Chicken - always versatile

I write this with Lamb roasting downstairs, ready for this Sunday. Slow roast with onions and garlic, with minted dauphinois (something I'm testing out) and our own runner beans from the garden. Then a blackberry and apple pie to finish, with blackberrys we just collected this morning from around the village. But that's not what this post is about ...

I thought I'd quickly post about the chicken I did last Sunday. It was a biggie, and I did it using a Greek recipe from a magazine I had lying about that sounded tasty. Basically it contained a lot of olive oil, oregano, lemon and potatoes, and was very good, although I felt there was perhaps a bit too much oil involved! The potatoes did come out amazing though.

What was even more amazing though (as always) is what you can get up to with the leftovers. I'm always amazed when people say that good quality food is too expensive when you consider how far you can make it go. This Chicken was almost £10, but we have trouble trying to eat it all, we get so many meals out of it. In fact there is still some risotto left in the fridge! That made about 8 meals in itself, plus there was another old classic I like to do - Chicken and Avocado salad. What's nice about using left over chicken is the salad is always a little different, depending how I roasted the meat, and perfect for when the weather gets a bit warm again like now. It's simplicity itself to make - and I think chicken and avocado have a great relationship in the dish. Plus there's the dressing I always make - a mixture of honey, lemon, whole grain mustard, olive oil and seasoning, that brings everything together. I served this one with freshly based Focaccia (again really easy and cheap to make - enough bread for about 8 meals will cost less than 50p).

I guess I have my mum and gran to thank for being a thrify cook all the time. It's a real pleasure though to create something tasty from leftovers, and I think brings out the best in you as a cook - not too mention saving you money in the process!

Beef Carpacio - a Sunday Roast for Summer

Been a way for a bit, hence the pause, but here's a goody that I've already managed to squeeze in twice this summer. The idea is to coat a nice piece of beef fillet with a very generous amount of crushed sea salt and black peppercorns, fry it over a high heat on all sides to give that crispy outside, and then finish off for just ten minutes in a very hot oven.




You end up with a piece of meat that's practically raw in the middle and crusty on the outside, so you have to make sure you're using a really good piece of meat to start with.



The other great thing about this dish is the sauce - a mayo made with lots of fresh mint and mustard. Wouldn't have thought of mint and beef, but this works a treat. Served with new pots and a leafy salad. And to finish? What could be better than a traditional english trifle, made with fresh cherries from the village and whatever else we could find!

A Wild Weekend

Wild food seemed to be the theme from last weekend. Cycled over to the Thorverton Country Show, which is always fun, and then down the river for a swim where we found wild mint growing in abundance on the bank. As our cucumbers are just about ready Tzatziki was planned with that, which turned out very well on Sunday night. We also gathered about 20 heads from the Elders around the village which are now becoming Elderflower Champagne as I write (fab drink that). And then there was lunch - pesto I made using wild garlic from the Exe valley.

Here's the roast chicken I did that went with the Tzatziki - kind of spatchcocked and then roasted with orange, lemon & thyme. Nice recipe, but it was the combination with the Tzatziki which really made it.

Altogether I'm feeling very environmentally friendly :-)