cheese, and sprinkle mixture evenly over tomatoes.

Cook on HIGH for about 4 minutes or until tomatoes are heated through.

Serves 4.

Happy Fooding!

Green Bean Salad

I’m sorry there is no photo of this yummy salad – I DID take photos but they seem to have disappeared into cyberspace somewhere. Take my word for it, this does look great!

I’ve mentioned before that I got a great new cookbook for my birthday, and have shared with you a wonderful barley recipe from it. I’ve also tried a stuffed squid dish, which tasted quite good but to be honest wasn’t tasty enough to warrant the amount of effort that went into preparing it.

This vegie salad is a delight of vibrant colours and zesty fresh flavours. Although the book says it serves 4, it actually makes quite a large amount, so is a great salad to add to your Summer bbq side dish collection.

The recipe calls for flat beans, but hey use whatever fresh beans you like. Same goes for the parsley – curly-leafed would be fine, and you could use walnuts instead of hazelnuts.

Italian Flat Bean Salad

800 gms flat green beans, trimmed

2 lemons

1 orange

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 bunches of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

80 gms hazelnuts, finely chopped

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Blanch the beans in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling water for 3 minutes or until tender, then cool under running water.

Remove the zest from the lemons and orange with a zester or vegie peeler. Cover with a little boiling water and let stand for 1 minute; drain well.

Remove the remaining pith from the fruit and discard, then cut the flesh into segments.

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate until serving.

Happy Fooding!

Ranting Chef’s Salmon

As a variation on my often-made salmon with pesto topping recipe, this week I made The Ranting Chef’s salmon with a walnut, honey & dijon mustard topping. Delicious, easy and healthy – a double hit of super dooper brain food, with the salmon and the walnuts.

Served on top of tabbouleh, and topped with avocado and Greek yoghurt, this made for a light but filling and tasty Spring evening meal for one. Actually it was VERY filling!

Happy Fooding!

Roast Veg Frittata

This frittata was SO easy, I was very impressed. It is based on a recipe from the new River Cottage Veg cookbook, and this particular recipe was recommended to me by a work colleague.

The vegies you use are completely up to you, and I didn’t have the right size baking dish as most of mine are currently still packed (and will remain so while I am living where I am at the moment – no room to put them anywhere!). This is a very forgiving dish though – you could make it in a dish of any shape or size I reckon and it would still come out fine.

 I do love roast beetroot and it was perfect in this; I was thinking maybe I’d make one just with beetroot and pumpkin next time, as the two go well together and the colours look great too.

Roast Veg Frittata

~600 gms mixed Winter veg (I used beetroot, pumpkin, carrot & potato), cut into 2-3cm chunks

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp olive oil (or use olive oil spray)

7-8 eggs

3 spring onions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp dried thyme

cracked pepper, to taste

30 gms parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat oven to 190C.

Toss the vegies in a bowl with oil and garlic, then spread out on a baking tray. Roast for about 40 minutes, until vegies are all tender and starting to caramelise in places.

Beat the eggs together with the herbs and cracked pepper.

Transfer the vegies to a 23cm square ovenproof dish, and pour the egg mixture evenly over. Scatter the parmesan cheese over the top and return to the oven for 20 minutes, until the egg is all set and the top is puffed up and starting to colour.

Serve warm or cold.

Serves 6

The original recipe called for the vegies to be roasted in the ovenproof dish, and then the egg mixture simply poured over the top; however, I wanted to spread my vegies out more, so I have cooked them on a separate oven tray first and then transferred to the final dish. I do think this would be a great party or picnic dish, as you could quite easily double it and make it in a large lasagne type dish, and cut it into small squares. A good one to make ahead too, as it’s yummy cold (I should know, I had a leftover bit for brekky the next day!).

Don’t forget to enter the Poachies giveaway, by liking my previous post!

Happy Fooding!