Valentines Day Recipe: Sizzling, Smoking, Spicy Chicken Fajitas

What are you doing this Valentines Day? Are you heading to your favourite restaurant for a meal? Are you preparing something special at home? If you're cooking at home on Valentines Day, you are not going to want to be spending a great deal of time in the kitchen at the last minute preparing your meal. This chicken fajitas recipe is perfect in that it is prepared with precooked chicken and takes minimal time to throw together, meaning you will have more time to spend with your spouse or special someone. So why not prepare roast chicken for dinner on Monday, ensure you have some leftovers and let this delicious dish put some heat and spice in to your Valentines celebrations?

Ingredients for Two People

2 small chicken leg and thigh portions (or equivalent amount of chicken meat)
1 red bell pepper
1 medium white onion
1 medium strength green chilli
Generous pinch of dried red chilli flakes (optional)
Salt and black pepper
Freshly chopped coriander/cilantro to garnish
Vegetable oil for stir frying

To Serve:

6 tortilla wraps
2 small ramekins of homemade guacamole (prepared earlier or even the night before)
2 small ramekins of soured cream
2 small ramekins grated Cheddar cheese

Method

Put the serving dishes for the hot stir fry and two plates to serve the tortilla wraps in to a low oven to heat.

Remove the seeds from the red bell pepper and slice. Peel the onion, quarter it and separate the leaves. Discard the skin from the chicken and pull the meat from the bones in fairly large pieces. Half the green chilli, scrape out the seeds and membrane and moderately finely chop.

Bring your wok to a high heat and add about a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil. Add the peppers and onion and stir fry for about a minute before putting in the chicken and chilli flakes. Stir fry for a further minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Carefully spoon the stir fry in to the serving dishes and plate with the ramekins of guacamole, soured cream and cheese. Heat the tortilla wraps one at a time in a hot dry frying pan for about fifteen seconds (or follow the instructions on the pack) before transferring to the heated plates.

Below you will find a suggested way of assembling the wraps.

Add some guacamole along the diameter of a wrap, about two-thirds of its length. Top with soured cream.

Spoon on some of the chicken stir fry and finally add some cheese.

Fold the empty flap of the wrap over and one side over that before rolling and tucking in.

Whatever you are doing or eating on Valentines Day and whomever you are spending it with, I hope you have a wonderful time and to see you back here very soon.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie (Gardener's Pie)

Shepherd's pie and cottage pie are hugely popular comfort foods but neither is particularly vegetarian friendly. Made principally with lamb and beef respectively, they are in their conventional forms out of bounds for even the most flexible of vegetarians. When I decided that another vegetarian dinner option was definitely due on this blog, I determined to use some commonly available garden vegetables to make a version of shepherd's or cottage pie. I wondered what to call this pie and quickly thought gardener's pie would be a great idea! Unfortunately, when I performed a Google search, I found that others have long since had precisely the same idea. All I can state with certainty therefore is that this is my own version of a genuine gardener's pie, with all the ingredients commonly grown in millions of vegetable gardens around the world.

If you are unfamiliar with the principal ingredients of shepherd's pie, it is normally minced or ground lamb, cooked with a small quantity of chopped root vegetables and topped with mashed potato. Shepherd's pie or cottage pie is hugely popular pub grub here in the UK and if you think gardener's pie would prove a successful vegetarian option down at your local, why not suggest it to your landlord?

Ingredients per Pie

2 medium sized baking potatoes
1/4 small swede turnip/rutabaga
1/2 medium parsnip
1 medium or 2 small carrots
1/2 medium white onion
1 pint fresh vegetable stock
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1oz butter
2 tsp chopped chives
Sea salt, black pepper and white pepper
2 or 3 tbsp frozen garden peas

Method

The potatoes should be started first. Peel them and chop to around one inch chunks. Add to a pot of cold salted water and put on to a high heat until the water boils. Reduce the heat and simmer for about twenty-five minutes until soft.

Peel the swede turnip, parsnip and carrot(s). Dice to about half an inch. Finely slice the peeled onion half. Add the vegetable oil to a pot and gently heat before introducing the onion only. Sautee the onion for a couple of minutes until translucent and add the remaining vegetables. Season with salt and black pepper and pour in the vegetable stock. Bring to a moderate simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes until the veg is softened.

Immediately before you drain the potatoes and return them to the empty pot, add the frozen peas to boiling water. They will take about three minutes. Add the butter to the potatoes, a little white pepper, and mash them well with a hand masher. Use a spoon to stir in three-quarters of the chopped chives.

Take a slotted spoon and add the vegetables to a 5" ceramic bowl. Pour in a little of the stock but not too much or your mash will quickly become soggy.

Don't make the mistake of simply tipping the mash on top of the vegetables. Instead, use a dessert spoon to carefully add it in small lumps before spreading out with a fork as a gardener would rake his soil.

Sit your gardener's pie in the centre of a serving plate. Drain the peas and arrange them around the pie as shown. Scatter the remaining chives over your pie and serve.

Garlic Roasted Smoked Gammon with Spicy Potato Salad

Smoked gammon is a delicious piece of meat, gammon being similar to ham but butchered in a slightly different way from the pig's hind leg. Although it is quicker to cook a piece of smoked gammon like this by boiling it, the roasting process imparts a far greater level of flavour. In order to spice it up just a little bit, I included a couple of whole garlic cloves in with the gammon as it cooked. I also resisted the temptation to add some apple sauce or similar to the served gammon as although it may make for better presentation, I feel it slightly diminishes (in this particular instance) the delicate smoky and garlic tastes of the meat.

The quantities used here will serve two people - with the likelihood of enough gammon being left over for a sandwich later...

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb piece of rolled smoked gammon joint
2 large cloves of garlic (whole and unpeeled)
1 large baking potato
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 medium carrot
1 small green chilli pepper
1 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro
Sea salt and white pepper
3oz Double Gloucester cheese with chive and onion

Method

It is necessary to start the potato salad first, as the potatoes have to be cooked and cooled before being added to the mayo. Peel the potato and chop it in to about six or eight bits. (Don't be tempted to chop it smaller to allow it to cook more quickly. If you chop potato too small before boiling it, what happens is that the potato becomes entirely water saturated and mushy, fit only for disposal - this applies equally when making mash.) Add the potato to a pot of cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for about twenty-five minutes until softened. Drain, return to the empty pot, cover and leave to cool.

While the potatoes are simmering away, you can get your smoked gammon prepared and in to the oven. Put your oven on to preheat to 400F/200C. Be very careful to ensure that you unwrap your gammon completely if it has come prepacked as this piece did. There are sometimes two or even three different layers/types of wrapping. In this instance, the cooking time was also detailed on the wrapping. If you buy a piece devoid of cooking time guidelines, ask your butcher or grocery assistant for help if it is required.

Spread a large piece of tinfoil on a roasting tray. Lightly oil the centre with vegetable oil. If you don't do this, you will find the gammon will stick to the foil and it is a messy, irritating job pulling the tearing foil free. Sit the smoked gammon on the foil, skin and fat side uppermost. Lay a garlic clove on either side. The reason why the garlic cloves are unpeeled is to limit the risk of them burning and turning bitter during cooking.

Wrap the foil that you have a sealed but loose tent. Put the tray in to the oven. The total roasting time for this piece of gammon was one and a half hours, so it can be left unattended until twenty minutes before it is due to be ready.

When your potatoes have cooled, chop them to about a half inch dice. Put the mayo in a large bowl, add the potatoes and season with salt and white pepper. Stir very carefully with a wooden spoon, so as not to break the potato. You may find it easier to use a folding technique, much like folding flour in to wet ingredients when baking. This is much less likely to cause the potatoes to break.

Peel the carrot and julienne it. (Slice and chop in to thin strips). Chop the strips to around one inch strips. Remove the seeds and membrane from the chilli and finely chop. Add both to the potato and mayo combination and fold to mix. Chop the coriander and stir it through the potato salad in the same way. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until required.

Twenty minutes before the smoked gammon is due to be ready, take it out of the oven and very carefully open the foil to expose the meat. This allows some colour and texture to be added to the skin. Return to the oven.

Check the gammon is fully cooked when you remove it from the oven by ensuring all juices run clear. Transfer to a plate and cover to relax for at least fifteen minutes before carving. Plate with your spicy potato salad and three thin slices of the delicious Double Gloucester cheese.

Spicy Chicken Noodle Stir Fry for Chinese New Year

If you are reading this in China - or simply happen to be Chinese - Happy New Year! Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year so what else could I feature but a Chinese dish? As 2012 is the Chinese Year of the Dragon, I decided also to add a little bit more fire to the dish than you may normally expect from a Chinese stir fry by adding some hot green chilli pepper.

Ingredients for One Serving

1 chicken breast fillet
3oz portion of dried Chinese noodles (fresh noodles work equally well)
1/2 red bell pepper
5 small closed cup mushrooms
2 small shallots
1/2 hot green chilli
Sachet of stir fry sauce
1 egg white
1 tsp cornflour
Salt
Sunflower oil for frying

Method

It is not absolutely essential but strongly advisable that you begin by velveting your chicken. This is a Chinese technique which serves to offer the chicken some level of protection from the intense heat of the stir frying process. It means your cooked chicken will be much softer and more tender when served.

Chop the chicken breast in to bite sized pieces. Put the egg white in to a small bowl and stir in the cornflour. Season with salt and add the chicken. Stir well, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for about twenty minutes.

If you are using the dried noodles, they should be cooked while the chicken is velveting. The instructions should be on the packet but in this instance they were required to be added to boiling water and simmered for four minutes. Drain them through a colander or sieve, lay them on a plate and cover until required.

When you are making a stir fry, you should have all your ingredients prepared and ready for the wok before you start. This is because you simply won't have the time to start chopping vegetables or preparing meats once you start cooking. While the chicken was in the fridge, as well as cooking the noodles, I wiped and halved the mushrooms, peeled and finely sliced the shallots, finely chopped the half chilli and sliced the half red bell pepper.

Drain the chicken thoroughly through a colander or sieve. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to a very hot wok and fry the chicken only until it is sealed. This is when it has turned white/opaque. Remove it to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add your vegetables to the wok and fry for about a minute before re-adding the chicken.

The stir fry sauce used in this recipe was oyster and spring onion (scallion) but you can use whichever variety you prefer. This should be added to the wok after the chicken and the mix cooked for a further minute or two.

The noodles should be added to the wok and stirred through the mix to heat through for about thirty seconds before the meal is plated and served.

Haggis with Clapshot and Breast of Partridge - A Burns Night Special

Haggis, tatties and neeps is usually the main meal served at a Burns Supper, on or around January 25th each year. This recipe is just a slight variation on the traditional to hopefully spruce up what can - in all honesty - be a pretty bland creation at times. The idea for including a partridge breast with the haggis came about entirely by coincidence a few days ago. I had some partridge breasts and was scouring the Web looking for inspiration for partridge recipes when I found one for haggis stuffed partridge breasts. I thought the combination sounded interesting and was delighted the way this worked out.

Ingredients for One Serving

1 small haggis
1/2 small Swede turnip (rutabaga)
1 large baking potato
1 skinless partridge breast fillet
Canned or frozen peas
2 tsp chopped chives
1 small measure of single malt Scotch whisky
1oz butter
Salt and white pepper
A little vegetable oil for frying

Method

Clapshot is simply mashed tatties and neeps (potato and Swede turnip/rutabaga) with chopped chives. The first step in preparing this meal is to peel the potato and Swede and chop to around one inch pieces. Add the pieces to a large pot, season with a little salt and pour in enough cold water to comfortably cover all the pieces. Put on a high heat until the water boils then reduce the heat to achieve a steady simmer for twenty-five to thirty minutes until the vegetables are softened.

If you buy a haggis prepacked, the cooking instructions should be written on the packaging. If you buy it from a butcher's and need advice on the cooking procedures, simply ask your butcher. The instructions on this pre-packaged small haggis were to wrap it in foil, lay it in an ovenproof dish with around three-quarters an inch of water and bake in the oven, preheated to 180C/350F, for twenty-five minutes.

The partridge breast should be cooked about ten minutes before the haggis and vegetables are due to be ready. Bring a little vegetable oil up to a medium heat in a small, non-stick frying pan. Season the partridge breast on both sides with salt and white pepper and fry on a medium heat for two minutes each side. Transfer to a heated plate, cover with aluminium foil and leave to rest.

When the haggis is ready, remove it from the oven and carefully unwrap it. Line a small round bowl with clingfilm. Remove any remaining packaging from the haggis and carefully pack it in to the bowl with a spoon. Turn the bowl upside down in the centre of your serving plate. Hold the edges of the clingfilm, lift the bowl away and peel off the clingfilm. Drizzle the whisky over the top.

Heat the canned peas gently in a saucepan, or if using frozen peas, add them to boiling water for three minutes. 

Drain the potatoes and Swede and return them to the empty pot with the butter. Mash with a hand masher and season with white pepper. Stir in the chopped chives with a spoon.

Use an ice cream scoop to plate the clapshot as shown in the image below.

Drain the peas and spoon them on to the plate. Unwrap the partridge breast and slice carefully in half. Lay it on top of the haggis and serve.

Steak, Kidney and Oyster Puff Pastry Pie

The traditional version of homemade steak and kidney pie has been one of my favourite meals for many years. I have always resisted the temptation to tamper too much with the recipe for what is a classic dish, believing that improvement on near perfection would be nigh on impossible. When, however, I happened to come by some pristine, fresh oysters yesterday from Loch Fyne, I decided to do an adaptation of an old steak and kidney pudding recipe and incorporate them in a version of my favourite pie. Although I normally subscribe to the belief that the best way to eat oysters is raw, with perhaps a little squeeze of lemon juice, I was more than delighted with these results.
 

Ingredients for Two Servings

3/4lb stewing steak
1/2lb ox kidney
1/2lb puff pastry
4 large fresh oysters
2 pints fresh beef stock
Baby new potatoes (quantity as desired)
Brussels sprouts (quantity as desired)
Butter
1 tsp chopped chives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Beaten egg for glazing
A little bit of vegetable oil for browning

Begin by adding a little bit of vegetable oil to a large pot. Bring it up to a medium heat, add the steak and kidney and season with salt and pepper. Stir on a high heat to evenly seal and brown. This should take three or four minutes.

Pour in the beef stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for an hour and a quarter. Turn off the heat, put the lid on the pot and leave for what will need to be at least an hour to cool. Do not be tempted to assemble your pie while the meat is hot as it will make your pastry soggy before it can rise and totally spoil the whole dish.

Shuck your oysters, careful to reserve the liquid in the shells as well as the oyster meat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooled steak and kidney to a 9" x 6" pie dish. Pour the oysters on top (including the liquid) at regular intervals. Pour in enough of the cooled beef stock to almost but not quite cover the meat. Put your oven on to preheat to 220C/450F.

Roll out your pastry on a clean, floured surface to a rectangle 10" x 7" (essentially, an inch each way larger than the pie dish). Carefully lay the pastry on top of the pie dish and tuck and crimp it around the edges. Glaze with the beaten egg and make a "+" shaped cross in the centre to serve as a steam vent. Put it in to your oven for thirty to thirty-five minutes until the pastry is beautifully risen and golden.

Wash the potatoes and add them to a pot of cold, salted water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer for thirty minutes. Add the sprouts to a pot of boiling, salted water and simmer for twelve to fifteen minutes.

When the pie is ready, sit it to the side for a few minutes to rest while you finish the preparation of your potatoes and sprouts. Drain the potatoes and return them to the empty pot. Add a little butter and the chives. Gently swirl the pot to ensure all the potatoes are evenly coated. Drain the sprouts, cut your pie and assemble your meal for service.