Chicken and Cannellini Beans Casserole

Chicken thigh portions with bone-in and skin-on are one of my favourite cuts for braising and casseroles as they are juicy and full of flavour.  Brown them in the pan for colour and then a variety of ingredients can be added to make a hearty, delicious family meal.  In this recipe, I pair thighs with cannellini beans and bake them in the oven with cream to add richness and a generous amount of thyme for their subtle herbal aroma.  Serve with crusty bread and a green salad.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1.2kg / 2lb 10oz chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on 
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 knob of butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• a few sprigs of fresh or dried thyme, plus extra thyme leaves, to serve
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 1 cup cooking cream
• 400g / 14oz tinned cannellini or butter beans, rinsed and drained

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a shallow casserole pan over medium high heat until hot.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then brown them, skin-side down, in 2 batches until golden.  Flip to brown the other side.  Transfer to a plate.
2. Add a knob of butter to the pan.  Reduce heat to medium and add onion, garlic and thyme.  Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the onion softens. 
3. Stir in stock, cream and beans.  Bring it to a simmer.
4. Transfer the chicken and all their juices back to the pan, skin-side up.  Bake in a preheated 180°C/350°F oven for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove and discard sprigs of thyme.  Scatter extra thyme leaves over the chicken.

 

Easy Thai Fish Curry 🇹🇭

Make this easy fish curry with authentic Thai flavours with just a few ingredients.  Get yourself some nice white fish fillets, good quality Thai red curry paste, coconut cream, fish sauce, palm sugar, a few 'makrut' lime leaves and you are ready to go.  I use West Australian wild caught Goldband Snapper fillets for their clean, sweet taste and firm texture.  Poach them gently in the curry sauce until just cooked.  Slivers of lime leaves scattered over the curry liven it up with fresh aroma.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 4 fresh makrut lime leaves
• 250g / 9oz white fish fillets
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 heaped tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 200ml / 7 fl oz coconut cream
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons palm sugar (or brown sugar)

METHOD

1. Remove the tough central vein of lime leaves by folding the leaf in half and cutting it away with a sharp knife.  Stack the leaf halves, roll them tightly into a cylinder, then slice them into very thin slivers.
2. Slice fillets into large even-sized pieces.
3. Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat.  Add the curry paste and fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add the coconut cream, fish sauce and sugar.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer.
5. Add the fish and cook gently over low heat for about 5 minutes, moving the pieces around occasionally, until they change colour and are just cooked.
6. Have a taste of the sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary.
7. Scatter over slivers of lime leaves.  Serve with steamed rice.

 

Nectarines Baked with Honey, Orange & Cardamom

Located on coastal plain Perth is relatively flat, but 30-45 minutes drive from the city there is the beautiful Perth Hills region dotted with orchards where you can pick your own fruits such as these lovely nectarines (pictured above) during the summer months.  While they are naturally sweet and juicy to eat, bake them with honey, orange juice and fragrant cardamom pods for a little indulgence.  Yellow nectarines with their slight tartness neutralised in the cooking process work particularly well in this recipe.  Have them for breakfast and dessert with yoghurt or thick cream on top.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 5 ripe but firm nectarines
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 4 cardamom pods, bruised
• 1 orange, juiced
• 1 cup Greek yoghurt or thick cream

METHOD

1. Cut the nectarines in half horizontally until your knife hits the pit.  Hold each nectarine in your palm and twist to separate.  Loosen the pit by cutting around it, then ease it out with your fingers.
2. Place nectarines in a baking dish large enough to hold them snugly in a single layer, cut-side up.
3. Drizzle with honey.  Scatter over bruised cardamom pods and seeds.  Pour over orange juice.
4. Bake in a preheated 180°C/350°F oven for 15 minutes until tender and golden.  Serve with yoghurt or thick cream.

 

Moroccan Spiced Roasted Carrots

If you're like me, there is always a few carrots in the fridge drawer as they are so versatile and nutritious too.  Roasted with warm spices Moroccan style until sweet and tender, they pair beautifully with meat dishes and can be incorporated into salads, grain bowls or served with my tahini sauce drizzled on top.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 500g / 1lb 2oz carrots
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped

METHOD

1. Wash and scrub carrots.  Trim and cut on a diagonal into chunks.
2. Place cut carrots in a medium bowl.  Add oil, cumin powder, smoked paprika and salt.  Toss gently to combine.
3. Transfer carrots onto an oven tray lined with baking paper.  Spread them out into a single layer.
4. Roast in a preheated 200°C /400°F oven for about 15 minutes until the carrots are tender and lightly caramelised.  Remove to a serving dish and garnish with chopped parsley.  Serve warm or at room temperature.   

 

Cantonese Soy Sauce Chicken 豉油雞 🇨🇳

The classic Cantonese soy sauce chicken is a dish traditionally served on festive occasions such as the Chinese new year, cut up and presented with the head and feet to symbolise wholeness.  Corn-fed chickens available from Asian butchers are used for best flavour and texture.  Otherwise, a free-range chicken (as pictured above) from the supermarket will suffice.  There are a few preparation steps prior to poaching the bird in the aromatic broth.  Timing and the amount of heat is critical to avoid the chicken being overcooked or undercooked.  You will be rewarded by the mouthwatering aroma of the poaching broth wafting through the kitchen as you proceed.  With a little care, the meat would be silkily tender and the skin appetisingly coloured, not unlike those hanging behind the windows of Chinese BBQ houses.  

Serves 6-8

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 whole chicken, 1.5 kg / 3lb 5oz
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 40g / 1½oz ginger slices
• 5 spring onions, sliced across into 2 or 3 sections
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 5 star anises
• a handful of dried mandarine peels
• 1 cup Chinese Shaoxin wine
• 2 cups light soy sauce
• 1 cup dark soy sauce
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 6 cups water
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

METHOD

Preparing the chicken prior to cooking:

1. Take the chicken out from the refrigerator to bring it back to room temperature about 15 minutes prior to cooking.
2. To help the chicken colour nicely when cooked, exfoliates the skin by rubbing the chicken all over with salt.  Use gloves.  Rinse off salt under the tap and pat dry with paper towels.
3. For best results, tighten up the skin of the chicken by pouring a cup of boiling water over the chicken. To do this, put the kettle on.  Suspend the chicken over the sink using poultry hooks or a piece of cooking twine long enough to go under the two wings and then over the top of the chicken with a double knot where you can hold onto with one hand.  With your other hand, carefully pour a cup of boiling water from the kettle over the chicken.  

Poaching the chicken:

1. Use a big enough pot that will allow the chicken to be completely submerged in the poaching liquid, such as a tall, thin stockpot or a large saucepan with a capacity of around 5 litres / quarts.
2. Place the ginger, 4 of the spring onions, cinnamon sticks, star anises, mandarine peels, wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and water in the pot.  Bring it to the boil, then reduce heat to simmer, covered, for 20 minutes for the broth to develop flavour.
3. Lower the chicken gently into the pot using a roasting fork inserted into the cavity of the chicken.  Lift the chicken in and out of the broth several times to fill and drain its cavity before letting it submerge in the pot, breast side down.  This is to ensure the chicken cooks through eventually. 
4. Poach the chicken over very low heat for 30 minutes, covered, in a lazy simmer with the water steaming but not bubbling at any time.  The chicken should be mostly submerged in the broth.  Flip the chicken midway for even colouring using the roasting fork inserted into the cavity.  Occasionally, ladle hot broth over the exposed part of the chicken.
5. After 30 minutes, turn off the heat.  Let the chicken rest in the broth, covered, for 20 minutes.
6. After 20 minutes, carefully lift the chicken out of the pot using the roasting fork inserted into the cavity.  Try not to break the skin.
7. Insert a skewer into the thickest part of a thigh or breast.  The chicken is cooked if the juice runs out clear.  (If it is pinkish in colour, heat up the broth and return the chicken to the pot to poach a little longer.) 
8. Brush the chicken all over with sesame oil.  Let it cool completely on a platter.
9. Meanwhile, make spring onion curls by cutting the remaining spring onion into thin strips.  Submerge strips in a bowl of ice water for a few minutes.  Remove and drain when the spring onions curl up.  Set aside for garnishing.

Cutting up and serving the chicken:

A cleaver is not strictly required to chop up the chicken Chinese-style.  A sharp knife, a sturdy cutting board and some knowledge of the chicken's anatomy will help you with the task.  Chicken bones are not particularly dense so cut through where you can and if a little pressure is required, set your knife on part of the chicken where you want to cut and the push down with the heel of your other hand.  Arrange cut pieces on the serving platter to resemble the whole chicken as much as you can.  

1. Place the chicken on cutting board, breast side up.  
2. Cut along the centre of the breast and through the breast bone, then ease apart the two halves of the chicken.
3. Cut along both sides of the backbone to remove.  Chop the backbone into a few sections and arrange them in the middle of the platter.
4. Slice off the wing from each side of the chicken along the joint.  Separate the drumette from the wingette.  Set them aside.
5. Pull the thighs away from the body and slice them off along the joints, then separate the drumsticks from the thighs.  Chop thighs and drumsticks into sections.  Arrange them on either side of the platter.
6. Chop each breast across the bone into thick slices.  Arrange them on top of the backbone pieces.
7. Arrange the wing pieces on one end of the chicken.
8. Pour some of the poaching liquid over the chicken before serving.
9. Garnish with spring onion curls.  Serve at room temperature.

*Keep the poaching liquid to use again as a master stock for another chicken, or dishes like Chinese braised whole beef shin, Chinese braised pork knuckle or Chinese marbled tea eggs .  After cooking with it, bring it to boil, then drain off any solids.  Keep the master stock in a clean container with lid in the fridge or the freezer.  To reuse, bring it to boil with fresh aromatics and seasonings as required.

Korean Spring Onion Pancake (Pajeon) 🇰🇷

While spring onions are often used as aromatic and for garnishing, they feature heavily in Korean cuisine.  In this recipe, enjoy them as the star ingredient in a pancake, fried in a simple batter until caramelised, which brings out their sweetness plus a little smoky flavour.  Serve with a sharp and tangy dipping sauce as a snack or a side dish.

Makes 1 pancake

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 spring onions, about 80g / 2¾oz
• ½ cup plain flour
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon Korean soybean paste (or Japanese miso)
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the dipping sauce:

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped (optional)

METHOD

1. Make the dipping sauce by combining all ingredients in a small dish.
2. Slice spring onions into 12cm / 5" sections.
3. In a bowl, make batter by combining flour, water, soybean paste and sugar.  Mix until the batter is smooth.
4. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat until hot.
5. Place spring onions on the pan in a single layer in the shape of a rectangle.
6. Pour the batter evenly over the spring onions.  Let it fry for a few minutes until the bottom of the pancake turns golden and crispy.  Press with your spatula gently on top to keep it in shape.
7. Flip the pancake over and cook the other side for another 2 minutes or until golden and crispy.
8. Flip the pancake over one more time and cook for 1 final minute.  
9. Remove the pancake to a wooden board and let it cool a little before slicing it up with a sharp knife into square sections.
10. Serve with the dipping sauce on the side.

 

Creamy Prawn Fettuccine

This is a simple and elegant dish, perfect to share with someone special on Valentine Day - fettuccine pasta with succulent prawns in a delicate cream sauce.  Go over the top with the best prawns you can find and allow 10 per person.  Cook them gently, first with the aromatics until they start to curl up, then finish in the simmering sauce as you stir in the wine and cream.  A few minutes are all it takes to turn the prawns into beautifully pink, juicy balls of deliciousness before the cooked pasta goes in to suck up all the sauce.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 20 medium size raw prawns in shells
• 200g / 7oz dried fettuccine or any long pasta
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• a pinch of red chilli flakes
• 1 French shallot, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ¼ cup white wine
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• sea salt, to taste 
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, for garnishing

METHOD

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook according to package directions until they are al dente.  Drain pasta in a colander and retain 2-3 tablespoons of the cooking water.
2. Remove heads and shells from prawns.  Make a slit on the back of each prawn to expose and remove the vein, which also helps them to open up and cook quickly.
3. In a large frying pan, add butter and oil over medium heat.  Add chilli flakes and shallot.  Stir fry for 1 minute until softened.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.
4. Add the prawns and stir fry until they start to curl up and are about 50% cooked.
5. Pour in wine and simmer for 1 minute until slightly reduced.
6. Pour in cream and cook, stirring, until heated through.  The prawns would be fully cooked by now.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
7. Transfer cooked pasta to the pan with the reserved cooking water.  Toss to combine.
8. Remove from heat.  Stir in parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley.  Serve immediately.

 

Peaches & Cream

Summer stone fruit are at their best now with an array of peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots selling fast at the local farmer's market.  Take some yellow peaches and if they are not sweet enough, let them simmer briefly in a light sugar syrup, then serve with dollops of thick cream or vanilla ice cream.   This is a simple, classic dessert that hardly needs a recipe, save for some instructions on how to cut a peach into perfect wedges.  Choose semi-ripe peaches, firm with a little give, for best results if you are cooking them.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large yellow peaches
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup thick cream or vanilla ice cream 

METHOD

1. Cut the peaches in half with a paring knife along the vertical crease till you hit the pit.  Hold the peach in your palm and twist to separate.  Loosen the pit by cutting around it, then remove it with your fingers.  Slice peaches into wedges.  
2. In a medium saucepan, place peaches, sugar, butter and cinnamon.  Cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring gently, until the peaches soften slightly and a syrupy sauce begins to form.  Remove from heat to cool. 
3. Spoon the peaches and sauce into bowls and served with dollops of thick cream or ice  cream.