Summer Roasted Chicken

I have taken inspiration from Annabel Langbein's new book "Free Range in the City" and served our roasted chicken this way a few times over the last few months.

Annabel suggests serving this simple (and easy) roasted chicken with a pesto and crusty bread. And for really lazy holiday entertaining you can quickly make this dish with a good quality store- bought roasted chicken.



We served it again yesterday when Poppy and Tiya Ning came for lunch, with roasted vegetables and freshly picked corn from our garden.

I love quick, easy and impressive.

Summer Roasted Chicken

serves 6

• 1 x 1.8 kilogram chicken
• 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove (smashed)
• rosemary sprigs or 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons butter (softened)
• salt and pepper

to serve

• 3 lemons (cut into wedges or cheeks)
• 2 handfuls rocket

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Dry the chicken inside and out with paper towel. Trim off any extra fat. Put the chicken, breast side up, into a lightly oiled roasting dish. Squeeze the lemon juice over the the chicken and season with salt and pepper, including inside the cavity. Stuff the used lemon halves into the cavity, along with the garlic and herbs. Using a teaspoon or your fingers gently separate the skin from the breast and push in the butter so it is between the skin and the breast meat. Tie the chicken ready for roasting. At this stage dish you can refrigerate the chicken overnight if you want.

Let any refrigerated chicken come to room temperature before cooking. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 190 degrees and cook for a further 45 minutes or until the meat juices run clear. Allow the chicken to rest for 15 - 30 minutes. When ready to serve, transfer the chicken to a chopping board and cut into large serving pieces. Arrange the chicken pieces onto a platter and sprinkle over the rocket leaves. Add the lemon wedges and serve.

An Asian Inspired Fish Dinner

On Friday night I cooked the 8 small fish from our (defrosted) freezer that my husband had caught.



I decided to go Asian flavours for a change, the menu was:



Barbecued Asian Fish Steamed Fish with Ginger and Shallots
Indonesian Braised Eggplant
Chinese Green with Oyster Sauce
Steamed Jasmine Rice



I will be playing around a little with the fish recipes, while the flavours were good, the fish that I used, was what we had. I didn't weight them, so I can't really tell you any cooking times. We just poked at it a bit until we knew that it was ready.

The stand out dish of the night was definitely the bok choy. I could have been at any yum cha restaurant. Yummy. I could happily have eaten the entire plate with a bowl of jasmine rice. I couldn't believe that it had come from own kitchen.

I have such respect for Asian and Chinese cooking, it is something that I find hard to replicate at home. Usually I avoid cooking Chinese at home because we don't have gas. I never can get enough heat into a wok on an electric stove. But now I can cook one of my all time favourite Chinese dishes at home. Simple, quick and easy, no gas required.

At the end of the night I realised a few other reasons why I don't do much Asian cooking. A lot of my attention was needed at the last minute to put the dishes together. This left me frustrated as my little monkeys kept coming into the kitchen showing me drawings and asking me questions. If I'm washing the pots from preparing a casserole or slicing the vegetables to go with dinner, these interruptions usually don't bother me. But when I had a few things going on all at once, very hot and dangerous things I might add, I found myself getting a little fraught.

The other reason - so many dishes! Plates, bowls; small and big, woks, saucepans, Chinese cleavers, paring knifes, the mortar and pestle, the steamer and chopping boards. The sink was over flowing.

But it was nice to step out of my comfort zone. The meal was delicious.

The bok choy (chinese greens) recipe is a mixture of one of Kylie Wong's recipes and one that I found on Taste. I hope you try it soon.



Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce

serves 6

• 2 bunches chinese greens (bok choy, pak choy, choy sum, chinese broccoli - washed)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoons caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoons peanut oil

Remove the stems from bok choy, then cut the bunch in half crossways. Fill a pot with water and bring to the boil. Combine the oyster sauce, garlic, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves and set aside. Add the vegetable oil to the boiling water and then the bok choy. Simmer until it is bright green and tender crisp, about 1-3 minutes depending on what vegetable you use. Refresh under cold running water. Drain and transfer to a serving platter. Heat the vegetable oil in small frying pan over high heat for 30 seconds, it needs to reach smoking point. Carefully pour the oil over the bok choy and drizzle over the oyster sauce mixture. Serve immediately.

Love hearts and more chocolate

"You are the butter to my bread, you are the breath to my life."

Paul Child to Julia Child

Quoted from the movie Julie and Julia.

Yesterday we celebrated Valentine's Day or Love Day, as we call it in our house. We had a special dinner with candles and the good china. After recently watching Julie and Julia, I was inspired to make heart shaped badges for all of us to wear to the dinner table. The kids loved it.

The main meal, a chicken dish, was very ordinary, but the dessert, chocolate mousse was a hit.

I don't think I have ever made a chocolate mousse. I certainly ate my fair share of them throughout the eighties, both at restaurants and at dinner parties in our home, but I can't remember ever making my own.

When my husband and I first started going out, he tried to woo me with chocolate mousse. He made many attempts at the recipe, but he just couldn't get it right. Or so he said. I would often go over to his place and find the fridge door lined with little parfait glasses of chocolate mousse. But I wonder now? Was it just an excuse to keep all of the chocolate mousse to himself?

I can't remember if he ever did get it right or if I ever got to taste any of that mousse. What I do know is; that it turned me off ever making it.

Guess what, that was a big mistake! It is easy peasy, lemon squeezy, as my daughter would say.

It is my children's new favourite dessert. To say that they loved it, would be an understatement.



After about five minutes of silence, you know, that delicious silence when you know you have cooked something good. My husband and I looked into each others dessert dishes, then into the kids dishes and then looked at each other.

Two peas in a pod.

The boys eat their dessert this way. From the middle.



The girls eat their dessert this way. From the side.

An interesting observation....

However you eat it, I hope you enjoy it. It certainly took me for a trip down memory lane. I made it last night without any flavour additions. My mum usually added Tia Maria to hers. How do you like your chocolate mousse?

Chocolate Mousse

serves 6-8

• 200g dark cooking chocolate (roughly chopped)
• 30g unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons Kahlua, Tia Maria, Cointreau or strong coffee (optional)
• 4 eggs (at room temperature - separated)
• 1 cup thickened cream (lightly whipped)

to serve

• extra whipped cream
• grated or shaved chocolate
• a strawberry fan (for retro nostalgia - optional)

Melt the chocolate, butter (and liqueur/coffee, if using) in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Using a metal spoon, stir until the chocolate has melted and is smooth and shiny. Remove bowl from the heat and add the egg yolks one at a time, stir constantly after each addition. Set aside to cool while you beat the egg whites. Beat egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks form and set aside. Fold the cream into chocolate mixture then fold in egg whites in two batches. Divide mousse among 6 serving glasses or dishes. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Serve topped with whipped cream and chocolate curls, if desired.

Some notes:

• The eggs must be at room temperature for success with this recipe.
• The chocolate and butter mixture can be melted in the microwave.
• Chocolate mousse is not suitable to freeze.
• The Rose Bakery Classic Chocolate Mousse recipe uses dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids. Because this is a bitter chocolate, they add 1 tablespoon of caster sugar to the the egg whites after after they have been whipped to soft peaks. - I might try that next time.

Chocolate Fork Biscuits

This afternoon, I needed chocolate. You have those days right?

I searched high and low for any secret stash, somewhere? anywhere? But the cupboard was bare.



But the cupboard is never really bare.... especially is you have a quick chocolate biscuit recipe at hand.
I have been making this recipe for as long as I can remember, since high school. Perhaps these biscuits will be, just the thing, when you next have your own chocolate cravings.



The kids were very happy that I needed chocolate today.
 
Chocolate Fork Biscuits

makes about 24 biscuits

• 125 grams butter
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup self raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoon dutch cocoa

Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Prepare baking trays. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift in the flour, salt and cocoa and mix well. Roll the mixture into walnut size balls and place on to the baking tray. With a fork dipped in cold water, flatten each ball into a 5 cm circle. Bake in a moderate oven for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
These cookies are best on the day that they are baked. I have kept some for tomorrow's afternoon tea and the rest I have frozen.

Focaccia

On Friday I made focaccia. Delizioso!



Last week I borrowed (stole) this Italian cookbook from my Mum's house. I have been talking about making focaccia for ages. With both of my little ones at school, it seemed like there was; no time like the present.

I used the recipe in the book, referring to Bill (Delicious Magazine) and Jamie for technique tips. I put on the Big Night soundtrack, loud, and imagined a little Nonna at my side, guiding me through each step.

Alas... I was alone.....

Despite this, I think I did OK, it looked right, it felt right and it definitely tasted right. Yum! I have vowed never to buy store-bought focaccia again.

It has been years, and I mean, years, since I last cooked with yeast. Before my children were born, I always made our own pizza bases, but more recently I have just been plain lazy with that. As for bread making, any previous attempts have always ended in disaster. I'm hoping it will not be so long before I am playing around with yeast again.

NOTE: If you keep you flour in the freezer, like I do, make sure that you bring the flour to room temperature before you start cooking. I read, only after, I had made my focaccia that the flour can be warmed slightly before you start.

So much to learn.





Stir the salt into the flour in the large bowl and make a well in the center.





Pour the oil into the well, followed by the yeast mixture.









Using two fingers of one hand, make circular movements from the center, working outwards, slowly bringing in more and more of the flour until all of the yeast mixture has been used up. You will have a soft but firm dough.



Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth, elastic and shiny or until the impression made by a finger springs back immediately.



Cover with a tea towel or clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm draught-free place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.




Punch down the center of the dough with your fist.



Place the rosemary and garlic into a large mortar and pestle and smash to release the flavour. Stir in the oil and set aside.



Gently spread over the rosemary and garlic infused olive oil, letting it run all over the top and pool into the dimples.

I hope that it will not be too long between yeast baking, however, just in case, I have taken lots of photos, so not forget the different stages of the dough making process.
 
Focaccia

makes 1 focaccia

• 500 grams plain flour (room temperature)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 300ml lukewarm (tepid) water
• 1 teaspoon (7 grams) dried yeast
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• semolina for sprinkling for the top
• 1-2 rosemary stalks (roughly chopped)
• 2-3 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt
• extra virgin olive oil

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Take out 2 tablespoons of flour and put into a smaller bowl. Add the honey to the smaller bowl and slowly add the water, whisking to combine as you go. Sprinkle the dried yeast over the water mixture and whisk again. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes or until the yeast activates and bubbles appear on the surface. If it hasn't bubbled after 5 minutes, discard it and start again.

Stir the salt into the flour in the large bowl and make a well in the center. (This step can be done directly onto your bench if you prefer) Pour the oil into the well, followed by the yeast mixture. Using two fingers of one hand, make circular movements from the center, working outwards, slowly bringing in more and more of the flour until all of the yeast mixture has been used up. You will have a soft but firm dough.

If you are using a bowl, transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth, elastic and shiny or until the impression made by a finger springs back immediately. Put the dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Roll the ball of dough around in the bowl to coat it with the oil, then cut a shallow cut across the top of the ball with a sharp knife. This will help the dough to prove faster. Cover with a tea towel or clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm draught-free place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

While you are waiting for the dough to rise, place the rosemary and garlic into a large mortar and pestle and smash to release the flavour. Stir in the oil and set aside. Lightly oil a 24 x 36 cm baking tray with a rim. Sprinkle the tray liberally with semolina.

Punch down the center of the dough with your fist. Rest the dough for 5 minutes. (At this stage the dough can be put into the fridge for up to 4 hours or frozen for later use. The dough must be brought back to room temperature before continuing) Put the dough back onto a floured bench and push it out as far as it can go with the palm of your hand. Work from the center of the dough, outwards. You want to make a rough rectangle, about 1/2 an inch thick.

Lift onto the prepared baking tray. Using your fingers dimple the dough all over with an irregular pattern. Gently spread over the rosemary and garlic infused olive oil, letting it run all over the top and pool into the dimples. Cover with cling film and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for another 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Sprinkle sea salt over the focaccia. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190 degrees and bake for a further 12-15 minutes until golden brown and risen. As soon as the focaccia comes out of the oven, give it a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.