Piri Piri Chicken Wings and Fries

Piri piri spiced roasted chicken wings with homemade fries

Classic comfort food dinners don't have to be bought in the form of TV dinners, microwaveable ready meals or ready to eat from a fast food outlet. There are so many ways in which these dishes can be prepared from scratch quickly and easily, offering a tastier and healthier alternative to their massed produced equivalents. This recipe for piri piri wings and homemade fries is a perfect example of the scenario.
 

Chicken wings are stirred in olive oil before piri piri spice is added

Ingredients (Serves Two)

2 large baking potatoes
8 large, whole chicken wings
2 tbsp olive oil
2oz pack piri piri spice rub
Freshly chopped parsley to garnish
Salt for the fries

Piri piri sauce is added to oiled chicken wings

Directions

Your oven needs to be preheated to 400F/200C.

Peel the potatoes and chop and slice in to fries. Submerge in a bowl of cold water for five minutes, while you prepare the wings. This helps to get rid of the excess starch.

Pour the olive oil in to a large bowl. Add the chicken wings and gently stir/fold them through the oil to ensure even coating. Scatter over the piri piri powder mix and stir again in a similar way to coat.

Oven ready piri piri spiced chicken wings

Put the wings in a single layer on a baking tray and in to the oven for half an hour.

Drain the fries well from the water and deep fry at 300F/150C for about four minutes. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Cover.

Piri piri spiced chicken wings

Take the chicken wings from the oven and sit aside to rest for a few minutes.

Fry the fries a second time at 350F/170C for four to five minutes or until done to your liking. Drain again on kitchen paper.

Piri piri chicken wings are plated

Lay the wings on half of two deep serving plates and the fries on the other half. Season the fries and scatter the wings with the chopped parsley. Enjoy in front of the TV, without knives or forks, and save on the washing up.

Homemade fries are added to the serving plate with the piri piri wings

Whiting Fish and Tomato Crumble

Whiting fish and tomato crumble is served with minted and buttered new potatoes

Whiting is one of my favourite eating fish and the good news is that it is a very acceptable, sustainable alternative to cod or haddock. While whiting is usually shallow or deep fried in breadcrumbs or batter, it can also be cooked in the oven in a number of different ways. This recipe sees it cooked in a rich tomato sauce, topped by a cheesy breadcrumb crumble.

Preparing tomato sauce for whiting fish crumble

Ingredients (Serves Two)

14oz can chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
1 tbsp olive oil
Half small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 stick of celery, sliced to quarter inch thick pieces
1/2 tsp dried basil
Large clove of garlic, peeled and grated or very finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Half to three-quarter pound skinless fillet of whiting
3 to 4 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
2oz cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
12 baby new potatoes, or as required
Little bit of butter for potatoes
1 tsp freshly chopped mint

Whiting fillet is laid on bed of half the tomato sauce

Directions

Begin by putting your oven on to preheat to 190C/375F.

Add the olive oil to a saucepan and gently heat before putting in the onion and celery. Stir for two to three minutes with a wooden spoon until they are just starting to soften.

Pour the tomatoes in to the saucepan and add the basil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, stir well and heat until the mixture is just simmering.

Whiting fillet is covered with remainder of tomato sauce

Pour half the prepared sauce in to a suitable, ovenproof dish and lay the whiting fillet on top. Cover with the remainder of the sauce.

Crumble topping for tomato and whiting fish

Combine the breadcrumbs and the cheese, seasoning with black pepper. Scatter evenly over the whiting and tomato sauce.

Whiting fish and tomato crumble ready for the oven

Place the dish on a baking tray - to contain any potential spills during cooking - and cook in the oven for thrity minutes.

Butter and mint is added to drained potatoes

When the whiting crumble is in the oven, put the potatoes in to a pot of cold, slightly salted water and bring to a simmer for about twenty-five minutes until softened. Drain, return to the pot and add the butter and mint. Swirl the pot gently to evenly distribute the butter.

Take the fish pie out of the oven. If desired, the top can be quickly browned under an overhead grill/broiler before the dish is divided up and served. 

Whiting fish and tomato crumble

Roast Chicken and Root Vegetables Platter

Roast chicken portions with roasted assorted root vegetables

Roast chicken need never be repetitive or boring. There are so many variations you can prepare they are virtually never ending. This latest idea sees the backbone removed from the chicken before it is roasted on a bed of assorted root vegetables. The dish will serve two to four people, depending firstly upon the size of the chicken and secondly upon how hungry you are!

Root vegetables for roasting with chicken

Ingredients

1 small whole chicken
2 medium to large potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 red onion, peeled and quartered
1 large carrot, trimmed, scraped and roughly chopped
½ medium Swede turnip/rutabaga, peeled and roughly chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley to garnish

Chopped root vegetables are seasoned and arranged as a bed for the chicken

Directions

Get your oven on to preheat to 400F/200C.

Put the prepared and chopped vegetables in to a large roasting tray. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Mix briefly with a wooden spoon and ensure they are arranged in such a way that they will form a roasting bed for the chicken.

Preparing to remove the backbone from a chicken

I once saw a TV chef attempting to remove the backbone from a chicken with a really flimsy pair of kitchen scissors. He actually seemed surprised when he broke the scissors! Although you could use sturdy kitchen shears or a very sharp and robust bladed knife, I find personally that a Chinese cleaver is the ideal tool for this job. Simply sit the chicken up on its broad end and carefully cut down either side of the backbone before pulling it free.

Backbone is removed from chicken

Chinese cleavers are perfect for a wide variety of jobs in the kitchen and need not be overly expensive. Below are just a couple of sample models available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk at the moment. Click on the relevant image to learn more or to browse the particular section in your local Amazon store.

Butterflied chicken arranged on bed of root vegetables for roasting

Wash the chicken at this stage and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Make sure you get rid of any remaining guts or blood in what was the body cavity. Sit it skin side up on the vegetables and drizzle with olive oil. Rubbing the olive oil evenly over the surface with your hands makes for much better presentation. Season with salt and put the chicken in to the oven for twenty minutes per pound.

The normal guideline for roasting chicken is twenty minutes per pound and twenty over. I find, however, that when you have butterflied the chicken (removed the backbone) twenty minutes per pound is usually enough.

Roast chicken and root vegetables removed from the oven

Take the chicken from the oven and pierce it at its thickest part to ensure the juices run clear. If not, return it to the oven for ten more minutes before testing again.

Lift the chicken with a couple of large slotted spoons to a deep, heated plate. Cover with foil and leave it to rest for fifteen minutes. Turn your oven down to its lowest setting and return to it the tray of vegetables. This will not only keep them warm, it will help dry them out and crisp them up a little bit.

Legs and wings are removed first from the roast chicken

Lift the rested chicken to a chopping board and slice off the leg portions and wings. Starting on either side of the backbone, cut off the breast fillets, allowing the ribcage to guide your knife or cleaver.

Portions have been removed from roast chicken

Use a slotted spoon to arrange the roasted root vegetables in an even layer in a deep serving platter. Lay the chicken pieces on top and garnish with the freshly chopped parsley.

Roast chicken portions are arranged on the roasted root vegetables

Steak and Kidney Pasty, Chips and Beans

Homemade steak and kidney pasty with chips and baked beans in tomato sauce

Steak and kidney pie is one of my all time favourite dishes and has been since I was in my teens. It is of course a classic dish - though more specifically an English classic, rather than a British classic, with steak and sausage pie being infinitely more popular in Scotland. I don't like tampering too much with steak and kidney pie as improving on perfection is of course not easy but when I struck on the idea of a steak and kidney pasty, I had to give it a go and I absolutely loved it.

Note that the steak and kidney can be bought ready prepared from most supermarkets, in the UK at least. Alternatively, ask your butcher to prepare it for you .

Beef steak and kidney

Ingredients (Makes 4 pasties)

1lb stewing steak, cubed to 1"
½lb ox kidneys, cleaned and chopped to 1" pieces
Olive oil
½ small white onion, peeled and sliced
1 pint fresh beef stock
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and black pepper
1lb premade and rolled puff pastry
1 beaten egg

Homemade chips and 14oz can/tin baked beans in tomato sauce to serve

Sliced onion is added to browned steak and kidney

Directions

Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in to a large pot and gently heat. Add the steak and kidney and season with salt and pepper. Stir until sealed and evenly browned. Add the onion and stir for a further couple of minutes to soften the onion. Pour in the beef stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for one and a half hours, stirring occasionally and adding a little boiling water periodically, only if required.

Beef stock is added to steak, kidney and onions

When the steak is beautifully tender, turn off the heat, cover and leave to cool completely. If you want, you could at this point pour the mix in to a dish and refrigerate overnight, or for up to a couple of days. This means that you can do the lengthy prep for your pasties one night and make them for dinner the following night.

A plate is used as a template to cut the pastry disc for making the pasty

Use a 10" plate to cut four circles from your pre-rolled puff pastry. Take a quarter of your steak and kidney mix in each instance and add it to half the pastry disc, leaving a border of around an inch.

Cooled steak and kidney is spooned on to one half of the pastry disc

Moisten the border with beaten egg using a pastry brush, fold over the empty half of the pastry and crimp the edge.

Beaten egg is used to seal the edges of the steak and kidney pasty

Lightly oil a baking tray with olive oil and sit the pasties on it. Glaze with more beaten egg and make a slit in the top of each to serve as a steam vent.

Steak and kidney pasty is ready for the oven

Put the tray in to a preheated oven (400F/200C) for about half an hour until the pasties are beautifully golden.

Steak and kidney pasty is removed from the oven

Take the tray from the oven and allow the pasties to rest while you complete the preparation of your chips and gently heat the beans in a saucepan. HP Sauce is a strongly recommended accompaniment though it is of course entirely optional.

HP Sauce is the perfect condiment to add to steak and kidney pasty, chips and beans

Easy Roast Ham with Pineapple

Simple roast gammon joint with pineapple, roast potatoes and peas

A pre-packaged, supermarket gammon joint is not something I generally tend to buy. Unfortunately, these past few weeks, I have been travelling to various places for work and had so much on, I just haven't had the time to spend cooking for this blog that I normally have. This option therefore looked feasible and I was to be honest delighted with the results. The ultimate beauty is that the hands on cooking time is very short.

Ingredients (Serves Four)

20 small new potatoes
Sea salt
2lb boneless rolled gammon joint
Olive oil
Black pepper
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 whole cloves of garlic
Frozen peas as required
8 rings of pineapple canned in own juice (not syrup)
Malt vinegar for seasoning peas

Supermarket gammon joint

Directions

The potatoes need to be boiled, drained and cooled before they can be roasted, so get them in to a big pot of cold, salted water and bring it to a simmer for half an hour. Drain, return the potatoes to the pot and cover.

Preparing gammon joint for roasting

The gammon joint actually came with the cooking instructions on the pack but they amount to twenty minutes per pound plus an extra twenty minutes.

Lightly oil a big sheet of tinfoil in the centre (I used olive oil) and make sure you have removed all types of packaging from the gammon before sitting it in place. Season with black pepper only. Put it in to the oven - preheated to 400F/200C - for the alloted cooking time. (You may want to uncover it for the final ten minutes' cooking time to let it colour up but this is optional).

Checking gammon joint for doneness

Ten minutes or so before the gammon is due to come out of the oven, carefully rub/peel the skins from the potatoes. This is a bit of a fiddly and annoying task but unfortunately, it needs to be done.

Roasted gammon joint ready for resting

Take the gammon from the oven and carefully open the foil package. Watch out for escaping steam which can burn! Pierce it with a skewer and you should feel only minimal resistance where it is fully cooked. The juices should also run clear. Lift it to a large, warmed plate with a carving fork and cover with fresh foil to rest.

Garlic and rosemary for roasting potatoes

Carefully pour the gammon cooking juices in to the roasting tray. Add the peeled potatoes. Break the rosemary sprigs in to a few pieces and scatter them over the potatoes. Lightly crush the garlic cloves but there's no need to peel them before they are added to the tray. Gently stir everything around with a wooden spoon.

Potatoes, rosemary and garlic ready for roasting

Turn the oven up to 450F/220C and cook the potatoes for twenty minutes or until crisp and golden.

Carving the roasted gammon joint

During the last five minutes of the potato roasting time, pour the peas in to a big pot of boiling water. SImmer for three minutes before draining through a colander. Season with malt vinegar and black pepper.

Lay the gammon joint on a chopping board and carefully slice/carve.

Plate the gammon slices and peas. Take the tray of potatoes from the oven and plate with a slotted spoon.

Finally, garnish each plate with two pineapple rings.

Roast gammon with roast potatoes and peas

Duck with Cherry and Red Wine Sauce

Duck breast with cherry and red wine sauce, roast potatoes and broccoli

Cherry sauce may not be the obvious choice of a sauce to serve with duck breasts but it is not unheard of and does actually work very well. When I made this before, I used fresh cherries (I made it in the summer) but even with the addition of some sugar, I found the sauce a little bit bitter. This was therefore a bit of an experiment, using coctail cherries from a glass jar, and I was delighted with the result.

Fresh duck breasts

Ingredients (Serves two)

2 duck breasts
12 baby new potatoes
1 head of broccoli
Large glass of red wine (plus rest of bottle to serve with meal!)
12 cocktail cherries
Salt and pepper

Duck is added to pan skin side down

Method

Put the potatoes unpeeled in to a pot with plenty of cold water. Season with salt. Bring the water up to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for twenty-five minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the empty pot. Put the lid on and leave for an hour to cool.

Sealing the flesh side of the duck breast

Put your oven on to preheat to 400F/200C. Score the duck breasts with a sharp knife on the skin sides, through the skin but not in to the meat. This is to allow the fat to be released when they go in to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Add the breasts to a cold, dry, ovenproof frying pan, skin sides down, and put the pan on a very low heat. After a minute or so, you will see the fat starting to be released. Turn up the heat and cook for another couple of minutes before turning them over for a few seconds only to brown and seal them on the flesh sides. Turn the breasts back on to their skin sides and cook in the oven for twelve minutes.

Reducing red wine for sauce

Just before the duck breasts are due to come out of the oven, break the broccoli head in to florets and add them to a pot of boiling, salted water for ten minutes. Rub/peel the skins from the cooled potatoes and pour the wine in to a small saucepan. Season with a little salt and pepper. Put the saucepan on to a low to medium heat. The wine has to reduce by half.

Remembering to use oven gloves (the handle of the frying pan will be very hot) take the duck breasts from the oven and sit the pan aside for the breasts to rest. Put the potatoes in to your deep fryer to fry for five or six minutes until crisp and golden.

Rested duck breast is chopped for service

Put the cherries in to a colander and rinse them under running cold water. This removes some of the excess sweetness. Add them to the reduced wine for another few minutes' simmering.

Lay the duck breasts on a chopping board and slice each one in to three or four pieces. Remove the potatoes to a plate covered with kitchen paper to drain and drain the broccoli.

Plate the potatoes, broccoli and duck breasts before spooning the cherry and red wine sauce over the duck.

Duck breast, roast potatoes and broccoli are plated