Food, glorious food!
Asian Chicken Salad
Asian Chicken Salad
We love this quick and nutritious midweek salad recipe that is easily modified to cater for the veg and salad ingredients you have available.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
1 Chicken Breast
A little Olive Oil
1 Medium Carrot
Cucumber about 3 inches long
4 spring onions
Enough salad leaves or shredded lettuce for two (such as Chinese leaves or hearts of romaine)
2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1-2 Tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
3-5 Tbsp Sweet Fruit Juice (such as pineapple or apple)
Method
- Wash the chicken breast, rub lightly with olive oil and steam in a steamer (or on an upturned tea plate in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid and a small amount of water) for 10-15 minutes until gently cooked through.
- Allow the chicken to cool slightly then shred with two forks and set aside.
- Slice the carrot, cucumber & spring onions very finely into string-like, 3 inch pieces.
- Pile the salad leaves onto two plates and season with a little sea salt.
- Stack the vegetable strings into a pile in the middle of the salad.
- Now mix together the peanut butter, soy sauce and 1-2 Tbsp of the chilli sauce (depending on taste) in a small pan and slowly bring to a simmer mixing all the time. If it thickens too quickly add a Tbsp fruit juice.
- When just starting to bubble, add enough fruit juice to create a single cream consistency.
- Continue to heat until warmed through, don’t over heat and if it thickens too much add more fruit juice.
- Dribble the sauce over the vegetables and top with the shredded chicken.
- Serve with chopsticks and prawn crackers.
Uncle Rag's Faultless 5 hour roast lamb
Uncle RAG’s Faultless 5 Hour Roast Lamb
A lot of people claim not to like lamb but generally I think this is because they are brought up with the acrid smell of New Zealand lamb (my opinion of course). English lamb is much more subtle in flavour and there is much less of a fatty smell when cooking. This is a super-simple recipe that originated from a Jamie Oliver recipe, adapted by Uncle Rag and further tickled by me which results in buttery soft meat that you could quite literally carve off the bone with a spoon and spread on toast!
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
Approx. 1.5kg Whole Leg of English Lamb on the bone
Seasonal root veg to your liking cut into large chunks or left whole
1 Bottle of good white wine
Handful or Rosemary, Thyme & 2-3 fresh Bay Leaves
Sea salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Crusty bread to serve
Method
- Preheat the oven to 150°C / 300°F / Gas Mk 2.
- Pat the meat dry with some kitchen paper, season and brown rapidly on all sides in a large frying pan then put the meat into a large heavy casserole or roasting tin.
- Now fry the veg to give it a little colour and add to the meat fitting the veg around the joint.
- Drop in the herbs scattering them evenly through the dish.
- Pour a glassful of white wine into the hot frying pan to de-glaze it and add to the casserole followed by the rest of the bottle of white wine.
- Now refill the wine bottle with tap water and add this to the pan ensuring all the veg is covered.
- Add a tight fitting heavy lid or make an airtight lid with tin foil then put in the oven for five hours.
- Serve straight on the table so your guests can dig in themselves, dipping bread in the wonderful juices!