Spanish Chicken

I’ve tried and tried to recreate a less salty version of La Tasca’s Polla al Aijillo many times but this recipe is the closest that I have come. The original recipe was posted by canarygirl on Recipezaar but I have adapted it to my own tastes and to make it more like the La Tasca version so, credit for the basis of the recipe must go to whoever canarygirl is.

Ingredients

• 4 free range organic chicken breasts sliced about half a cm thick
• 4 cloves of garlic crushed
• teaspoon of fresh oregano (but dried will do if you can’t get fresh)
• teaspoon of fresh lemon thyme (ordinary thyme will do)
• sea salt flakes
• olive oil
• large glass of white wine
• 1 lemon

Directions

1. In a grinder or mortar and pestle grind together the garlic, the sea salt, and the herbs and the olive oil, leave for a few hours.
2. Heat a little more olive oil in a frying pan, fry the chicken pieces gently for about 8 mins, add the wine and cook down till the wine is reduced by half then add about half a pint of water and cook slowly till the water has also reduced by about half. You can always add more water and cook for longer to make the chicken super tender.
3. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over it just before serving TO TASTE!!!

Roast Goat and Rich Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 goat shoulder (lamb would do but goat is nicer)
• 4 cloves garlic whole still in skin
• 1 onion roughly chopped
• 1 courgette roughly chopped
• 1 stick of celery chopped finely
• 1 carrot finely chopped
• 4 tomatoes chopped
• olive oil
• small potatoes
• 2 carrots
• large glass of white wine
• 1 pint lamb or chicken stock
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• fresh thyme
• black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 190 deg C
2. Throw the goat, garlic, olive oil, onion, small diced carrot, celery, thyme, pepper and tomatoes into a roasting tin and cook for 40 mins.
3. Add the white wine and cook for another 40 mins at 170 deg C
4. Take the goat out and put on a baking tray and put back in the oven, covered in foil, on a low heat for about 2 hours
5. On the hob heat the veg mix and reduce the wine, add the tomato puree, the potatoes and the carrots and the stock and cook until the potatoes are soft. You can add more stock if needed.
6. Spoon the sauce over the goat and serve with loads of fresh green veg and a massive salad and bread to mop it all up.

Pinchos Morunos – Tapas

Ingredients

• 1 piece of pork tenderloin weighing about 400g
• 2 tbsp hot smoked paprika
• 1 and half tsp ground cumin
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp oregano
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Directions

1. Cut the tenderloin into small cubes and marinate in paprika, lemon juice, ground cumin, cayenne, and olive oil for at least 6 hours.
2. Preheat a baking tray in the oven to 180 deg C.
3. Spread the cubes on the tray evenly and cook for about 13 mins in the oven.

You can stick them on a skewer and grill or bbq these if you like but leaving them in marinade makes them lovely and tender whichever way you cook them.

Fruity Chicken Curry

This is my leftover chicken dish. My 11yr old is not too fond of curries but will eat this one with gusto.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp groundnut oil
• leftover cooked chicken shredded
• 1/2 an onion minced
• 1/2 an onion diced
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp curry powder (I like this one)
• 1 tsp red chilli
• 1/2 pint chicken stock
• handful of sultanas

Directions

1. Grind up the spices in a blender or mortar and pestle.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the spices, garlic, chilli and minced onion and fry for about 3 mins.
3. Add the cooked chicken and stir fry for a minute or two till coated with the spice mixture.
4. Add the chicken stock and cook till sauce is starting to thicken.
5. Add the sultanas and heat through till they are plump.

Serve with rice.

I tend to throw in some left over veggies too, like courgette, peppers etc. Oh and an apple thrown in, cut into chunks is nice too.