Gnocchi with chicken & courgette sauce

When I made this beauty for dinner last night it didn't cross my mind that I might jinx the beautiful weather we've been having over the past couple of days - it still felt like summer. But this morning when I woke up the autumn has finally arrived with it's grey sky and rain. So in hindsight I'm actually quite happy that I've got three more portions of this lovely and filling pasta left to eat over the next couple of days. I've put two portions of it in the freezer and will let you know whether it turns out alright or not.

I decided to make this because for the couple of days before, all I could think about was that I really-really want something with courgette in it. I probably spent a good couple of hours trying to find that something that just popped out and made me rush to the store. However as I did not manage to find that something special I decided to experiment and I had no idea how it would turn out. And oh my did it turn out well, even if I do say so myself.

It's easy and quite quick to make and I love that the portion sizes are really generous. It's really filling and warming, but at the same time no too heavy. I was really surprised that I did not have to add any water or chicken stock as the courgettes helped to keep it liquid enough throughout the whole process. This is definitely something that I'll make again over the coming months to keep the grey and cold from getting to me.

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 500g courgette, cubed
- 380g chicken breast, cubed
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- Parmesan cheese
- 500g gnocchi
- Fresh basil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Mixed italian herbs

Directions
Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pot and fry the onion and garlic for around 10 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the chicken and fry until seared on all sides. Then add the courgette and fry for another 5 minutes unit it starts to soften. Then add the chopped tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Bring to simmer and place the lid on the pot and simmer for 30 minutes or so.

Then add some torn basil, a bit of parmesan cheese and the gnocchi and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Place on a plate and serve immediately with some basil, fresh pepper and parmesan.

Inspired by the BBC Good Food recipe "Tomato & Courgette stew"

 

Quick chicken stir-fry

I've got a couple of announcements to make before I turn to todays blog post. Firstly, I had my graduation last Thursday and as of then I'm officially Master of Laws and it feels so good to finally know that all the hard work down here in Singapore has paid off properly. Secondly, because of that I did a fair bit of travelling over the last two weeks as I my sister came down here so unfortunately I've been unable to make any posts. And lastly, I think I should just give you guys a small heads-up with regards to my upcoming 10-day trip to Vietnam in the beginning of August where once again I will not be able to post anything. Looking on the bright side, we're doing a half-day cooking course whilst we're there so hopefully I can share some of the Vietnamese dishes with you after I'm back. But enough about the announcements ....

Stir-frys have a sort of sentimental value for me. When we lived back in the UK and went down to the countryside my fiancé always made us a nice stir-fry for dinner. It was like an unwritten rule. After we moved to Singapore we carried on having stir-frys every now and then for two very simple reasons - they're quick to make and healthy. And on the plus side the ingredients here are quite a bit cheaper than back home. What I personally love about stir-frys is that you can modify them to fit all tastes as you can put in almost anything. Also, it is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you eat your 5-a-day. Just pick up a nice bunch of vegetables, all in different colours, and prepare yourself a filling rainbow coloured dish and you're all set of for the day.

I served this stir-fry with boiled white rice, but there are so many nice noodles out there that would go so well with chicken and vegetables. So try out different flavours and experiment until you find something that you really like. Usually we mix the rice or noodles into the stir-fry whilst it is in the wok, but this time for photo purposes I served them side by side. This again is just a matter of preference and doesn't really change the taste - only the way it looks. The only key to making stir fries is to have all the ingredients chopped up a ready, because once you start cooking it is just a matter of minutes until you need everything and the dish is ready.

Ingredients

(Serves 3)
- 200ml rice
- 500ml water
- 2 skinless chicken breasts
- 100g baby corn
- 75g silver sprouts
- 200g bok choy
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 75g snow peas
- 1 clove of garlic
- Soya sauce

Directions
Firstly boil the rice. Place the rice in a pot, add the water and season with some salt. Bring the water to boil and then turn down the heat, place the lid on the pot and let it boil for 15 minutes.

In the meantime chop up all the ingredients. Heat up some oil in the wok, crush in the garlic and fry the chicken. When the chicken is almost done, add the rest of the ingredients and stir fry until the vegetables have wilted. Finally, add the soya sauce and let it reduce down a bit. Now, if you want mix the rice into the stir fry or put the rice on a plate and top it off with the stir fried chicken and vegetables. Enjoy!

 

Chicken & peach salad

As you know it was my birthday last week and therefore I had a small get together with some of my closest friends. It was a really nice cosy girls' night in and to be hones, very few things trump the combination of great company, great wine and great food. My friends have known for a quite some time that I really enjoy cooking and I received three really nice cookbooks from them (I might have dropped a hit ;) ) and as with all new things I was eager to try them out! So, instead of telling myself that I'll do the next dish from one of the books, I just noted down the ingredients and decided to make a delicious salad for dinner tonight.

I have to say I've always been very sceptical about salad dressings and whenever I read a salad recipe which contains mayonnaise I get the feeling that I'd be better off eating something else as this salad won't be as healthy as salads should be. However, as I was in a bit of a rush today I didn't have time to weigh the pros and cons of this salad and as it looked appetising enough on the picture I just decided to give it a go. In hindsight, I'm very happy that I did so, because the result was delicious. And for all those of you who try to watch what you eat, which I'm trying to do now as well, because I need to look good for the wedding (even though it's like 2,5 years away), there is no need to worry. At first the amount of mayo might seem like a lot, but if you divide it between the portion sizes it is not that frightening anymore. I'm obviously not telling you that you should soak your salads in mayo from now on, but just talking from my own positive experience, having a homemade dressing with some mayo in it won't kill you and it actually tastes really nice when mixed together with natural yogurt.

So, a little bit about the salad. I absolutely love this dressing it goes really well with the other ingredients. This is a very tasty, fresh and summery (and light!) salad which could be served as a starter or a side dish at a BBQ or just enjoyed on its own for light lunch or dinner. I know that where I am right now it is summer all year long, but when I lived back in Europe the beginning of March already started to create a spring feeling and thinking of all of you who live in the northern hempisphere this salad is great for helping you to get into the spring mood, brighten up your day and make you look forward to those warm summer evenings in the garden with goods friends and food.

Ingredients
(Serves 4 - approx 370 cal per serving)
- 1 roast chicken leg (thigh and drumstick) or use 200g chicken breast roast ham instead
- 825g canned peach
- 1 large apple
- 1 small green cabbage
- 50g walnuts

Dressing:
- 2 dl fat free natural yogurt
- 1 dl light mayonnaise
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- Some pepper

Directions
Chop up the chicken into small pieces and place in a bowl. Cut the peaches into cubes and add to the chicken. Then slice the apple and cabbage into thin strips and add to the bowl. You can either mix the ingredients or keep them layered (would look nice in a see-through glass bowl). Then prepare the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together and pour it over the salad. Top it off with crushed walnuts and enjoy!

Recipe from "100 Linnuliharooga" (100 Rooga)

 

Chicken & nectarine salad

As I've told you before I'm not a huge fan of our university food and so whenever I have to spend long days there I tend to make myself a boxed lunch (or dinner). I've been trying out quite a few recipes lately (some of which have made to this blog) and this one really stood out - even my fiancé really liked it. It's very easy and quick to make and I absolutely love the lime and olive oil dressing as it adds a nice zing to the whole salad. I generally tend to eat my salads without any dressing or olive oil, but this is just divine.

Whenever people think of salads they tend to imagine a bowl of tasteless green stuff that no-one really likes, but everyone eats because it's considered good for you. Trust me, this is not one of the boring salads.It is very fresh and fruity and makes a perfect meal for those hot days when you want something light yet filling. The combination of chicken, nectarines and sour lime juice is unbelievably nice - they balance each other out and end up creating a mixture of tastes that just goes perfectly together.

It is great as a starter or a light meal or as said before - it makes a perfect boxed lunch. It stays nicely in the fridge for two days and is a perfect addition to your lunch recipes. Feel free to use normal cabbage or ice berg lettuce instead of womboks (or any other green leafy salad as long as they have a mild taste).

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked
- 3 womboks
- 4 nectarines
- Juice of 4 limes
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper

Directions
Firstly prepare the chicken. I seasoned my chicken breasts with salt and pepper, wrapped them into foil and roasted them in the oven for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, wash and dry wombok and apricots and cut them into small strips.

When the chicken is done, let it cool for few minutes and then shred the breasts into small stripes.

Place all the ingredients in a big bowl and mix well.

Mix together the olive oil and lime juice, pour over salad, mix well and serve immediately.

PS! If making this for your lunchbox, divide the salad up between 4 boxes. Then prepare the dressing, but divide it up between 4 small boxes and pour over the salad just before serving. This way you'll avoid making the salad soggy.

Adapted from AWW "Low Fat Kitchen"

Roast chicken & root vegetables

I have to apologise again for leaving such a big gap between this post and the last one, but in my defence, I'm back in Singapore now and a new semester has begun. On top of that, one of my courses is intensive (meaning the whole semester's worth of material is actually taught in only 3 weeks), so I really haven't had that much free time in my hands lately.

But on the other hand, the recipe I'm going to share with you today is well worth the wait. I have to honestly say that this was my very first roast chicken and whilst it was in the oven 101 thoughts crossed my mind - what if it is not cooked through; what if it dries out; what if it doesn't taste good ... Fortunately, all my worries were pointless and the result was divine - imagine crispy skin and juicy meat with melt-in-your-mouth vegetables. And the best part was the fact that it just took me 1 hour 40 minutes to make it and the cooking time out of it was 1 hour 20.

This was the second roast I've ever made in my life (the first one was a traditional Sunday roast beed) and I can proudly said I aced it. Compared to the roast beef, the roast chicken is a lot less hassle free and time consuming - and because the chicken was small enough I could cook the chicken and vegetables in the same tray and the same time and thus making it even easier. Well, in conclusion, this makes a perfect hassle free Sunday roast and could easily be served at a dinner party. Also, if (we didn't have any leftovers) there is any chicken left over use it the next day in a salad or make yourself a nice chicken sandwich / wrap. I'd highly recommend trying this recipe out, even though making a roast might seem like a bit too big of a task, because firstly it is not and secondly, there is nothing better for a nice and cosy Sunday meal than a homemade juicy roast.

Ingredients
(Serves 4 OR 2 very hungry people)
- 1.3 kg chicken (head and feet removed)
- 400g swedes
- 500g parsnips
- 300g leeks
- 500g carrots
- 600g butternut squash
- Fresh sage
- Fresh rosemary
- Fresh thyme
- 1 lemon
- 2 red onions
- 5 cloves of garlic
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
- Chicken gravy

Directions
Take out the chicken from the fridge 2 hours before putting it in the oven to allow it to warm up to room temperature. When the two hours have passed, preheat the oven up to 170C fan (190C conventional oven). While the oven is warming up, prepare the vegetables. I used root vegetables because they are more suitable for roasting, but at the end of the day feel free to use whatever you like. Chop up the vegetables (apart from onions and garlic) and place them in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons (or so) of olive oil, some salt and pepper and mix well. Pour the vegetables in the baking tray, so that the bottom would be fully covered. Then prepare the onions by quartering both of them and placing on the tray together with whole cloves of garlic.

When the vegetables are ready, prepare the chicken. Firstly, pat it very dry both outside and inside. Then generously season the cavity with salt and pepper and fill with fresh herb springs and quartered lemon. Then season the downside of chicken with salt and pepper, turn it around and place on top of the vegetables. Pierce few holes by the thighs and push in few springs of herbs for added flavour. Finally, pour generous amount of olive oil over the chicken and season with salt and pepper.

When the oven has heated up, put the chicken in the oven and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes. There is no need to baste the chicken because if you keep it upside down (so that the chicken breasts are at the bottom) the juices coming from above will keep everything nice and moist. When the chicken is done, place it and the vegetables on a serving plate (or chopping board) and let the chicken stand for 10 minutes. While the chicken is standing, prepare the gravy according to the instructions. When 10 minutes have passed, carve up the chicken and enjoy!

Chicken & vegetable parcels

One problem with cooking chicken is that if you overcook the chicken breast it becomes incredibly dry and tasteless and to be honest I've had my fair share of dry chicken breasts. Frying chicken breast is easy compared to cooking it in the oven and there was a point where I though that unless I choose chicken with bone in or at least skin on there is no other way I could cook a juicy chicken in the oven. After spending a considerable amount of time trying to find an answer to my problem on the internet (and failing miserably at it), it finally hit me - all I have to do is to ensure that the moisture does not escape from the chicken. Obviously one way to do that is to wrap the chicken breast into a nice slice of bacon or Parma ham or stuff it with some cream cheese, but that would defeat the purpose of having skinless chicken breast in the first place. So, after countless times of trying to cook moist chicken I finally found the answer - all I had to do was to place the chicken in a foil parcel and voila - no more dry chicken breasts!

This dish gets ready incredibly quick and can be easily made a day ahead and all you have to do is to chuck it in the oven and you'll end up with a perfect mid-week dinner. It's one of the quick, easy and healthy dishes that has become one of our favourite. The beauty is in the fact that it is so easily adjustable - you can add whatever vegetables you have at home into the parcel and it will come out as delicious. Serve the parcel on its own or with some rice or potatoes - it's delicious either way.

Ingredients
(Makes 2)
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1/2 red pepper
- 75g snow peas (or sugar snap peas)
- 100g bok choy
- 1 carrot, sliced into thin strips
- 1 lemon slice
- Salt
- Pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200C and cut out two large pieces of foil. Wash and dry the vegetables. Place the bok choy in the middle of the foil, top that with carrot sticks, snow peas and red pepper. Finally place the chicken breast on top of the vegetables and top the chicken off with a half a slice of lemon. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and fold the foil together so that it would not touch the chicken. Place in the oven and cook for around 20 minutes (or until chicken is ready). Serve immediately just on its own or with some rice.

Chicken & pesto penne

I know I promised to be healthy with my posts, but in all honesty pasta can be considered relatively healthy if you have wholegrain pasta and don't serve it with loads of cream. And as this tastes really good I just had to share it - especially as I improvised all the way. I came up with this dish one day after coming home late after lectures and as all the shops had already closed I could not pick up anything. To add to that, I honestly had no idea what I had in the fridge. My choice was either go home and make something up as I go along or have a take away. Thankfully I decided to give it a go at home.

To my luck I had some pasta, chicken and pesto at home. Surprisingly, the result of my improvised dinner was so good that I decided to share it. It's quick to make and has everything you want in your pasta dish without the unhealthiness - lean chicken, tomatoes to count towards your 5-a-day, crème fraîche instead of the cream for the creaminess and pesto to top it all off. And as always, no pasta dish is perfect without some, or in my case a generous sprinkle, cheese on top. It is quick, really nice and filling, but at the same time not too heavy - it could be nicely served for a dinner during the summer. For a more sophisticated take on the dish add some pine nuts to the pasta and serve with a nice glass of chilled white wine.


Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 100g wholewheat penne
- 110g chicken fillets
- 50g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tsp crème fraîche
- 1 tbsp pesto
- Parmesan to serve

Directions
Put the pasta to boil. In the meantime chop up the chicken fillets to small cubes. Fry them in some olive oil until nearly done, then add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and fry stirring until the chicken is ready. Then put the crème fraîche and pesto on top and mix well to cover the tomatoes and the chicken. When the pasta is done, drain it and place back into the pot. Add the chicken and pesto and mix well over some heat. Place the pasta in a bowl and serve with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

BBQ honey & mustard chicken kebabs

Few days ago I visited my parents in Estonia. As the weather was nice, and my dad was home, I took the unilateral decision that we have to have a barbecue and as I am still fascinated about the mustard and honey combination I felt it was my job to get other people hooked on it as well (in which I succeeded). As it was really hot outside, having something heavy was out of question and chicken kebabs, marinated in my favourite sauce, with vegetables and pineapple sounded like the perfect choice. I served the kebabs with a leafy green salad, which goes really well with the sweet and mustardy chicken. So, when looking for something light and summery, this is the recipe to go for.

Ingredients
(Makes 7 kebabs)
- 4 chicken breast fillets, chopped
- 1/2 pineapple, cut into pieces
- 1 small red pepper, cut into pieces
- 1 small yellow pepper, cut into pieces
- 1 onion, cut into pieces
- 4 tbsp honey
- 4 tsp Dijon mustard
- 7 bamboo kebab skewers

Directions
Mix honey and mustard in a bowl until nicely combined. Chop up the chicken breasts into decent sized chunks and place in the same bowl and mix until the chicken is evenly covered with the mixture. Let it marinate for few hours. In the meantime, chop up the rest of the ingredients and 30 before starting grilling soak the bamboo skewers in water to prevent them from burning. When 30 minutes is up, place the ingredients the skewers and then grill on a barbecue, in a foil tray to prevent the chicken from burning, until the chicken is cooked (make sure you don't overcook it as it turns very dry). Serve and enjoy immediately.

Mustard & honey chicken salad

It is amazing how over the time my taste has changed. 10 years ago I refused to eat rice and now I probably have it more often than potatoes. The same story goes in regards various other foods as well. But what I was the most surprised about was that the two foods that I absolutely hated - honey and mustard - were the ones I learnt to like out of the blue. I'm pretty sure that if I would have had a choice, I would have eaten anything so long as I would not have had to eat honey or mustard. However, keeping in mind the fact that taste develops and changes (a very good comparison can be drawn with wine - I started off with sweet, but now I find to too sweet), I decided to give mustard and honey a go. I remember that the first time I tried it out I was so sceptical - I even had a back-up dinner plan. However, when I tried the chicken I was swept off my feet - it tasted soooo good. So, thanks to that little experience I discovered something new that I like and and this means that I have the possibility of trying out various dishes and recipes that I previously couldn't, because I couldn't stand the taste of honey or mustard. Right now, I can't even remember when was the last time I had chicken and it was without mustard and honey marinade!

This time diced up the chicken and used it in a salad (I'm trying to make salads less boring and monotone), but it is also one of my favourite ways to cook chicken breasts these days. The combination of mustard and honey is a match made in heaven - I even don't use salt as it is so flavourful already - and the coating keeps the chicken nice and juicy. And, as usual, trying to keep on the healthy side I topped the salad off with some pomegranate seeds - their sweetness adds to the combination of different flavours and they are packed with antioxidants. The result - tasty, juicy and healthy salad!

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 140g chicken breast fillet, cubed
- 1 tbsp clear honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 70g leafy salads (for example spinach, rocket, watercress)
- 3tbsp pomegranate seeds

Directions
Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes and place in a bowl. Pour over the honey and mustard and mix well and let it stand for at least 15 minutes (I usually prepare the chicken in the morning and let it marinate until I need it later on during the day). Heat a a tiny bit of oil in the pan and fry the chicken until cooked.

Place the salad on a plate, top with chicken and sprinkle everything with pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately.

Sesame chicken with steamed spinach

My task of trying to make the chicken a bit more interesting continues and this time I tried covering the chicken with sesame seeds. The seeds give the dish a slightly nutty taste and form a crispy crust around the chicken - nice change to the breadcrumbs. The seeds themselves are very good source of various minerals and they are high in fibre i.e. they'll keep you fuller for longer and they're great for your digestion system.

To maintain the healthy theme of the dish, I served the chicken with steamed spinach (high in antioxidants, iron and vitamins - basically a bomb of goodness) and roasted cherry tomatoes. When cooking the chicken in the oven it is good to have the cherry tomatoes in there as they help to prevent the chicken from drying out whilst cooking. I found it as a really nice light meal perfectly suitable for a warm spring evening, but it could be very well enjoyed at any other time of the year.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 1 organic skinless, boneless chicken breast
- 30g sesame seeds
- salt and pepper
- 75g spinach
- 1 vine of cherry tomatoes

Directions
Heat the oven to 190C. Roast the sesame seeds in a non-stick frying pan (around 2 minutes) until they're golden brown and put them a bowl.

Sprinkle the chicken breast with salt and pepper and place in the bowl and cover with sesame seeds. Fry the chicken on one side on medium-high heat for around 3 minutes until crispy and golden.

Take an oven dish and place the chicken in there the fried side up. Place the cherry tomatoes on the vine next to the chicken and put in the oven for around 20 minutes (or until the chicken is ready).

Whilst the chicken is cooking, steam the spinach. When the chicken is done, arrange on a plate and enjoy.

Date & spinach stuffed chicken

Since starting university, I have had chicken almost every week in one form or another. Chicken is great for a quick and healthy meal, as it does not take ages to cook and you don't need to be a genius to make it - all you need is to make sure that it is cooked thoroughly ant that's it! However, there is only so much one can do to make it taste a bit different every time. After almost three years of frying or cooking it in the oven, in order to make it more interesting I decided to try out stuffing the chicken breast instead of just using the different spices to vary the taste. The end result was gorgeous. The chicken remained nice and juicy and tasted divine. Although, next time I'm probably going to put in more than just one date...

Also, I just have to say that this recipe got me absolutely hooked on dates - they are amazing as a snack and will be accompanying me throughout the revision period to keep my energy levels high between meals. I recently tired the almond filled dates by Bateel and they were absolutely divine - I'd even say that they could compete with chocolate! Oh well, enough about dates for now...

Ingredients

(Serves 1 - 252cal) 

- 1/4 onion, thinly sliced

- 1 small clove of garlic, crushed

- 1 ready-to-eat date, finely chopped

- 50g spinach

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

- 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast

- 1tsp honey

- green beans, to serve

Directions

Heat the oven to 200C / fan 180C. Heat some olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the onion and garlic with some salt and pepper for 5 minutes. Then add the date, spinach and half the cumin and cook for another minute or so.

Cut the chicken breast lengthways (so it opens like a book) and fill it with stuffing. Put the chicken in an oven dish, rub over the rest of cumin and drizzle with honey. Bake for around 20 minutes (or until ready) and serve with green beans (or other vegetables of your liking).

Chicken recipe from BBC Good Food