Barbecue chicken

Attempting to make an American style barbecue sauce. Not a perfect one yet, but hubby didn't mind the end result at all. It is really difficult to try something non-veg and new when one is a vegetarian!!!! Anyway here goes...

For the BBQ sauce:
1tbsp honey
1 small onion roughly chopped
3-4 cloves garlic chopped
1 Bay leaf
2-3 fresh red chilli chopped
2 tsp red chilli paste
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1-1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
8 tbsp Italian sieved tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

• Heat oil in a pan. Add the bay leaf to the hot oil and sauté for a few seconds.
• Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté till the onions have softened.
• Next add the vinegar and keep stirring till it has cooked off.
• Add the sieved tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, honey, chilli and chilli paste, salt and pepper and cook till the sauce has thickened. 
• Cool and grind till smooth.

For the chicken:

1 kg chicken pieces (I tried with skinless thighs, but think legs or wings might be better)

• Pre-heat oven to 200C.
• Clean, score the chicken and coat with the sauce. Hold back about a tablespoon worth to coat again half way through the cooking time.
• Place on a roasting pan and cook in the oven. Half way through, turn the chicken over and coat with the remaining sauce. It will take between 35-50 minutes to cook depending on the size of the chicken pieces. The oven can be cranked up to 220C towards the end to encourage some charring.

Breakfast spinach quesadilla

1 small onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1-1/2 cups of spinach ( I used frozen, adjust equivalent fresh spinach. Remember spinach reduces to about less than half the quantity when cooked!)
1 or 2 egg whites ( enough to bind the mixture)
3 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
2 flour tortillas
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

• Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic to the hot oil and allow it to flavour the oil for a short time.
• Add the chopped onions and sauté till they are soft and translucent.
• Add the fresh and dried herbs, chilli, spinach and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce the salt that you add as the feta cheese is quite salty and will compensate for it. Cook the spinach uncovered and ensure the water in the spinach gets cooked out as much as possible. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Transfer the spinach to a bowl and mix in the egg white(s). The mixture should be such that it just drops from a spoon and should not be very runny.
• Spray or brush a pan that is large enough to hold the tortilla flat with oil and place it over low heat.
• Place a portion of the feta cheese on one half of the tortilla and allow it to melt slightly.
• Increase the heat to medium and add half the spinach and egg mixture over the feta layer. Fold the tortilla in half and allow the egg to firm up inside. Flip the tortilla and do the same to the other side.
• Cut into wedges (I found a pizza slicer does this very nicely) and server hot.

Bread with tomatoes, basil and parmesan

Caught an episode of the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network this weekend where Ina Garten made this gratin of bread and tomatoes with basil, garlic and parmesan cheese. It looked really appetising and I thought it might be lovely even without the time in the oven. So out I went to buy the necessary ingredients and made it for breakfast this morning. I had it with a fried egg while hubby liked it better with scrambled egg. It was rather heavy for breakfast and would probably be ideal for a brunch instead. But the end result was quite good. The only problem I had was than I had to use a lot more fat that I normally do to get the bread to crisp up. I'll try it as a gratin some other time.

 A small baguette or ciabatta roll cut into bite size chunks
4-5 medium sized tomatoes cut into chunks
2-3 roasted red bell pepper chopped (optional)
2 pods of garlic chopped
Small bunch (10-12) basil leaves chopped
3 tbsp Olive oil
1tsp Butter (optional)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Chilli flakes (optional)

• Heat the oil and butter in a pan. When it is hot, add the bread pieces and allow them to crisp up on all sides.
• When the bread is toasted, add the tomatoes,  garlic, chilli flakes, salt and  pepper  and cook for 4-5 minutes until the tomatoes just start to disintegrate in the pan. The bread will soak up the liquid and soften slightly. You can also optionally add chopped roasted bell pepper if you like it. I found it needed the chilli flakes to compensate for the sweetness from the peppers.
• Take off the heat and toss with the basil and parmesan cheese (according to your taste) while still hot. Sprinkle with more parmesan before serving.

A 6 inch baguette will feed 2 people generously.

Stuffed mushroom

Another mushroom starter to celebrate India's win  against Pakistan in the World cup semis... yippee!!

3 large mushrooms

1/2 an onion chopped  

3 spring onions chopped

3 tbsp bread crumbs

3 garlic pods chopped finely

Few basil leaves

Few sage leaves

2-3 tbsp olive oil 

Grated parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

• Preheat the oven to 220C.
• Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems and brush all over with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a tray, cover with foil and cook in the oven for 15 minutes until they almost done.
• Meanwhile, in a heated pan, add some olive oil and sauté the onions, garlic and spring onions till they are softened. Remove into a bowl and allow to cool slightly. Add the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and chopped herbs and mix well.
• When the mushrooms are almost done, remove from the oven and top them with the above mixture and put back in the oven for another 7-10 minutes or until the top starts to brown.
• Sprinkle some parmesan cheese before serving. 

Grilled mushroom with goat's cheese, mango chutney and balsamic reduction

I only had a taste when a friend ordered this at a pub in Wales and but that was enough.  I liked it so much that I decided to try it at home.  The combination of salty goats' cheese and sweet mango chutney gel so well together. I don't think the original had balsamic vinegar drizzle, but again I knew that it went really well with the goat's cheese. So I decided to try all three together...

2-3 tbsp sweet mango chutney
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
75g Goats' cheese
3 large mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste

• Preheat the oven to 220C.
• Remove the stems and clean the mushrooms with a brush or paper towel. Brush all over with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the tray facing up and cook in the oven for about 20 mins on the top rack till they are cooked. 
• Meanwhile place the balsamic vinegar in a pan over medium heat. Reduce by half and allow to cool. 
• When the mushrooms are done, remove from the oven, top with goats' cheese and place them back in the oven for a final 3-4 mins so that the cheese heats through and softens.
• Drizzle the balsamic vinegar reduction over the mushroom and cheese and spoon some mango chutney before serving.

Grape and amaretti layered dessert

A refreshing dessert that is low in calories. This has oodles of taste with no guilt associated... what more can a girl ask for! The crushed amaretti biscuits brings texture to this dessert. The grapes can be substituted with other fruits as well. I especially like cherries and I think strawberries will also work well, although I haven't tried that myself.

300ml creme fraiche
300ml greek yoghurt
3-4 tbsp icing sugar (adjust this according to your taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
6-10 amaretti biscuits crushed coarsely
450g black or red grapes halved

• Mix together the creme fraiche and the yoghurt together in a bowl and blend in the icing sugar and vanilla into this mixture.
• Place a small portion of the crushed amaretti mixture into a serving glass to form a thick layer at the bottom of the glass. 
• Top this with a layer (1-2 tbsp) of the yoghurt and creme fraiche mixture. 
• Next, add 1-2 layers of the grape halves and sprinkle a layer of crushed amaretti over the grapes.
• Top this again with 1-2 tbsp of the yoghurt and creme fraiche mixture.
• Add another layer of grape halves and sprinkle a think layer of the crushed biscuits to finish this off.

Tip: Crush the biscuits by placing them in a zip loc bag and running a rolling pin over it.
This will serve 4-6 people.

Saag paneer

A discussion my colleague and I were were having on our drive back home from work about the leafy vegetables that the dish can be made from inspired me to try this out . She and I car share to work everyday and our talk generally revolves around food! This is my version of the dish and is certainly not the authentic way of making it. It is quite mild with very few ingredients that makes the taste of the greens to stand out. It is commonly made using mustard leaves although spinach is usually substituted as mustard leaves can be quite hard to find. I used a combination of spinach and kale this time.

200g spinach
200g kale
Paneer (one block, usually about 200-220g) cut into cubes
3/4 tsp English mustard
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
3-4 cloves of crushed  or finely chopped garlic
3-4 green chillies
1/2 medium onion chopped
1-2 tsp oil

• Cook the spinach and kale. I like to put them in a pan with 3-4 tbsp of water, cover and allow them to steam. You could do the same in a microwave. When cooked, grind them very coarsely. Don't make it a fine paste as I find the texture adds to the taste.
•  Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onions. When they have softened slightly, add the garlic and green chillies and continue sautéing till the onions are translucent. 
• Next, add the cooked greens, turmeric and the paneer and cook on a low flame with little water for about 5 minutes or till the water has been absorbed and the paneer is soft. I find microwaving the paneer for a minute or putting it in hot water for 5 minutes makes it really soft.
• Add the mustard and nutmeg powder. Mix well and cook for a final couple of minutes to allow the flavours to combine.