Chicken & Chorizo Stew

I made this easy one pot dinner a few weeks ago. Chorizo is one of my favourite ingredients as it does all the hard work for you, the incredible oil it releases adds plenty of flavour to whatever you're cooking without having to use dozens of ingredients. I added a little honey to sweeten the tomatoes and some hot sauce to add a little heat, paprika or chilli powder would also have been a welcome addition.

Serves 3
5-6 free range chicken thighs and/or legs
1 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, chopped
100g chorizo, skinned & cut into 1cm chunks
Tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp hot sauce
Small bag spinach
Jacket potatoes & creme fraiche to serve

1. Fry the chicken in a little oil, until the skin has browned. The meat does not need to be cooked through at this stage as you will poach the chicken in the sauce later
2. Fry the onions, peppers and garlic over a medium heat in a little oil. Once softened add the chorizo and continue to fry until it releases its delicious oil and starts to colour
3. Add the chicken back to the pan with the tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes until the chicken has cooked through and the sauce has thickened
4. Add the spinach for the final few minutes. Once it has wilted, add the honey and hot sauce to taste along with plenty of seasoning. Serve with jacket potatoes and a big dollop of creme fraiche

Thai Red Curry with Chicken & Butternut Squash

I know it's lazy but when I get home from work I can never be bothered to make my own curry paste. In place of the real deal, I tend to use a good quality paste and spruce it up with some extras, you'll hardly notice the difference. To save the pennies, I only used two chicken breasts and bulked the recipe out with butternut squash. It's still super tasty, just cheaper and healthier! 

Serves 4
2 free range chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
Butternut squash, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks
White onion, chopped
Red pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, grated
2cm piece of ginger, grated
Mixed pack of mange tout & mini sweetcorn
400ml can reduced fat coconut milk
100g jar red curry paste (ideally Bart's)
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp fish sauce
Rice to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Put the butternut squash chunks into a roasting tin, drizzle with oil and pop in the oven for 45 minutes
2. Meanwhile, heat a large pan with a tablespoon of oil on a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and red pepper to the pan, gently fry for 10 minutes. Next add the mange tout, sweetcorn, garlic and ginger, allow to soften for a few minutes
3. Now add the Thai curry paste, reduced fat coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and chicken. Bring to a light simmer and cook for 20 minutes, allowing the chicken to poach in the sauce. Add the roasted butternut squash for the final 5 minutes, serve with jasmine rice

Chicken, Spinach & Butternut Squash Curry

Last week I made this super tasty chicken curry. I don't tend to cook authentic Indian food at home as I can rarely be bothered to make my own curry paste and to me the shop bought ones taste pretty good. This takes about an hour and a half to make, so maybe not ideal for a school night, but it's well worth the time and effort.

I used chicken thighs and drumsticks as they're so much cheaper than breast meat (it was less than £4 for enough free range meat for 5 portions). Adding butternut squash and spinach is a handy way of getting a few of your five a day and in my opinion they're a great addition to any curry. The lentils help to thicken the sauce and absorb the excess liquid so you get a deliciously thick sauce, perfect for mopping up with some naan bread. I also nabbed some onion bhajis from work, which were perfectly crisp and full of flavour.

Serves 4-6

800g free range chicken drumsticks and/or thighs
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
1 butternut squash, cut into bite size chunks
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
2 tbsp curry paste (I used Pataks)
1 tin reduced fat coconut milk
1/2 jar passata
1 bag of spinach
6 tbsp red split lentils 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Put the bite size chunks of butternut squash into a large baking tray in one layer, drizzle with oil and cook for 45 minutes or until soft.
2. Meanwhile mix the spices and garlic with a little oil to make a paste, spread the mixture over the chicken and leave to marinade for 20 minutes (or longer if you have time). 
3. Heat a little oil in a heavy based pan and fry the chicken until browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and add the onion. Gently fry for 10 minutes, then add the curry paste & lentils and fry for a few more minutes. 
4. Add the passata, coconut milk and chicken. Bring the mixture to the boil, then turn down the heat, put the lid on and cook for 40 minutes. Add the roasted squash for the final 15 minutes of cooking.
5. When the lentils have plumped up and absorbed the excess liquid, add the spinach a handful at a time and let it wilt. Once all the spinach has been added serve with brown rice.

Chicken marinading:

 Chicken, spinach & butternut squash curry:

Deliverance onion bhajis:

The finished article:

Coq Au Vin

Whilst cooking is one of my favourite pastimes, lying on the sofa reading my book while someone else cooks for me is just as enjoyable. For Sunday dinner last weekend, Chris cooked an amazing chicken casserole. Coq au vin is great as you use chicken thighs and drumsticks which are not only much cheaper than breast meat, but also don't tend to dry out as much. I like to roast the shallots for half an hour before adding them to the sauce, as they soften and caramelise, making them even more sweet and delicious. Chris used a recipe from Delia Online; Nigel Slater also has some good recommendations for making the 'perfect' coq au vin. Served with plenty of mustard mash to soak up the delicious red wine sauce, it was an extremely tasty, if not particularly healthy meal.

Before adding the vin:

Served with mustard mash & broccoli: