Thai red curry with Coconut rice

I was at Mint the other day, and noticed they have are selling a few items, such as limes, chillies and my favourite Thai curry paste, the wonderfully named "cock brand" :D  I love this paste because it is actually a lovely thick paste, full of tang and spice, not an oiled down watery sauce.

Another bonus about this brand is that it doesn't include shrimp paste, and even though this is supposed to be an essential ingredient in the curry pastes, the taste is still just as intense and powerful, and it's suitable to make a vegetarian curry with also!  WIN!  You can taste the fresh herbs and spices that go into this.  It's so intensely lovely!  Quite spicy, so if someone isn't a chilli fan, probably avoid the red, and definitely avoid the green. And add a little extra fish sauce to make up for the lack of shrimp paste. 

This recipe is based on the instructions on the tub.  I have added my own little embellishments, but have tried to keep it as authentic as possible.  

Incidentally, I also found it (along with many, MANY Asian foods and things that i've been searching for) for half the price at Asia Supermarket in Gzira, and if you're overseas, any Asian supermarket should have it!

Incidentally, this is another one of those dishes I make for friends, and unfortuantely keep on forgetting to take pics of it until it's been devoured.  Until then, I've stolen a pic off the internet to show you what it looks like:

From http://www.templeofthai.com/recipes/red_curry.php (note how the oil sits on top!)

Roast Chicken with sage/onion stuffing

I love a roast chicken! :)  It's pretty easy to make, and makes the house smell so delicious :)  Ate a lovely roast chicken made by my brother in law, who adds plenty of good butter, and lovingly bastes it with juices all throughout the cooking time. Thought I'd try and recreate the juiciness in my own roast chicken, and it was a success!

I also found sage, so thought i'd try making my own stuffing.  Not a fan of meat in stuffing, but thought a sage/onion/breadcrumb stuffing without adding the bacon/pork meat would be nice :) I'd never tried this, but would like to think that it'll absorb all the inner chicken juices, and keep everything nice and moist while adding the lovely flavour of sage to the chicken :)

Here goes:

One free range chicken (i got a 1.6kg one, make sure you keep a note of how much it weighs for cooking time!)
2 large onions
garlic, chopped
a bunch of sage, chopped finely
butter (i used salted President butter)
a couple of slices of white bread (stale or dried in the oven then whizzed into crumbs)
salt and pepper
1 free range egg
optional: a teaspoon of mustard (i used English), a couple of teaspoons of redcurrant jam
a dash of white wine

Preheat the oven to 180C and place the top rack right in the middle of the oven.  you can use the bottom rack right at the bottom to make veggies (or simply chuck them in the roasting pan with the chicken if you want)

To make the stuffing:
Dice one of the onions, and fry gently with the garlic in some butter until golden.  Once ready, add to a medium size mixing bowl.  Add sage, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, mustard and jam (if using), mix well, then add egg and mix again.

Chicken roasting:
Slice the other onion thinly, and place on the bottom of the dish you'll be using to roast the chicken.
Loosen the skin on the breast of the chicken, enough to be able to put your hand in.  place thin slices of butter in between the skin and the breast.  This will make for lovely moist white meat if cooked well (and by well i don't mean over done, but just the right time).
Stuff the chicken cavity with the mixture (don't over stuff, if theres any stuffing leftover, shape into balls and place them alongside the chicken, and place breast up into the dish. brush lightly with oil.
add a tiny dash of white wine to the dish.
Chuck in oven.
Cook for 20 minutes per 500 grams, plus 20 minutes.

It's important to baste the chicken every now and then.  Makes all the difference !

Every 20 minutes or so, baste the chicken by spooning the juices over it.

Once you think it's done, prick into the thickest part of the thigh, if the juices run clear, it's cooked.  If not, pop into the oven for another 10 minutes and try again.

Once it's done, take it out of the oven,  cover loosely with foil and rest for about 20-30 minutes.  You could ignore this step, and eat it right away, but apart from burning your tongue and finding it hard to carve, the meat will be dryer and less tender.  It really does make a huge difference, resting allows the meat to reabsorb juices into the centre, and relax. 

Mobile phone photo, the only one that got all the roast and stuffing :)

enjoy!!

Chicken Broth - (Brodu tat-Tigieg)

"Brodu" is so much more than a simple chicken stock in Malta.  It's a hearty meal, with 2 courses,  a delicious brothy soup, and then the chicken itself, served with steamed/boiled vegetables, potatoes and crusty bread. 

When I used to make this soup in Melbourne with my best mate and her partner, we'd eat soup on one day, have chicken pie the next with the leftover chicken, and any leftover soup would be used as a broth to make risotto the day after.  This is a fantastic way of getting all you can out of one chicken.  And so tasty!

Just ready.

Coq au Vin

Ah.... this is one of my favourite dishes, to make, to serve and to eat.  Like the Maltese fenkata, this is a dish best served with loved ones!! :) I've adapted it to use things I can find in a regular butcher/supermarket/greengrocer.
It really makes a difference to cook this the night before, so try to do that if possible as the flavour really develops.  Plus it's way easier if you're entertaining anyway!  If not, try and make it as early on in the day as possible, and leave to sit for a couple of hours before reheating and serving!
Really good served with some kind of roast potatoes (i made hasselbacks, recipe to follow) and/or some fresh beautiful loaf of bread (luckily there's no short supply of that in Malta!)

Delicious and nutritious comfort food :)

Grilled Pepper Chicken

This was adapted from a recipe for Pollo al Diavolo by Rick Stein - which means "Devilled Chicken"...

The recipe is originally from Puglia, a region in Italy famous for its olive oil, pretty much everything from there is soaked in the stuff. The original recipe called for 175mls of oil, but i highly reduced that amount (although i put a decent amount in anyway) and added extra lemon juice. I also didn't have dried crushed chilli flakes, so used powder (will def use heaps of chilli flakes next time though!), and I used boneless thighs rather than a whole spatchcocked chook.