"Valentino Hot" Chicken with chickpeas Wedges and Salad

Receita em Português AQUI

I call this chicken Valentino chicken as it has two discerning characteristics that live up to the name, is spicy hot and very red in colour..you'll see below why. :D

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 3-4 people)

• 400-500grs chicken thighs (skinless and boneless)
  
• 2 cooked beetroot's
  
• 1 medium onion
  
• 2 garlic cloves
  
• 1 large chilli (chopped "including seeds and veins")
  
• 1 chopped plum tomato tin
  
• 2 soup spoons of tomato concentrate
  
• 1/2 red pepper
  
• 1/2 chickpeas tin
  
• 1/3 glass of light red wine or rosé
  
• 4 spring onions (chopped finely)
  
• some olive oil
  
• salt and black pepper (to taste)

Place a pan on the stove at high temp, put enough olive oil in to cover the bottom of the pan, and once it is hot add: the onion, beetroot and red pepper, let these cook for a little while (about 3 minutes) and then piece by piece add the chicken and as soon as it seal on one side turn the chicken around to seal the other side too as this helps to keep the juices in keeping the chicken moist and tender. Chicken which you previously marinated in the (garlic, chilli and wine " see photo") for around 30 mins to 1 hr.

After the chicken is completely sealed ad the marinating liquid including the chillies and garlic into the pan, and together with that ad also the two, tomato paste and chopped plum tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for a good 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Now temporarily remove the chicken, put the sauce in a jug and blitz it with the blender, back into the pan with the sauce and add the chickpeas and put the chicken back there too, and now cook for a further 5 minutes so that the chickpeas heat up properly (as is already cooked in the tin), then arrange it on the plate with the wedges and a little salad or do it your own way. Cheers!!

Recipe Ingredients: (for the wedges, enough for 3-4 people)

• 400grs potatoes (cut lengthways in six, to form wedges)
  
• 1 soup spoon plain flour
  
• 1 pinch of fresh ground black pepper
  
• 1 pinch of fresh ground sea salt
  
• 1/2 tea spoon of chilli powder
  
• 3 spoons of olive oil

Place a pan with boiling water on the stove at high temp with a little salt, place the potato wedges inside and part-cook them (about 4-5 minutes) remove and drain the potatoes, and place them in a bowl, placing all the remaining ingredients in the bowl with the potatoes, toss them in the bowl not using any utensils, just toss them until they are fully covered by the ingredients.

Now scatter them in a tray and place them in the oven at 200c for about 15-20 until golden brown, and at this point they are ready to serve. Now these potato wedges are easy to make and very versatile, as you can pick and choose what aromatic herbs you put in if any you can put dry herbs or fresh, or even different powders...one of my favourite is paprika and garlic powder. Anyway have fun...that is what cooking is all about having fun and experimenting.

Bellow was another meal I made using some left overs from the above meal, I had a little sauce and chickpeas left as well as a couple of chicken pieces, so I cut the chicken in small bits, got the sauce (after heating it) and chickpeas in a blender added a couple of glugs of olive oil (extra virgin) blitz it to a smooth paste (to pesto consistency) . Cooked some pasta and and added the sauce with the chicken bits mixed in into the pasta (in this case spaghetti) also chopped up finely some spring onions and scattered over the top of the dish for added décor and taste. et voila...bon apetit...

Liver and Onions "classic" with Fresh cream and Spring Onion Mash

Receita em Português AQUI

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 2)

• 1 large onion (thinly sliced)
  
• 2 garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
• 2 bay leaves (cut in half)
• 1 glass of white wine
• 300grs ox liver
• 4 large potatoes (pealed and quartered)
  
• 4 spring onions (thinly chopped)
  
• 100mls single cream
• 1 soup spoon of butter
• a pinch of nutmeg powder (or grate a little)
• salt and pepper to taste (also a little milk if you find mash too thick)
• a glug of olive oil

I am aware you all may know this recipe already as is a classic, but I am sure some people do not.
Peal and quarter the four large potatoes, put them in a pan with water, place it on the stove on high, once reaches boil reduce it to min, and let it boil gently, should take about 15-20 minutes till fully cooked. Once cooked drain the potatoes, place them in a bowl and mash them, once that is done add the butter, fold it in till it melts and mixes well, then add the fresh cream (salt and pepper to taste) nutmeg and spring onions, fold it in again and the mash is done ...simple hey!!!

As to the liver you should start cooking this after you put the potatoes boiling so all comes out at the same time, but about an hour prior to cooking the liver you should have it marinading in a bowl with the wine garlic and a little salt. Put a pan on the stove on high with a good glug of olive oil.

Once it gets very hot add the onions and a little salt and pepper, keep stirring and allow the onions to caramelize a little, once that happens shift them to one side and add the liver slices one by one, and as soon as it seals turn them over, as soon as it seals on that side too, add the marinade liquid to the pan mix it all in with the livers, once it starts boiling the livers will release a little blood which will help to thicken the lovely sauce, be sure not to cook them for too long about 3-4 minutes after sealed should be sufficient as they should be pink in the middle (that is quite safe) and this way they will remain soft and tender.

If you prefer well cooked, so be it but be aware that the livers will be a lot harder consistency, the secret to softness is to me medium cooked, still pink in the middle, arrange it on the plate with plenty of sauce and some onions on top as well as some mash, which you can dip into the sauce and have fun...

Lemon Chicken with Lemon Sauce - Blueberry Cottage Cheese Cakes

Receita em Português AQUI

Recipe Ingredients: (feeds 4-5)

• 4 medium chicken breasts (each breast cut length ways to for two steaks)
  
• 2 lemons (one of which is to be cut in slices) *
• 2 soup spoons of butter
  
• 1 glass of white wine
  
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• a little olive oil
  
• parsley bunch (finely chopped)

After you made the chicken breasts into steaks, put them marinating in "vinha de alhos" roughly translates to Garlic Winery, which means you cut a couple of garlic into slithers, put them in the chicken in a bowl fill it with half white wine until it just covers the chicken, and add the juice of one lemon plus a couple of bay leaves and a little salt(these ingredients are not part of the recipes list, so these are extra), let these marinate for minimum 30 minutes best if over an hour.

Now place a pan on the stove on high, put a couple of glugs of olive oil enough to cover the bottom of the pan, once hot add the chicken steaks one by one, and turn them around as soon as they sealed, at that stages ad the remaining contents of the marinading bowl, also add the juice of one lemon, cut the remaining into slithers and throw it in also and add on as well the garlic, lemon slices, the butter, white wine, bay leaves + salt and pepper to taste, bring these to the boil, then ad a lid to the pan and reduce it to min. Let it simmer for 30 minutes, stir occasionally, and check if it does get low on liquid (it shouldn't) add a little more White wine.

*(tip this chicken will get quite zesty and lemony, if you don't want that zesty after taste (a little bitter) just remove the yellow part of the skin of the lemon before you juice it and/or cut into slices and ad it to the food. One more thing if you want the slices of lemon to remain more intact, only add these 10 minutes before it is all done)*

Now that the 30 minutes passed add a tea spoon of flour to a little water mix well than pour it in the pan as well as the parsley, swirl it around and that will form the nicest lemony wine sauce, really great, and if you not afraid of you stomach lol add a little cream (optional, for a more smooth cream).

Serve the chickens steaks on the plates top them with a little sauce, and place a slice or two of lemon from the sauce on top. Serve with that your roasted/boiled vegetables, mine were roasted potatoes, parsnips, butter steamed red cabbage, and some boiled Brussels Sprouts with garlic butter.

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 6 ramekins)

• 300grs Cottage cheese.
  
• 150grs self raising flour
  
• 1 large egg (separate yolk to one side, white to other and beat the with to peak)
  
• 250grs blueberries (any other berries will do: strawberry, raspberry etc etc)
  
• 6 spoons of sugar (2 to one side) (4 to another side)
  
• a little water and lemon juice.
• 200ml whipping cream
  

On a little pan you put the 2 soup spoons of sugar, 2 soup spoons of water and the fruit. Take this to the stove high temp and let it start to boil, once it reaches boiling point reduce it to minimum temp, and let it simmer until the fruit is cooked about 3-4 minutes, mash it with a potato masher let it cook for a further 2-3 minutes (if it starts getting to dry add a little more water) you want a consistency of runny jam.

For the cake, in a bowl put the cheese, egg yolk, 4 soup spoons of sugar and two thirds of the fruit jam, mix this very very well, once that is done mix in the flour bit by bit fold it in, it will get quite tough and sticky, so now add the beaten egg white and fold this one in too, now you should have a more caky mixture, spoon it into ramekins (that have been previously greased and floured) up to two thirds full, them add a tea spoon of the fruit mix into the centre of the dough, now add one more soup spoon of the dough to completely cover the jam you just put in and goes in the oven at 200c for 20 minutes depending on oven so check at 15. You want a golden brown top see picture. Once cooked let it cool down a little and serve it warm topped with icing sugar a dollop of whipped cream and the remaining jam add a little lemon juice heat it up and pour a spoon over the cake and cream see picture,,,,,is delicious....have fun!!!

Potato and Mushroom Halloumi Grattin with Sticky Pork Ribs / Crumed Garlic Chicken / Fish Cake

Receita em Português AQUI

Another simple yet effective recipe, very tasty indeed, if I may say so, and the accompaniment is so versatile that goes with many things, some of which I listed here, the rest is up to you. Above you can see the Potato and Mushroom Halloumi grattin, bellow are the sticky ribs YUM!!!

Recipe Ingredients: (grattin, feeds 4 people)

• 1kg potato red skin (washed and thin sliced)
  
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
  
• 300grs Large open mushrooms (sliced)
  
• 200grs cheddar cheese (grated)
• 200grs Halloumi cheese (thinly sliced , about 1/2 cm thickness)
  
• 1/2 glass full fat milk
  
• (optional) few bits of butter
  
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  
• salt pepper and olive oil (to taste)

Place a pan with boiling water on the stove, and put the sliced potatoes in, once it reaches boil again let them cook for 4 minutes. While that is doing you can pan fry with a little olive oil the mushrooms and 1 garlic clove (minced), and once that is that do the same to the onion and another garlic clove (minced).

You then assemble the dish for the oven, after draining the potatoes, one by one cover the bottom of a pirex dish, then scatter covering those potatoes with the onion, followed by the mushrooms. On top of those pour half of the milk you have in the glass evenly throughout the whole area, and then the grated cheddar, follow that by a little seasoning salt and pepper, and layer another section of potato slices using the remainder of the potato, once that is done pour the remaining milk evenly to cover all area and position the Halloumi to be well spread over al of the potatoes (see picture). Then goes in the oven for 30 minutes at 180c.

For the pork ribs, make sure when you buy these that they are quite meaty, but they also must have a little fat, as they helps with being tender when cooking.

Recipe Ingredients: (ribs enough for 2)

• 400-500grs pork rib rack
  
• 2 soup spoons of ketchup
  
• 1 soup spoon of condiment of mustard (or American style mustard)
  
• 1 tea spoon of smoked paprika
  
• 1/2 tea spoon of chilli powder
  
• 1 soup spoon of smoky BBQ sauce
  
• 1/2 orange in juice
  
• 1 soup spoon of denmerra sugar

Mix all the ingredients (apart from the pork rack...lol) to form a basting and sticky sauce. Brush it on both sides of the rack, once that is done place the rack in the oven at 180c for 30 minutes (so you see this will cook at same time as the potatoes), however set a timer every ten minutes of those thirty for you to brush more sauce on the rib rack, so you get to brush it 3 times in all and I want you to (by the last brushing) use all the sauce. that will make the ribs very nice tender and sticky, obviously tenderness of the ribs will also depend on the quality of pork. YUM!!

The chicken is just some rests I used to not go to spoil, basically I de-boned a couple of leg/thighs and took the skin off, tempered them with salt lemon and garlic, and let them marinate for 30 minutes before I started the whole coking. Then I pass them through flour (mixed with garlic granules and pepper), and some egg (mix) and finally through bread crumbs. And deep fried these until golden brown (see picture)

The fish also a rest of fish, weigh it and boiled the same weight of the fish in potatoes. So 50% fish 50% potato, mashed the potato and minced the fish, mix the two together, adding an egg yolk some seasoning and some parsley chopped, once well mixed I beat the egg with to peak and folded that into the mixture, formed some cakes pass these through flour, and then egg (mix), finally bread crumbs and deep fried, same as the chicken...well YUM!! again,,, you can top it up after fried with a little lemon juice, and some tartare sauce if you like... have fun...you can use many more left overs. If you ever have difficulties thinking what to do with left overs asked I might be able to help....lol