Home Made: Good, honest food made easy. Tana Ramsay
with kitchen string
salt and pepper
20g pack of fresh flat-leaf parsley, stalks removed and leaves roughly chopped, to serve
FOR THE MARINADE
2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
1 stick of celery, halved
1 garlic clove, peeled and bruised
2 bay leaves
300ml/10fl oz red wine
Serves: 4
Prep time: 40 minutes plus marinating overnight
Cooking time: about 11/4 hours
WHY NOT TRY …
The easiest way to peel shallots is to pour boiling water over them, leave for 1 minute, then drain and peel.
Defy tradition and leave in the carrot and celery pieces. Though soft, they taste delicious.
1 Start by marinating the chicken. I think the easiest way is to put the chicken joints, carrot, celery, bruised garlic clove and bay leaves into a large freezer bag. Pour over the wine. Squeeze out any excess air and fasten the bag as tightly as possible with a wire tie. Put the bag into a bowl large enough to accommodate it easily, to make sure none of the marinade leaks over your fridge. Place the bowl in the fridge overnight. Whenever you remember, turn the bag around in the bowl to make sure all the flavours mix together well.
2 When you are ready to start cooking, preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/GM3.
3 Melt the butter and oil in a large cast-iron casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid on a medium heat on the hob. Add the shallots and bacon and fry until brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shallots and bacon and put to one side.
4 Carefully remove the chicken from the bag of marinade. Discard the bruised garlic clove but reserve the rest of the marinade. Dry the chicken with absorbent kitchen paper. Carefully place the chicken pieces, skin-side down, in the hot fat in the casserole and fry until browned all over, turning as necessary. Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to do this in batches. When the chicken is evenly browned, return all the pieces to the casserole, add the bacon and shallots and stir in the crushed garlic.
5 Reduce the heat, then sprinkle the flour over the chicken, bacon and shallots and stir into the fat. Fry for a minute or so, then add the wine, chicken stock and the wine from the marinade. Stir well. Add the carrot and celery pieces from the marinade bag and push under the liquid. Stir in the mushrooms and add the thyme. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
6 Bring to the boil, put on the lid and transfer to the oven for 50 minutes, removing after 25 minutes to baste the chicken with the gravy.
7 When the cooking time is complete, remove the thyme, bay leaves, celery and carrot pieces and discard. Skim off any fat from the surface of the dish and check the seasoning. Serve on warm plates, sprinkled with parsley.
This is a simple, quick supper – you can put lots more into this dish, such as mushrooms or baby corn, but I have kept this really easy. The nice part is that you can empty out the bottom of your vegetable and salad drawer of odds and ends when you do a stir-fry, which is really handy, and all you need to buy is a lovely duck or chicken breast.
1 whole duck breast
1 tbsp runny honey
200g/7oz egg noodles
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
3cm/11/4 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 handful of baby carrots
1 handful of sugar snap peas
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into long strips
5 spring onions, cut into long strips
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 small handful of fresh coriander leaves, plus the stalks, finely chopped
salt and black pepper
Serves: 2 generously
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: about 30 minutes
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/GM4.
2 Season the duck with salt and pepper. Score the skin of the duck breast and place it, skin side down, in a cold ovenproof frying pan. Set this on a medium heat and gently fry without moving the breast around until the skin has browned. Turn the breast over and drizzle the honey over the skin, gently rubbing the honey into the slits with the back of a teaspoon. When the underside has browned, place in the oven for 5-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the duck breast. Remove and leave to rest for 5 minutes, then cut into thin slices.
3 Cook the noodles as instructed on the packet and leave to drain. Toss with 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil to prevent them sticking.
4 Heat the olive oil and remaining sesame oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the chilli, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute over a medium-high heat. Add the carrots and sugar snap peas, red pepper and spring onions and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, until beginning to soften. Pour over half the mirin and soy sauce and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes longer.
5 Add the noodles and coriander stalks to the vegetables, plus the remaining mirin and soy sauce, and toss together so that the mirin and soy sauce coats everything.
6 Spoon into warm bowls, fan the duck pieces over the top and sprinkle with the coriander leaves.
I really like making individual pies and the kids love having their own – let’s face it, you don’t get someone stealing all your favourite filling bits! Try making them in large ramekins for children with smaller appetites. If you prefer, you can, of course, just make one big pie.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1cm/1/2 inch wide strips
3 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
12 button mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp fresh tarragon leaves
50ml/2fl oz white wine
200ml/7fl oz fresh chicken stock
142ml