Chateau Colombier » chicken

dinner for the neighbours

clare — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:41:00 +0000

It’s the beginning of september, so the thoughts are turning to autumn. But today’s been warm. And I’ve actually had some time to spend some time cooking, so an easy supper has turned into:

2 chilled soups (pea with mint (nigella lawson forever summer) and leek with lemon grass (waitrose cooking witht the seasons); served with a warm twice cooked cheese souffle (variation of a delia smith summer cooking theme).

Then chicken with lemon and garlic, with greeen beans

And dessert – has to be figs; 2 variations (obviously I’m in “duo” mode; figs baked in montbazillac; and figs stewed with cassis and spices (4 spices, ginger, cinnamon) served with almond macaroons (made in the newly acquired 20 year old Kenwood Chef – so easy!) and vanilla fromage frais.

On va se regaler!

lemon and garlic chicken

clare — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:54:00 +0000

This one is based on a Nigella Lawson “forever summer” recipe. Makes a great friday evening supper for neighbours … you arrive in the early hours of Thursday … go for a quick swim Thursday evening … and invite them to dinner. Then you haven’t time to go shopping so look to see what’s in the fridge and freezer.

2 to 3 hours cooking – so you can bung it all in and carry on with the phone calls, emails, work stuff that might be happening – or else retire back to the shade to finish the book you’re reading …

It’s perfectly easy and basically storecupboard (if the chicken joints are in the freexer) (for 6): 6 chicken joints, 2 lemons, whole head of garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, white wine.

I separate out chicken pieces into smaller parts; bung them in an oven roasting dish (no pre-frying – yeah!); chuck in the rest of the ingredients; cover with lid or foil, and slow roast at 160 for 2 hours (or 210 for an hour and a half); take the foil off and give it another 30 mins.

You could be fancy and add black olives, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon and ginger and honey for a moroccan feel. But honestly – why bother? (well, then you could serve a storecupboard tabboulet mix if you want).

I then chopped up a few carrots, potatoes and onions and roasted them in a side dish; or you could do an epauture risotto; or just a salad and fresh bread.

then a local cheese that you bought alongside the bread at the local boulangerie.

And get the neighbours to bring the pudding (tonight it was my own greengages returned in the form of a crumble).

And if you’ve, for once, pre-laid the table, and you’re still on the phone when the neighbours arrive – make sure you’ve left the corkscrew out and they can sort themselves out till you arrive to pull dinner out of the oven.

chicken with sherry vinegar and tarragon sauce

clare — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 17:54:00 +0000

Delia’s adaptation of the classic French dish Poulet au Vinaigre. I’ll do a proper comparision some day. But in the meantime, I know that this one works well as I’ve been cooking it for years.

It’s easy to buy sherry vinegar here – but I can’t find sherry! Have to do a little trip into Spain sometime ….

Ingredients

1 x 3½ lb (1.75 kg) chicken, jointed into 8 pieces, or you could use 4 bone-in chicken breast portions
5 fl oz (150 ml) sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 shallots, peeled and left whole
4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
15 fl oz (425 ml) medium-dry Amontillado sherry
1 heaped tablespoon crème fraîche
salt and freshly milled black pepper

To garnish:

8 small sprigs of fresh tarragon

You will also need a large, roomy frying pan, 9 inches (23 cm) in diameter.

First of all, heat the oil in the frying pan and season the chicken joints with salt and pepper. Then, when the oil begins to shimmer, fry the chicken (in two batches) to brown well: remove the first batch to a plate while you tackle the second. Each joint needs to be a lovely golden-brown colour. When the second batch is ready, remove it to the plate to join the rest. Then add the shallots to the pan, brown these a little, and finally add the garlic cloves to colour slightly.

Now turn the heat down, return the chicken pieces to the pan, scatter the tarragon leaves all over, then pour in the vinegar and sherry. Let it all simmer for a bit, then turn the heat to a very low setting, so that the whole thing barely bubbles, for 45 minutes. Halfway through, turn the chicken pieces over to allow the other sides to sit in the sauce.

When they’re ready, remove them to a warm serving dish (right side up) along with the shallots and garlic. The sauce will by now have reduced and concentrated, so all you do is whisk the crème fraîche into it, taste it and season as required, then pour the sauce all over the chicken and scatter with the sprigs of tarragon. This is lovely served with tiny new potatoes tossed in herbs and some fresh shelled peas.

This recipe is taken from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection and The Delia Collection: Chicken.

chicken basque

clare — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 15:48:00 +0000

This recipe is originally from Delia Smith’s summer cooking. I use epautre (a local grain, sometimes called smelt in English) that was an ancient ancester of wheat instead of Delia’s rice.

I often use epautre instead of rice or pearl barley. A great advantage is that it always keeps a bit of bite.

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Ingredients
1 x 3½ lb (1.75 kg) chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
2 large red peppers
1 very large or 2 medium onions
2 oz (50 g) sun-dried tomatoes in oil (or tin of good cherry tomatoes)
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
5 oz (150 g) chorizo sausage, skinned and cut into ½ inch (1 cm) slices
brown basmati rice or epautre measured to the 8 fl oz (225 ml) level in a glass measuring jug
10 fl oz (275 ml) chicken stock
6 fl oz (170 ml) dry white wine
1 level tablespoon tomato purée
½ level teaspoon hot paprika
1 level teaspoon chopped fresh herbs
2 oz (50 g) pitted black olives, halved
½ large orange, peeled and cut into wedges
salt and freshly milled black pepper

You will also need a wide, shallow, flameproof casserole with a domed lid, measuring about 9½ inches (24 cm) at the base; or, failing that, any wide flameproof casserole of 8 pint (4½ litre) capacity.

Start by seasoning the chicken joints well with salt and pepper. Next, slice the red peppers in half and remove the seeds and pith, then slice each half into six strips. Likewise, peel the onion and slice into strips of approximately the same size. The dried tomatoes should be drained, wiped dry with kitchen paper and then cut into ½ inch (1 cm) pieces.

Now heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the casserole and, when it is fairly hot, add the chicken pieces – two or three at a time – and brown them to a nutty golden colour on both sides. As they brown remove them to a plate lined with kitchen paper, using a draining spoon. Next add a little more oil to the casserole, with the heat slightly higher than medium. As soon as the oil is hot, add the onion and peppers and allow them to brown a little at the edges, moving them around from time to time, for about 5 minutes.

After that, add the garlic, chorizo and dried tomatoes and toss these around for a minute or two until the garlic is pale golden and the chorizo has taken on some colour. Next, stir in the rice and, when the grains have a good coating of oil, add the stock, wine, tomato purée and paprika. As soon as everything has reached simmering point, turn the heat down to a gentle simmer. Add a little more seasoning, then place the chicken gently on top of everything (it’s important to keep the rice down in the liquid). Finally, sprinkle the herbs over the chicken pieces and scatter the olives and wedges of orange in among them.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook over the gentlest possible heat for about 50 minutes-1 hour or until the rice is cooked but still retains a little bite. Alternatively cook in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C), for 1 hour.

This recipe is taken from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection and The Delia Collection: Chicken.