Chicken and Chorizo Pasta Bake

This bake uses the tantalising smoky Spanish sausage, chorizo, but if you don’t have it in the house you can substitute bacon.  Although, chorizo is so readily available in supermarkets now,  I’d definitely recommend to use it if you can.

I’ve used whole wheat pasta here because it uses the entire grain seed, unlike white pasta. Which means more fibre and minerals without any more effort. I’m all for more health benefits without sacrificing flavour!

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 4

2 large chicken breasts, chopped into bite sized pieces
100g chorizo sausage, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 large pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ pint chicken stock
400g chopped tomatoes
400g butter beans
3 tablespoons crème fraiche
200g grated mozzarella cheese (cheddar will work too)
300g whole wheat penne pasta

METHOD:  You will need an oven proof dish

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions
Drain and set aside 5 minutes before cooking time is up
Meanwhile, Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and add the onions
Fry off for about 2 minutes
Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds
Remove from the pan and set aside in a small bowl
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and when hot add the chicken
Fry the chicken and brown a little
Add chorizo (or bacon if using instead) and fry for 1 minute with the chicken
Add the chopped peppers and cook for  another minute until softened
Add the chopped herbs  and let them cook and release their flavours for about 30 seconds
Return the onion and garlic mixture to the pan
Add the chicken stock and deglaze
Season with salt and black pepper
Add the chopped tomatoes and butter beans
Stir in the crème fraiche
Place this into the casserole dish
Add the nearly cooked pasta to the casserole dish
Sprinkle with grated cheese
(If preparing the night before you can do it to this stage and refrigerate overnight)
Cook in a preheated oven at  180⁰C/Gas Mark 6 for approximately 25 minutes.
 
Serve with a delicious fresh salad or some French beans and ENJOY!

 

 

Spinach, Bacon and Egg with vinaigrette

I love the combination of the hot bacon and egg and the salad leaves in this simple dish.

It's brilliantly easy to make, and I love it so much I'm about to have it for lunch again today!
I have a habit of finding something I love to eat and then making it over and over again! So, no surprise that for the third lunchtime in a row I'm having this easy peasy dish. I also feel quite good because I use spinach as my salad leaves so I get the goodness from them,(see some interesting facts below) helps to counteract the processed bacon effect!

You can add whatever takes your fancy and you can substitute the bacon for avocado to make it a tasty, wholesome vegetarian dish. 

Some spinach facts: This leafy green is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, magnesium, folate, manganese, iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B2, potassium, and vitamin B6. It’s a very good source of protein, phosphorus, vitamin E, zinc, dietary fibre and copper. Plus, it’s a good source of selenium, niacin, and omega-3 fatty acids. Now you know why I have changed from my regular salad leaves to this beauty!

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 1

Handful of mild spinach leaves
1 soft boiled egg
2 cooked slices of bacon
Vinaigrette dressing:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
squeeze lemon juice
Place all ingredients into a jar and shake igourously to combine. If you dont have an empty jar you can put the ingredients into a mug or a jug and use a fork to combine.

METHOD:
Place the leaves on the plate, drizzle vinigrette over them, coating generously.
When soft boiled egg is cooked, peel it and place on top of spinach, slice open and let the yolk
ooze out. Yum!
When the bacon is cooked to your liking chop into bite size pieces and sprinkle around salad.
I like to cut the bacon up after I put it into the slaad as it means I get to cut up the leaves and egg and it all binds together so the flavours join forces and help ecah other to taste delicious!
It doesnt get much easier,

Enjoy!

For those of you lucky enough to live on the Irish North East Coast you can now check out my recipes in the monthly Meath Coaster that gets delivered to yor door. My section is Jill's Kitchen. My recipe from last month, Chicken and Chorizo Pasta Bake will be posted here tomorrow.

Gnocchi Italiano

Gnocchi are thick dumplings.
They may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, flour and egg, flour, egg, and cheese, potato, breadcrumbs, or similar ingredients. They are Italian in origin, however you will find them in various guises all over the world, from Croatia to South America.

The potato dumpling variant that we are using today is probably the most recent innovation yet would still date back to the 16^th century.

These potato gnocchi are available in all supermarkets, vacuum packed and reasonably priced. They are usually used as a starter or main course to replace pasta, so feel free to do a variant on the sauce I give you here based on your own preference of pasta sauces.
Ingredients

Serves 4

1 packet of potato Gnocchi
¼ red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
125g pancetta (grilled bacon will work either)
75g frozen petit pois (cover with boiling water and leave sit while cooking dish)
150g mascarpone cheese
½ pint stock
80oz white wine
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method

Cook Gnocchi according to packet instructions, meanwhile,
Heat the oil in a pan, sauté the onion for 2 minutes until it is cooked through and browning a little
Add the garlic and cook to release the aroma, about 30/40 seconds
Remove onions and garlic from pan
Add pancetta (or bacon if using) and cook through
Return onion mixture to the pan
Add the white wine and let it reduce, deglazing the pan
Add the stock
Stir in the mascarpone cheese
Drain the petit pois and add them to the sauce
Gently stir together and leave to simmer gently for 20 mins allowing all the flavours to infuse together
When ready to serve add the gnocchi and gently coat with the sauce
Serve immediately with a fresh green salad and some homemade garlic bread!

I'd love to know how you get on so please don't be afraid to comment or ask any questions below.

Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

www.siobhanbyrnephotography.com
 

 

Makes 12 cupcakes

 

Ingredients

 

2 eggs
140ml (5fl oz) vegetable oil
200g (7oz) soft light brown sugar
300g (11oz) grated carrot (weight when grated)
180g (6.5oz) wholegrain spelt flour
Pinch of salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp mixed spice

Orange Cream Cheese Icing
250g (9oz) cream cheese (straight from the fridge)
50g (2oz) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
275g (10oz) icing sugar, sifted
Finely grated zest of 1 orange

Method

Preheat oven to 180⁰C/Gas Mark 4
Prepare your cupcake tins
Beat the eggs in a large bowl, add the oil, brown sugar & grated carrot
Sift the dry ingredients into the wet mixture
Combine, using a wooden spoon or spatula
Do not over mix
Use a tablespoon to fill the cupcake cases ¾ of the way
Cook for 20 minutes (check they are cooked by inserting a cocktail stick into the middle of one of the cakes, if it comes out clear it is cooked)
Allow to cool completely before icing

For the Icing

Beat the cream cheese and butter together
Add the vanilla extract and orange zest and beat together
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and combine using a handheld mixer
Using a tablespoon ice the cupcakes and twirl the icing on the top with a cocktail stick

NOTE: As you can see from the photo my son Dylan, Lily and Kate had great fun icing these although they may get more topping on the table and in their mouths than on the cakes!! You have been warned! Thanks to Siobhan Byrne who did an amazing job at our photo shoot and to our models who did such a great job :)
 

Curried Chicken Salad

Things have been crazy busy in my household this week. With back to school to organise as well as prepare for a family get together this coming weekend, things have been been pretty fraught.

But, I'm getting through everything now and wanted to share this recipe with you.
With our 'India Summer' well under way I was looking to put together a light lunch that wouldn't keep me in the kitchen for long.

I was able to cook the chicken the night before, which left me more time for the garden when it came to serving.
I served it with a crisp white wine, I'm biased towards new Zealands Sauvignon Blancs, warm crusty baguettes and lots of salad.
Unfortunately I was so busy eating and chatting I forgot to take a picture and rather than not putting the recipe up I found this picture here courtesy of www.cookinglight.com

Ingredients:

Serves 6
4 large chicken breasts
Salt & Fresh ground black pepper
240ml (2 cups) water
2 tbsp olive oil
3 fresh rosemary sprigs
60ml (1/3 cup) dry white wine
2 tbsps (1/4 cup) mayonnaise
2 tbsps (1/4 cup) plain non fat yogurt
3 tbsps (1/3 cup) creme fraiche or sour cream
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
3 celery sticks, finely chopped
1/2 small white onion finely chopped
2 tbsps (1/4 cup) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsps (1/4 cup) coarsely chopped cashews (optional)

Method:

Poach chicken in pot with the water, wine and rosemary for approx 8 minutes until just cooked. You can fry it in a pan, but poaching the chicken for this recipe ensures it retains its tenderness and doesn’t dry out.
When cooked, remove from liquid, let it cool and chop into bite sizes pieces.
(You can do this the day before you need it. Keep refrigerated and uncut until constructing salad).
In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, crème fraîche, cumin, cayenne, turmeric,
1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
Add the bite sized chicken, celery, onion, chopped parsley and nuts (if using).
Turn to coat with the mayonnaise mixture.
Serve with your choice of salad leaves.
However, as my favouriye salad is rocket and spinsch i'd recommend taht. I have taken to using a mild spinach in all my salads. See note below as to why!


Note: Spinach is rich in lutein and beta-carotene, two important anti oxidants with cancer fighting properties. This tasty leafy green vegetable is also loaded with magnesium, manganese, vitamin K and folic acid