Continental Chicken with Chorico Rice

I made something similar to what I used to eat as a kid in Portugal, however with a twist, I used about 200mls of stout.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 Onion (chopped)
• 2 garlic Cloves (minced)
• 2 bay leafs
• 200mls of stout
• 1 egg white (whipped to peak) 1 egg yolk (mixed with a couple of milk spoons)
• 150grs sliced chorizo
• 500grs long grain rice
  
• pinch of paprika
• salt and pepper to taste.
• 400grs of chicken thighs skinless and boneless (I took skin and bones myself ... cheaper)
• 4 olive oil spoons
  

Place on the stove on high heat, pour the olive oil in + the pepper and salt to taste + paprika. Once hot, add the onion and garlic and let it cook till golden, once it reaches this stage add in the chicken chopped into cubes + chorizo (saving 8 slices) and stir continuously until all sealed, once fully sealed add the stout, reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 7-10 minutes.

While that is doing, place another pan with water and a little salt, once the water is boiling put the rice there cooking, once cooked drain the rice and rinse with boiling water, then once drain again put the rice with the chicken mixture, and fold until well mixed, then add to this the beaten egg white and fold it in.

Pour this mixture onto a Pyrex tray to go in the oven which you previously heated to 200c. On the the top brush the egg yolk. Place all in the oven and leave it for 15 minutes, until golden brown on top. Then serve it, put some salad if you want (I put some with balsamic vinegar) eat it and enjoy it.

Sausages w/ Broccoli & Cauliflower Gratin and Roasted Garlic Potatoes

How beautiful this dish is....However is so simple and easy to make that I would challenge you to make it. This dish is made of three parts: Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratin, Fresh pork Sausages and finally Roasted new potatoes.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 300grs Cauliflower (obviously do more if you want, separated into pieces)
• 300grs Broccoli (obviously do more if you want, separated into pieces)
• 1 and 1/2 cup of grated cheese
• 1/2 glass of warm water with plain flour well dissolved
• 300mls of milk (approx)
• 1 soup spoon of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic (1 crushed, 1 pureed)
• 3 soup spoons of olive oil
• Seal Salt and black pepper (and a little nutmeg)
• enough sausages for all guests
• 1kg new potatoes
  

Cut new potatoes if big in half or three parts if very small leave them whole, important is that the pieces are all of identical size, boil them until just fully cooked. Place them in a bowl with the pureed garlic and a pinch of sea salt (also you can sprinkle some paprika) and toss these, set it aside. Now put some water in a pan take it to the fire and place in the pan the broccoli and the cauliflower put a lid on and let it cook until nearly fully cooked but still very firm. While this is doing is time to do your bechamel.....very easy ...put the milk in a pan with the butter, until this one fully melts at this stage add a pinch of salt a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper, also add the water with the flour always mixing to not form lumps, once is fairly thick the consistency of gravy add the 1 cup of cheese again stirring and this should take it to the next level consistency of heavy gravy. And that is it your bechamel is made. Now spread the (veg) cauliflower and broccoli into a Pyrex tray, and pour over to cover all of it them top it up with the left over 1/2 cup of cheese (before pouring the bechamel you can sprinkle a little salt over the veg as these ones were cooked with no salt). Put the coated potatoes in another tray and stick both the potatoes and the veg trays in the oven (previously heated to 200c) leave it all there for 20 minutes, to brown. Meanwhile in a pan put the olive oil the crushed garlic and some paprika heating and, once hot fry shallow fry the sausages (previously butterflied) until golden (remember these sausages can be vegetarian) in my house I done half and half (half veg sausages and half turkey sausages) as my wife is a vegetarian. Assemble as in picture above, and you can if you wish also make some nice gravy. Find bellow pictures, the the cooked dishes separately.

Prawn Egg Tortilla (also known as spanish omelet)

Recipe Ingredients (for the omelet):

• 1 large red potato (thinly sliced and part-boiled)
• 6 baby plum tomatoes (other tomatoes with do sliced)
• 1 onion (sliced)
• 1 small green pepper (sliced thinly)
  
• 5 eggs (mixed)
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• 250grs king prawns (cooked and pealed)
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 3 soup spoons of olive oil (maybe a little extra)
• 1 tea spoon sweet paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

This one is very straight forward to do, really easy. Place a non-stick frying pan on the stove, gas on high, once really hot place the par boiled potato slices in the oil with a little salt and pepper, until golden brown on both sides (so you need to turn them occasionally).

Once this is done set them aside, add a little extra oil to the pan, and once again hot, add the onion, pepper, garlic and paprika cook until the onion is semitransparent (about 5 minutes) now add the tomatoes and the prawns cook until the tomatoes are partially cooked and the prawns are very hot (about 3 minutes), empty the pan contents and also the potatoes that you had set aside + the parsley into the bowl that contains the five mixed eggs, give it a stir, and pour back into the non stick pan that is still on the fire, reduce fire to medium-high, start folding gently until the egg is not longer liquid but still moist, once this is achieved stop folding and let it cook on one side till golden brown.

Then flip it to the other side, if you good do it like a pancake if not use a plate to aid you turn the omelet over. Once cooked on both sides serve it with some wedges and mixed leaf salad (or anything you like). I believe I already have posted how to do potato wedges, just look through my blog.. Any questions ask...please enjoy.

Chicken Curry Risotto

Fantastic risotto I wanted to combine two different types of foods and managed to successfully do just that with this dish.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 400grs chicken thighs (de-boned and skinned, diced)
• 1 cup of frozen peas (you can use fresh ones too)
• 1 red pepper (other colours will do like orange or yellow, not green though| diced)
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• 1 onion (diced)
• 1 large carrot (thinly sliced)
  
• 400grs basmati rice (long grain will also do, but be aware is likely to cook faster)
• 1 bunch of coriander
• 1 soup spoon of premixed curry powder medium hot (choose your preference, so mild or hot or very hot will do too)
• 1 soup spoon of turmeric
• 1 tea spoon of cumin powder
• 1 pint of vegetable stock or chicken stock
• 1 tomato can (chopped)
• 1 soup spoon of tomato paste
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• 3 soup spoons of olive oil
  

You start by putting the onion; garlic; pepper; cumin; turmeric; curry powder and salt & pepper, in a pan where you heated till very hot the olive oil. Cook all of his until the onion is semitransparent, at this stage add the carrot and the chicken (you can add a little more olive oil if to dry and a few drops of water) cook until the chicken is sealed.

At this stage add the rice always stirring cook for a further 2 minutes at this stage add the tomato tin, peas and the tomato paste, keep cooking and stirring occasionally so it doesn't get stuck, as it get dry add a little stock, keep cooking and stirring and repeat the process until all stock is gone the whole thing should last about 15-18 minutes never let the mixture get to dry as risotto is supposed to be slightly sloppy, also remember if not enough the stock to keep all with the right consistency add water (the reason why I say this, is because there are many varieties of rice even within the basmati range, some rices soak more liquid that others, never do this with precooked rice as this is rubbery).

Once all is cooked add the coriander (chopped) give it a stirr, turn the cooker off, put a cloth over the top of the pan and the lid over the cloth and let it rest for about 3 minutes, then serve.