Chicken Stroganoff

Stroganoff is usually made with beef. And sour cream. And often brandy and lots of butter.

A great strog can be a great weekly staple since it's actually quite easy to make and usually pleases the kids. And if you're going to make it a weekly (or fortnightly) meal, then your waistline may not thank you for the large doses of sour cream ingested on a regular basis. And you may not want to serve a sauce containing booze to your kids.

So here's my "light" version, one made minus the brandy and the heavy cream.



Chicken Stroganoff
(Serves 4-6)

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large brown onion, diced
6 chicken thighs, diced into chunks
6 large field mushrooms, diced into chunks
1/4 tspn paprika
3 tbsp tomato paste
3/4 cup chicken stock
185ml tin of Carnation light and creamy evaporated milk
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion until it begins to turn translucent. Add the diced chicken and cook until it's browned all over. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the chicken has almost cooked through and the mushrooms have softened.

Add the paprika and cook for 1 minute then add the tomato paste and stock. Bring the stroganoff to the boil, then turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer.

Mix the evaporated milk and cornflour together then add to the saucepan along with some salt and pepper. Simmer the stroganoff until it's thick and has a creamy consistency.

Mix in the chopped parsely then serve over pasta, rice or buttery mashed potato.

Green Chicken Pie

This year I've planted my first veggie patch and much to my surprise, I've had a bumper crop of silverbeet so I've had to become inventive and figure out a few recipes to use it up before the caterpillars ate it all!

So let me introduce you to my Green Chicken Pie. I took some inspiration from the traditional English shephard's pie which has a meaty-veggie base topped with mashed potato and then baked.

I know, I know - you're all remembering the boiled and grey silverbeet you were probably served up as a child, but trust me - after you've eaten my green chicken pie, you'll fall in love with this versatile and under-rated veggie.



Green Chicken Pie
(Serves 4)

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large brown onion, diced
6 large silverbeet leaves, stems finely diced and leaves shredded
4-5 large chicken thighs (skinless, boneless), cut into chunks
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tspn fennel seeds, ground
2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
5-6 royal blue potatoes, peeled and diced
100g butter


Preheat the oven to 220C. Grease a 2-3 litre casserole dish then place this on a baking pan or another type of "catcher" in case of over-spill!

Heat the oil over medium heat in a deep saucepan and gently saute the onion and silverbeet stems until the onion is translucent. Add the diced chicken and cook until the chicken is almost cooked through.

Add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook for another minute. Stir in the white wine and bring the mixture to the boil then add the chicken stock. Turn the heat back down to medium, stir in plenty of freshly cracked black pepper and a bit of salt then let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Thrown in the silverbeet leaves and parsley and mix in.

Meanwhile, boil the diced potatoes until tender. Drain then mash with the butter, plenty of salt and a pinch of pepper.

Spoon the chicken and silverbeet mixture into the casserole dish then top with the mashed potatoes. Pop this into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the potato on top begins to brown a little.

Serve this with a side of blanched veggies or just as it is.

Pantry Paella

I have only recently discovered the delights on paella (yeah, I know, it took me awhile!) and I've been playing about with a few different variations. This is one I've dubbed "pantry paella". Mainly because I keep most of these ingredients in my pantry or fridge (or freezer - thank you frozen beans!) and it's dead easy to make.



Pantry Paella
Serves 4

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion (or 2 little ones), diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 large chicken thighs, cut into large chunks
1 capsicum (red or green), diced
100g green beans
2 tomatoes, diced
Large pinch of saffron threads
1 tspn dried rosemary
1 tspn smoked paprika (use normal paprika if you can't get smoked)
1L chicken stock
1 cup long-grain white rice (or use paella rice if you have it)

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-low heat and gently cook the onion until it's transparent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute then add the chicken thighs and turn the heat up to medium. Let the chicken thighs brown all over.

Add the capsicum and green beans and cook for about 5 minutes - until the capscium has begun to soften a little. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until the juice has leaked out of the tomatoes and looks like it's beginning to thicken.

Stir in the saffron, rosemary, paprika and stock. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the whole lot simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occassionally so nothing sticks on the bottom of the pan.

Tip in the rice, bring the mixture to a boil, stir well then lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice has cooked. If it looks like it's drying out before the rice has cooked, then just add some more hot water. Season the paella well with salt and pepper, then serve. Don't forget to save the slightly burnt, crusty bit at the bottom of the pan for yourself (or share if you're a nicer person than me!)

Chicken, Olive and Lemon Tagine

I recently bought my partner, Pete, Jamie Oliver's book "Jamie Does" for Christmas after he'd seen Jamie's TV program of the same name (which was released in conjunction with the book) and really enjoyed it, especially the Moroccan and Italian parts of the program.



So over the Christmas break, he made one of the recipes from the book: a chicken, olive and preserved lemon tagine. He made one alteration to the recipe though - he couldn't get hold of preserved lemons so just used a little lemon zest instead. The meal is also supposed to be served over cous cous but we served it over white rice instead.

Overall, it was a beautiful meal! The chicken was succulent, the olives added saltiness, the lemon was fresh and tangy and the coriander (or cilantro to some) gave the dish colour and that beautiful flavour which is so distinctive (to me at least!)



The recipe is in the book "Jamie Does" by Jamie Oliver, published by Penguin Books, and is available from www.bookdepository.co.uk for AUD$37.73. It contains recipes from Morocco, Greece, Italy, Sweden, France and Spain. In my opinion, it's a great book with easy to follow recipes and ingredients which are generally already in my pantry (or easy enough to buy).

Satay Chicken

Nobody could ever accuse me of being a food snob. Especially not after they've read this recipe! Any cook worth their MasterChef apron will cringe, possibly even hyperventilate, when they read that my satay chicken is made with peanut butter. Yep, classy aren't I?! ;p But let's face it, tell the kids that dinner is made with peanut butter and they'll scoff it down - veggies and all (well, maybe not - I can't work miracles!)



Satay Chicken
(Serves 4)

1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
1/4 cup honey
Vegetable oil
3 chicken breasts (or 2 if they're big), halved lengthways then sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-3 handfuls of fresh veggies, chopped into chunks
Sesame oil

To make the sauce, put the stock, peanut butter, sweet chilli sauce and honey in a microwave-safe jug. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave (medium power) then stir it well. Heat for a further 60-90 seconds or until the sauce has just begun to thicken.

In a wok, heat the vegetable oil over high heat and stir-fry the chicken until it's begun to change colour. Add the garlic and vegetables and stir-fry for one minute.

Add the satay sauce and let it simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick. Add a few drops of sesame oil then serve the stir-fry over hot noodles or steamed rice.

Note: For the vegetables, I use slices of onion, carrots, sugar snap peas, capsicum and baby corn but you can use almost anything - broccoli, cauliflower, Asian greens, spring onions, snow peas, birds-eye chilli, mushrooms, etc.

Thai Chicken Sausage Rolls

These Thai chicken sausage rolls are simple to make and the perfect savoury finger food at any shindig! I've made them multiple times for friends and even my family. In fact, my impossibly English doesn't-like-foreign-stuff (including pasta or anything he can't pronounce) Grandfather quickly pounced on the last sausage roll on the plate when the entire family was last around and proclaimed them "quite tasty".

Thai Chicken Sausage Rolls

600g chicken mince

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped

Puff pastry sheets

1 egg, lightly beaten

Sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 200C and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl mix together the mince, breadcrumbs, ground cumin, sweet chilli sauce and coriander.

Lay out a sheet of puff pastry and cut it in half (so it's a rectangle). Take one of the halves, spread some of the mixture along one edge of the pastry sheet and roll up to conceal the filling. Brush with egg to seal the pastry closed. Repeat this process with the remainder of the mince filling.

Slice each "roll" into four or five pieces and place them on the baking trays, seam side down. Brush the rolls lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 25 minutes and serve with extra sweet chilli sauce. Oh, and be careful to let them cool before you bite into them. (Something I find difficult to do!)

Chicken Chasseur

Chicken chasseur is a classic French dish. Chasseur means "hunter's sauce" as it was once a dish to slow-cook game meats such as rabbit, chicken, pheasant or venison.

The sauce itself is rich (but not stodgy) and begs to be mopped up by copious amounts of mashed potato or crusty bread. The main ingredients used to flavour a classic chasseur sauce are mushrooms, onions or shallots, white wine and herbs, although occassionally tomatoes (or tomato paste) is used.

Chicken Chasseur
(Serves 4)

800g chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized cubes
50g butter

Olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
150g field or button mushrooms, quartered
1 tbsp plain flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 tspn dried tarragon
1/2 tspn dried parsely

Heat the butter and a small amount of olive oil (which will stop the butter from burning) in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften. Add the chicken pieces and cook until they begin to brown a little. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, until they too begin to soften.

Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and stir until it has combined with all the ingredients. Add the white wine, tomato paste and chicken stock. Stir well. Bring the chasseur to a boil then reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan with a lid and leave to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add the tarragon and parsley to the chasseur and season well with salt and pepper. Simmer for a further 10 minutes with the lid off to reduce the sauce to a thick gravy. (If the gravy is too thick, you may add a little water to thin it slightly.)

Serve the chicken chasseur with mashed potato and steamed vegetables or fresh crusty bread and a side salad.