Moroccan Eggplant with Chicken

I have been distracted of late because one of my good friends asked me to do her table decorations for her wedding next month. Yippee! In my distracted state I’ve been flicking through wedding/home ware blogs trying to come up with ideas. I have assembled some ideas from various blogs and am determined to find more!





So back to food ... Last night I made Moroccan Eggplant with Chicken. It’s a fairly simple recipe (similar to the one from my cooking class at Selah) and in our haste (we were too hungry!) I didn’t manage to take a photo. You can prepare the chicken any way you like: pan fry with a bit of salt and pepper, roasted in the oven or you can even use a store bought roast chicken.

Moroccan Eggplant
Serves 2

Ingredients
I large Eggplant
2 tsp Moroccan spice mix. Or 2 tsp roasted cumin seeds will work just as well.
Squeeze of lemon juice
2 tbsp Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
¼ Spanish Onion, finely diced
Salt to season

Method
1. Roast the eggplant in the oven until soft.

2. Scoop out flesh and chop roughly. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve.

Pea Risotto and Thyme Chicken with Parsnip chips

Elements of the dish was inspired from Maggie Beer's Maggie's Harvest cookbook. It's not as complicated as it sounds either.

I bought some parsnips from the farmer's markets last week but being a novice at cooking parsnips had no idea. What is the best way to cook it? With what herbs? Best served with? I tried roasting but it made it bitter - perhaps I didn't roast it long enough? At the right temperature? Time? Reading about parsnip chips reminds me of sweet potato chips, served in many Sydney cafes, restaurants and pubs (I think the trend started several years ago).

To make parsnip chips I peel the skin and using the vegetable peeler made long strips of parsnip. I patted dry the parsnip strips and heated some oil in a small saucepan to about 185c. Remember to test a small piece in the oil. Fry in small batches until golden, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with plenty of salt. I think you can fry any root vegetables this way.

Pea risotto is just your normal risotto with peas, chicken stock, splash of white wine and a bit of parmesan.

Maggie used this marinade on rabbit but I had chicken. The chicken is marinaded in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and thyme for 1 hour before browning the chicken in a pan, into a baking dish covered with foil and baked in a moderate oven. Double breast takes around 20mins. Covering with foil prevents the chicken from drying out. Don't forget to spoon some of the chicken juices into the risotto while cooking.

Sunday Lunch

One of my favourite thing to do is Sunday lunch. People are relaxed, there's no 'I've got to do something/go somewhere after' and it gives me Saturday to prepare.








Roast Chicken

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 bunch rosemary
1 bunch thyme
1 head of garlic
1/2 a lemon
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200c. Make a slit where the legs start from the body and where the wings start. Put the chicken into a roasting pan.

2. Break the garlic into cloves, there's no need to peel. Take the leaves off 2 springs of the rosemary and thyme.

3. Stuff the cavity with lemon, rosemary, thyme and garlic, reserving a few garlic cloves. Rub salt, pepper, rosemary leaves and thyme leaves onto the chicken. Brush with olive oil.

4. Bake for 1 1/2 - 2hrs. Checking and basting with the juices from the pan every 30mins.

5. In the last 20mins of baking, brush the chicken with balsamic vinegar - this will give it colour. Brush again in the last 10mins.

Chicken, Mushroom and Pea Pie

It's cold, it's rainy and I want pie! Hmm .. I wonder what's in the fridge.

Mmm ... the warm glow of the TV

Chicken, Mushroom and Pea Pie

Ingredients

1 chicken breast diced

1 cup peas

1 cup button mushroom, quartered

1/2 an onion, chopped finely

1 sprig rosemary

2 tbsp plain flour

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

1 cup chicken stock

1 small can of light evaporated milk

25g butter

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large pot, brown the chicken. Set aside.

2. In the same pot on a low heat, add butter and onion. When the onion is transparent (don't brown them) very quickly add flour and stir vigorously until the mixture forms a ball. Cook, stirring for another 2 mins. Add the chicken stock little by little stirring quickly each time and until the flour mixture is Incorporated in each addition. You will notice the mixture will become thick (that's what you want). Stir in the evaporated milk and add rosemary. Turn the heat to medium and simmer for 5 mins.

Err side on view..

3. Add mushrooms, peas and chicken. Keep on stirring until to boil and it thickens (approx 10mins). Season to taste and remove rosemary.

4. Pour mixture into a baking dish and cover with puff pastry ensure you prick the pastry with a fork. Trim the edges and decorate as desired. Bake in a 180c oven for 30-40mins or until pastry is golden.

Friends for lunch

I'm glad the rain held out for the planned outdoor lunch, the breeze (wind) was refreshing (cold). I knew what I wanted to make and I knew I had to start prepping the night before.

Dessert first. I wanted to do layers in glass, merely for visual effects. In order to use up the muscato in the fridge I could either drink it or poach something. I ended up doing both. Drinking while poaching pears (something seasonal). Being a novice at using gelatine leaves (much easier to use than powder, I always get clumps.) I didn't put in as many leaves as required to set the jelly - I put in 2 my guess is 3-4 for 1 1/2 cups. So I had to change the recipe slightly. Initially it was: cake, pink jelly, pears folded in cream. The result: cake, muscato pear jelly and lemon cream.

Main course. I was going to stuff the chicken breast with roasted tomato but decided it was too much work. Hey, I could buy semi-dried tomatoes instead! As I opened the fridge to fetch the semi-dried tomatoes, I thought "Oh, I better use up the baby spinach." let's stuff some in there too. Yes, most of my cooking process consists of "Let's use x ingredient up before it rots." but it's not like I would randomly use ingredients. Now where was I ... yes, stuffing... So tomatoes and spinach got stuffed and chicken is now wrapped in prosciutto, which is wrapped in cling wrap and put away. Time to do the potatoes. Made wedges and par boiled. Easy! I'm still drinking the muscato at this stage... and realised how I love poaching in muscato (the pears not me). Muscato contains less alcohol so you don't get that cooked winey smell and sugar = you use less sugar.

For nibbles (seriously, no time to make entree and its lunch for 4 for god's sake!) I toasted pita bread, found proper hummus dip (with the paprika and sesame on top) and tried a harissa dip (err, ok). I forgot to take photos amongst all the excitement but there were left overs, so that'll have to do.

Layers of lemon victorian sponge, muscato pear jelly and lemon cream

(make the night before)

Lemon Victorian Sponge

Ingredients

175g butter, softened

3/4 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

zest of 1 lemon

Method

1. Cream the butter and caster sugar until light in colour and creamy in texture. Add lemon zest.
2. Gradually beat in eggs, one at a time until combined.

3. Add the flour and mix to combine.

4. Bake in a 180c oven for 20-25mins in a rectangular cake tin.

Muscato Pear Jelly and Lemon Cream

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
2 cups muscato

5 pears. Peeled, cored and halved.
2 leaves gelatine, gold strength
300ml whipping/thick cream

zest of half lemon

Method
1. Bring the water, sugar and muscato to the boil.

2. Put pears in the liquid and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduced to a low simmer for 30mins.

3. In the last 5mins of poaching, soak the gelatine in cold water for 5-7mins, take out and squeeze out excess liquid. Take the pears out and stir the gelatine leaves into the hot liquid until dissolved. Pour into a bowl and set a side to cool.

4. Dice the pears once they have cool and put the cooled muscato jelly into the fridge to set.

To assemble

1. Whip cream and fold in lemon zest.

2. Take 4 glass tumblers. Using the glass, press into the cake to 'cut' a perfect shape. Gently push cake into the bottom of the glass.

3. Layer the pears on top of the cake and spoon the jelly on top. The jelly will have a runny consistency and will not sit on top of the peas - it will slide itself in between the empty pockets of pears.

4. Top with cream and decorate with a sprinkling of lemon zest.

Rosemary and Lemon Potatoes
Ingredients

1kg Potatoes

2-3 sprigs of rosemary, soaked in water for 10mins

Leave of 2 additional springs

half a lemon, cut into chunks

Salt

Oil

Method

1. Par boil the potatoes for 15mins in salted water. Drain and cool.

2. In a baking tray, combine oil and potatoes. Place lemon and rosemary sprigs around the potatoes. Bake for 45mins until golden. Soaking the sprigs in water will prevent burning.

3. For the rosemary salt. In a mortar and pestle, pound salt and rosemary leaves until fine powder. Sprinkle onto cooked potatoes.

Chicken in prosciutto wrap stuffed with semi-dried tomato and baby spinach

Ingredients

2 single chicken breast, halved and butterflied

8 slices of semi-dried tomatoes

1/2 packet baby spinach, wilted

10 slices prosciutto

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 190C.

2. In each butterflied breast, put 2 slices of tomatoes and baby spinach in the middle.

3. Fold back a butterflied side and wrap chicken with 2 slices of prosciutto.

4. In a frying pan, heat a small amount of oil. Sear the chicken (until prosciutto look crisp). Repeat until all the chicken is seared.

5. Put in a baking dish and bake for 30mins.

Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients
Large tomatoes, halved horizontally
Salt
Pepper
Oregano

Method
Combine ingredients in a baking dish or en papillot. Bake in a moderate oven for 20mins.

Peas with Fetta
Ingredients
Peas, half a small packet of frozen peas
Fetta to taste
Butter

Method
1. Bring a pot of water to the boil, add peas. Once the peas are hot, drain immediately.

2. Combine peas with a knob of butter and crumble fetta on top.