Penne boscaiola with asparagus

Recipe adapted from Super Food Ideas, October 2011 issue, page 24

Ingredients

400g penne pasta
1 tablespoon cornflour
½ cup chicken stock
300ml evaporated light cream
1 tablespoon olive oil
100g bacon, diced
x2 chicken minute steaks
200g button mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 green onions, sliced (or 1 small brown onion)
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1cm slices
¾ cup frozen green peas
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
Parmesan cheese, grated

Method

1. Cook pasta in a saucepan of salted boiling water, following packet directions, until tender. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, place cornflour in a bowl. Add the stock. Stir until smooth. Add cream and whisk until smooth. Set aside. 
3. Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium high heat. Add bacon. Cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until golden. 
4. Season chicken steaks and add to pan. Cook for 1 minute each side or until golden. Remove chicken steaks onto a plate to rest.
5. Meanwhile, add mushrooms and garlic to pan. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add onion and asparagus. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until onion is tender.
6. Add cream mixture and peas to pan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes or until thickened and asparagus is tender. Add pasta and lemon rind. Slice up the chicken steaks and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with some grated Parmesan cheese.

Donna Hay's Porcini Mushroom & Chicken Pie

Recipe from Donna Hay No Time To Cook, page 156

Ingredients

16g dried porcini mushrooms
¼ cup boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 x 140g chicken thigh fillets, cubed
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 cup chicken stock
¾ cup fresh or frozen peas
½ cup flatleaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
6 sheets (25cm x 25cm) store-bought puff pastry, thawed
lightly beaten egg, for brushing
onion slices, for topping
salad leaves, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Place porcini in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Drain the porcini, reserve soaking liquid and chop porcini finely.
2. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until onion softens slightly. 
3. Add chicken, cook 2 minutes more, stir in flour then add porcini, reserved soaking liquid and stock and cook for 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens.
4. Stir in peas and parsley, remove from heat and set mixture aside to cool for 30 minutes. 
5. Cut 12 pastry rectangles measuring 10cm x 12cm (or divide pastry sheets into 4 squares). Place 6 pastry rectangles on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper and divide chicken mixture among them (1/3 cup each).
6. Brush edges of the pastry with egg, cover with remaining pastry rectangles and press edges to seal. Top with onion slices, brush pies with egg and bake for 18 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Serve with salad leaves. 
7. To freeze, wrap the pies in baking paper, then plastic wrap and aluminium foil to seal. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Smoky Chicken, Chorizo & Chickpeas

Recipe from Coles Magazine May 2013 issue page 26

Ingredients

600g chicken thigh fillets, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
250g chorizo, sliced
400g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tomato, chopped
1 long red chilli, sliced
¼ cup chopped parsley

Method

1. Place chicken, 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, paprika and cumin in a bowl. Toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins, to marinate.
2. Heat remaining oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Cook chicken for 2-3 mins each side, until golden. Remove from pan.
3. Cook chorizo and chickpeas in same pan, stirring, for 2-3mins, until golden. Return chicken to pan with any pan juices. Drizzle over balsamic and simmer, covered, for 5 mins, until chicken is heated. Stir through tomato, chilli and parsley.

Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals Thai Chicken Laksa

Today is day 6 of my Jamie Oliver challenge.

This meal took me about 25 minutes to cook. I think because I took longer, I ended up boiling off some of the liquid and once the noodles went into the pot, it absorbed all the liquid hence my laksa didn't end up "soupy". But, it still tasted fantastic! Bursting with lots of flavours. Whoever thought a tasty laksa could be created in less than half an hour?! The only change I would make next time, would be to increase the amount of chicken since there didn't seem like there was enough to go with the amount of noodles.

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals, page 44

Serves 4
656 calories

Ingredients

Chicken
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 heaped teaspoon Chinese five-spice
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 fresh red chilli

Laksa
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
½ butternut pumpkin,
2 cloves of garlic
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
1 fresh red chilli
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ a bunch of spring onions
1 heaped teaspoon peanut butter
4 dried kaffir lime leaves
½ a bunch of fresh coriander
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon low salt soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
300g medium rice noodles
2 bunches of asparagus (600g)
1 x 400g tin of light coconut milk
2-3 limes

*Ingredients out *Kettle boiled *Griddle pan, high heat *Large lidded pan, high heat *Food processor (coarse grater & bowl blade)

Method

On a large sheet of greaseproof paper, toss the chicken with salt, pepper and the five spice. Fold over the paper, then bash and flatten the chicken to 1.5cm thick with a rolling pin. Place on the hot griddle pan, turning after 3 or 4 minutes, until nicely charred and cooked through. Pour about 800ml of boiling water into the large pan and crumble in the stock cube.

Grate in the food processor, then tip into the boiling stock. Swap to the bowl blade in the processor and add the peeled garlic and ginger, the chilli, turmeric, trimmed spring onions, peanut butter, dried lime leaves, coriander stalks (reserving the leaves), sesame oil, soy and fish sauces. Blitz to a paste, then tip into the stock and add the noodles.

Trim the asparagus and cut in half. Add to the pan, pour in the coconut milk and as soon as it boils, taste, correct the seasoning with soy sauce and lime juice, then turn the heat off. Drizzle the honey over the charred chicken, squeeze over the juice of 1 lime, scatter with the sesame seeds and toss to coat. Serve with the laksa and lime wedges, sprinkling everything with the coriander leaves and slices of fresh chilli.

Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals Spicy Cajun Chicken with Smashed Sweet Potato & Fresh Corn Salsa

Today is day 3 of my week with Jamie. So far, so good. Whilst I still haven't been able to cook his meals in the advertised 15 minutes, I am still quite impressed at how much I can get done in such little time and how delicious everything tastes. But most of all, what I've really enjoyed is all the healthy and fresh food that hubby and I have been eating.

Unfortunately though, I'm not used to the huge amount of washing up that I need to do after I finish cooking Jamie's recipes! I normally use only 1 pot, 1 frypan and 1 chopping board, whilst Jamie's recipes tend to use at least 3 types of cookware, plus a food processor. I can hardly fit everything on my kitchen bench and stove top, let alone inside the dishwasher. I have a spatially challenged kitchen to work with!

Anyways, I don't think I'm going to bother timing myself any more when it comes to cooking Jamie's meals now. I reckon if Jamie can do it in 15 minutes, it means it'll probably take me about 30 minutes or more to achieve it. I can't multi-task and do the crazy things he does in the kitchen, heck I can't even slice vegetables as fast as he does! Whilst I do enjoy cooking quick meals, I do like to do it in a steady manner rather than rushing around, like I'm at work or something. Home is still a place I like to unwind and take things at my own pace and not be time pressed, if that makes sense?

But enough of my ranting and back to the spicy cajun chicken. This meal took me about 30 minutes from start to finish- it also didn't help that I misread a step- forgot to turn the pot containing the sweet potato on high heat and subsequently my sweet potatoes weren't cooking whilst I was preparing the chicken and salsa. However, since the potatoes were cut so thinly, they cooked really quickly so it didn't matter too much.

I also bought chicken minute steaks in order to omit the step about bashing and flattening the chicken breasts (I live in a unit so I'm mindful of noise and disturbing my neighbours).

This cajun chicken dish tastes absolutely fantastic! I love it and will definitely make it again.

Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals, page, 28

Serves 4
651 calories

Ingredients

Salsa
4 corn on the cob
1 small bunch of fresh coriander
1 fresh red chilli
4 spring onions
3 ripe tomatoes
2 limes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Smash
800g sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

Chicken
4 x 120g skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon polenta
olive oil
2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
175g okra
20g feta cheese

* Ingredients out * Kettle boiled *Griddle pan, high heat *Food processor (fine slicer) *Large lidded pan, high heat *Large frying pan, medium-high heat

Method

Put the corn on the griddle pan, turning when charred. Wash the sweet potatoes, remove any gnarly bits of skin with a speed-peeler, then finely slice in the processor. Put the sweet potatoes into the large pan, then just cover with boiling salted water and the lid. On a large sheet of greaseproof paper, toss the chicken with salt, the Cajun seasoning and polenta. Fold over the paper, then bash and flatten the chicken to 1.5cm thick with a rolling pin.

Put the chicken into the frying pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, turning after 3 or 4 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Drain the cooked sweet potatoes well, return to the pan and mash with the sweet chilli sauce, pop the lid on and leave on a very low heat. Slice the bacon and add to the frying pan. As soon as he bacon stars to crisp up, add the okra the pan.

Carefully hold the charred corn steady and run a knife down the sides to cut off the kernals, then put them into a bowl. Roughly chop the top leafy half of the coriander and add to the corn. Finely slice the chilli and trimmed spring onions, chop the tomatoes and add to the bowl with a pinch of salt, the lime juice and extra virgin olive oil, then mix well. Serve the sweet potato smash on a board or platter with the chicken and okra, crumble over the feta, and serve with the fresh salsa on the side.

Thai Green Chicken Curry

I love a good curry- it's sweet, rich, spicy and warming to the belly. Making curry from scratch makes the best tasting curry but if you don't have the time, using a good brand of pre-made curry paste and coconut milk can still taste just as good.
Curry is also great to prepare the night before to allow the flavours to build up and intensify. Just make sure that when you reheat it, do it slowly so that you don't allow the coconut milk to boil or you'll end up curdling it- which is what happened to mine when I made this curry for a family dinner on Xmas day! It doesn't affect the flavour too much but doesn't make your curry look very attractive since you'll have small uneven lumps floating on the surface.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1-2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
1kg boneless & skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into 3cm pieces
4 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
6 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
400ml coconut milk
250ml chicken stock
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown or palm sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 small baby eggplant- halved lengthways, cut into 2cm pieces
1 small carrot, coarsely chopped or 1 large zucchini, coarsely chopped
1 small broccoli, trimmed, cut into florets or 100g beans, topped
50g baby corn- halved lengthways
Sliced red chilli, Thai basil leaves & finely shredded kaffir lime leaves to garnish
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over a high heat, add onions and cook for 3 minutes or until golden. Stir in curry paste and cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
2. Add chicken, basil, lime leaves, lemongrass, coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, brown sugar and lime juice and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, add all the vegetables and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is tender and sauce is thick. Serve garnished with chilli, basil and kaffir lime leaves. Serve with steamed rice

Notes & Tips

Depending on the brand of curry paste you use it can vary in heat and flavour intensity. I've used anywhere between 1 tablespoon to half a jar! It depends on how hot you like your curry and how familiar you are with the brand you use. Experiment until you find the right one for you.

I prefer to use the Maesri brand green curry paste but it's very, very hot! So use no more than 1 tablespoon if you like your curry mild.

Make ahead tips:

If making the curry the night before, do not add the lime juice until right at the end when ready to serve

Add the chicken and vegetables during reheating to keep chicken moist and vegetables crisp

Reheat the curry over a low temperature to avoid coconut milk from curdling

Chicken & Sweet Potato Pasta Salad

Ingredients

600g sweet potato or pumpkin, chopped into 2.5cm pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
400g spiral pasta
½ bbq chicken, shredded
1 punnnet, cherry tomatoes
50g baby spinach leaves
40g (1 mini tub) Philadelphia cream cheese 
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place sweet potato, olive oil, salt and cracked black pepper in a large bowl and toss to combine. Transfer to a large baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender and lightly golden. Remove and set aside. Allow to cool.
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water according to packet instructions or until al dente. Drain and return to pan. Add the chicken, tomatoes, sweet potato and baby spinach leaves.

• Spoon the salad into a serving bowl then toss over the cream cheese, mustard and extra virgin olive oil.  Serve warm or cold. 

Pesto Chicken Pasta

Coles Magazine November 2012 issue, page 38

Ingredients

350g penne pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
250g grape or cherry tomatoes
500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and chopped
190g basil pesto
300ml light cooking cream
1 cup frozen peas
shaved Parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to packet directions, or until al dente. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large deep frypan, and cook tomatoes over medium heat for 2-3 mins, until just softened. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Reheat pan and cook chicken in 3 batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Return all chicken to pan, add pesto, cream and peas. Stir to combine, and bring to just boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins.
3. Drain pasta and add to pan, along with tomatoes. Turn gently to combine. Serve with shaved Parmesan.

Chicken Provencale

Spend a night in Provence with this French classic, rich with wine and the Mediterranean flavours of olives, tomatoes and roasted capsicum.

Recipe adapted from Australian Good Taste Magazine, May 2009 issue, page 8

Ingredients

1 red capsicum, quartered, deseeded
1 yellow capsicum, quartered, deseeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5kg chicken thigh pieces, excess fat trimmed
2 red onions, halved, cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves, crushed
½ cup white wine
400g tinned tomatoes with herbs
1 cup chicken stock
2 bay leaves
8 sprigs fresh thyme
½ cup pitted black or kalamata olives
Mixed salad leaves or mashed potato, to serve

Method

1. Preheat grill on high. Place combined capsicum, skin-side up, under grill and cook for 8-10 minutes or until charred and blistered. Transfer to a sealed plastic bag. Set aside for 10 minutes (this helps lift the skin). Remove the skin from the capsicum and cut the flesh into thick strips.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, for 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a large baking dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
3. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until golden. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until aromatic. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes or until reduced by half. Add the capsicum, tomato, stock, bay leaves and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in olives. Serve with mixed salad leaves or mashed potato

Notes & Tips

Use pre-bought char-grilled capsicum instead to save on time

Freezing tip: Cool at the end of step 4. Label, date and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge.
Serving tip: For extra sides, serve mashed potato and crusty bread for mopping up the juices.

Chicken and Zucchni Stir Fry

Ingredients

450g chicken thigh fillets, cut into strips
2 tablespoons corn flour
2 tablespoons oil
2 small zucchini, cut in half and thinly sliced (unpeeled)
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
50ml white wine
1-2 teaspoons chicken stock powder
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method

1. Coat the chicken strips with cornflour. Heat up the oil in a wok over high heat and fry half the chicken strips. Once the meat starts turning golden in colour, remove from the wok and set aside covered. Repeat with remaining chicken.
2. In the same oil, cook the zucchini briefly.
3. Add chicken and ginger to the zucchini. Cover with wine and stir through.
4. Sprinkle chicken stock powder and cook for a few minutes. Just before serving drizzle with sesame oil. Serve with steamed rice.

Notes & Tips

An easy way to cut chicken strips thinly is to freeze the meat lightly and cut. Then ensure it is completely thawed out prior to cooking.

Pan-Fried Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 8 chicken pieces
• 4 thick rashers rindless bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, halved and finely sliced
• 200g small mushrooms, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 100ml dry white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ cup (125 ml) chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream
• sea salt and pepper
• 50g baby spinach
• 1 tsp paprika
• 
  

Method

Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat and panfry the chicken for 5 minutes on each side until golden. Remove to a warm plate, and add the bacon and onion to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the mushrooms and thyme, tossing well, then add the wine and bay leaves. Boil for 2 minutes, then return the chicken to the pan and add the stock. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove lid and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Just before serving, remove the chicken to a warm plate, and whisk the cream and mustard, salt and pepper into the mushrooms over gentle heat. Return the chicken to the pan, scatter with baby spinach and heat through. Dust with paprika and serve. 

Penne with Chicken & Asparagus

This is my favourite weekday meal to cook because it is so quick and easy to prepare.

Ingredients

250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
400g penne pasta
1 jar (400g) tomato pasta sauce
500g chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, cut into 4 cm lengths
2 tablespoon chopped parsley, to garnish (optional)

Method

1. Place cherry tomatoes in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, set aside. 
2. Cook the penne in a large saucepan of lightly salted water according to the packet instructions or until al dente. Drain well and return to pan.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large non stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken, cook stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook stirring for a further 2-3 minutes or until chicken is golden and asparagus is bright green and tender crisp
4. Add the chicken mixture and tomatoes to the pan with the penne, toss to combine, then add the pasta sauce and toss until evenly coated. Serve immediately with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, if desired.

Sweet Chilli Chicken Wings

This is one of my mum's recipes. It's super easy to make and very tasty.

Ingredients

1kg chicken wings
½ cup sweet chilli sauce
½ cup tomato sauce
3-4 tablespoons light soy sauce

Method

Add the sweet chilli sauce, tomato sauce and light soy sauce together into a large saucepan. Bring to boil then add the chicken wings. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Fruity Nutty Chicken

The following is an adaptation of a recipe I saw from the T.V. show Poh's Kitchen. It's a Malaysian Chinese chicken stir fry dish with interestingly enough some fruits like honeydew added in. I like the bright colours of this dish as well as the different textures, flavours and the sweetness that comes from the fruits and sauce.

Ingredients

600g chicken breast, cubed
2 small capsicum (green/red/yellow), cubed
1 medium sized carrot, cubed
300g honeydew, cubed
150g toasted cashew nuts
225g tinned pineapple pieces, syrup juice drained
4 tbsp cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Marinate (A)

2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp chicken stock powder
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp pepper (powder)
½  tsp sugar

Seasoning (B)

6 tbsp tomato sauce
6 tbsp plum sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
2 ½  tbsp sugar
8 tbsp water
2 tsp cornflour
Salt (optional)

Method

1. Marinate the chicken meat with the baking soda for 20 minutes and then rinse the chicken thoroughly (make sure that the chicken is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda). Pat the chicken meat dry with paper towels and then marinate with the rest of the ingredients for 10 minutes.
2. Heat up the oil in a wok over medium heat and sauté garlic till fragrant.
3. Add chicken and stir fry till almost cooked through.
4. Add in carrots and capsicums.
5. Pour in (B) and bring to boil.
6. Add honeydew and pineapple pieces.
7. Lastly, mix in cashew nuts.
8. Dish up and serve hot with rice.

Honey Soy Chicken Wings

Recipe adapted from Woolworths Fresh Magazine November 2009, issue 45 page 26 

Ingredients

1kg chicken mid wings
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup ketcap manis
1-2 tbs honey
¼ tsp Chinese five-spice powder (optional)
1-2 garlic clove, crushed

Method

1. Prick the flesh of the chicken all over with a fork to allow the marinade to penetrate.
2. Combine soy sauce, ketcap manis, honey, five-spice powder and garlic in a shallow dish.
3. Add wing pieces and turn to coat with marinade. These can be left overnight if you have time.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C. Arrange chicken pieces into a roasting pan lined with baking paper in a single layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through and golden.

Schnitzels with Mango Curry Sauce

A couple of months ago, my husband and I attended a marriage course- not because we thought that we had marriage problems but because we wanted to continue to invest in our marriage and learn how we could build up a strong, healthy and happy marriage. The marriage course provided my husband and I a great time to spend time with each other as well as  learn more about each other.

Over the course of several weeks, we were served a candlelit dinner with dessert at a romantic dinner for two followed with listening and watching to practical talks played on DVD and then some private time as a couple to discuss and work through a booklet.

It was really nice to go "on a date" with my hubby each week and be served some lovely food. A lot of the course participants really enjoyed the food and asked the hosts for the recipes, so at the end of the course, our hosts put together a recipe book of all the meals we ate for us and included some marriage tips inside! One of the recipes in the book is this schnitzel with mango curry sauce.


To find out more about the marriage course, click on the following website:
http://marriage.stjamescroydon.org.au/

There is no group work throughout the course and you didn't have to share anything about your relationship with anyone other than your partner.

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts fillets or 500g pork leg steaks
⅓ cup plain flour
2 eggs
2 cups breadcrumbs
½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped (optional)
¼ cup sage leaves, finely chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
olive oil, for frying
steamed vegetables, to serve 

Mango Curry Sauce

1 mango cheek
2 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise
a tiny flick of curry paste

To make mango curry sauce:

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. If too thick, thin it out with a splash of chicken stock liquid.

Method

Preheat oven to 130°C. Place meat between 2 sheets plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin until 4mm thick.

Combine flour and salt and pepper on a large plate. Lightly whisk eggs in a shallow dish. Combine breadcrumbs, parsley and sage in a separate shallow dish.

Lightly coat meat in seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg then coat in breadcrumb mixture, pressing crumbs on with fingertips to secure. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large frying pan. Pour oil into pan until 1cm deep. Heat over medium-high heat until hot. Cook schnitzels, in batches, for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until golden. Drain on paper towel. Place on a baking tray in oven to keep warm while cooking remaining schnitzels.

Serve schnitzels with mango curry sauce and steamed vegetables

Notes & Tips

Do not cover the schnitzels and don't pile them on top of each other when placing them in the oven

Adding chopped sage or parsley or Parmesan cheese to the schnitzels gives a different flavour

Barbecued Lime & Mint Chicken Skewers

These lime and mint chicken skewers are great to whip up for a BBQ. They're simple, tasty and full of citrus flavour from the limes.

Ingredients

2 limes
2 long fresh green chillies, halved, deseeded, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ cup light olive oil
½ cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
800g chicken thigh fillets, fat trimmed, cut into 2cm pieces
1-2 tbs water
½ cup bought tzatziki
Fresh mint leaves, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve

Method

1. Finely grate the rind of the limes. Juice the limes. Place the lime rind, lime juice, chilli, garlic, oil, coriander and chopped mint in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a glass or ceramic bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover and place in the fridge for 2 hours to marinate. 
2.  Thread the chicken onto skewers. Brush with marinade. 
3.  Preheat a barbecue grill or chargrill on high. Cook the skewers for 5 minutes each side or until cooked through.
4.  Gradually add the water to the tzatziki until it reaches the consistency of thickened cream. Place the skewers on a serving plate. Top with mint leaves. Serve with lime wedges and tzatziki.

Notes & Tips

Soak bamboo skewers in cold water for 20 minutes for this recipe to prevent them from burning. Alternatively, use 12 metal skewers.

Chicken Satay Skewers and Peanut Sauce

Serves 4
Ingredients

800g chicken thigh fillets or tenderloins, cut
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 stalk lemongrass
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 red chillies, chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp salt
1 tbs soy sauce (I used ketcup manis for a sweeter flavour)
¼ cup oil
1 tbsp soft brown sugar

For the satay sauce 

½ cup crunchy peanut butter
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Process the onion, lemongrass, garlic, chillies, coriander, turmeric, salt and soy sauce in a food processor, in short bursts, until smooth, adding a little oil to assist the processing. Place marinade mixture and chicken pieces into a snaplock bag, mix together well till chicken is thoroughly coated with the marinade and leave overnight in the fridge - make sure all the air is pushed out of the bag. 
2. If using wooden skewers, soak them in boiling water for 10 minutes prior to cooking.
3. Meanwhile to make the satay sauce: stir all the ingredients in a heavy based pan over low heat, until the mixture boils. Remove from the heat. The sauce will thicken on standing.
4. Heat a char-grill or barbecue flat plate until very hot and brush with some oil. Skewer the chicken taking care not to overload the skewers by bunching up the meat. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side, sprinkling with a little oil and brown sugar (this will help produce a lovely flavour and colour). Serve topped with satay sauce and rice.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

I've always wanted to try and make Vietnamese Chicken Curry at home. So when a Vietnamese friend of mine offered her mum's recipe for me to try out, I was very excited and couldn't wait to start cooking. Unfortunately with many Asian mum recipes, quantities of ingredients and timing can vary since a lot of them don't use measuring cups or spoons and don't follow a step by step recipe when they cook. Instead they often adjust taste as necessary or prefer to look at the consistency of the dish as they are cooking. So when I got my friend's mum's recipe, there were a few steps I wasn't too clear about, nor could I locate all the ingredients written in the recipe. So instead I have modified her recipe and incorporated principles from other Vietnamese curry recipes to make the following recipe below:

Ingredients

1kg chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cut into small cubes

Marinade:
1 tbsp mild curry powder
2 tbsp Vietnamese curry granules added to 100ml hot water
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
4 birds eye chillies, chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, crushed
4 curry leaves
1 brown onion, chopped
½ tbsp instant coffee granules added to ¼ cup hot water

1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
400ml  Yeo's Singapore hot curry sauce
1 x 375ml can coconut juice
1 lemongrass stalk, outer leaves removed and lower two-thirds of the stalks (the whitish bits) cut into roughly 2 inch pieces and bruised with the back of a knife
Vegetable oil

Method

Add all the marinade ingredients together with the chicken into a mixing bowl. Mix well then place into a large ziplock bag. Leave in the fridge to marinate overnight to allow the flavours to develop.

Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large heavy based fry pan and shallow fry the potatoes over high heat until brown (it is not necessary to completely cook the potatoes at this point, only to brown them). When well browned, remove from the pan and set aside until ready to cook the curry. This helps to keep their shape when added to the curry.

Add some more of the vegetable oil (approx 2 tbsp) and fry the marinated chicken until it is golden brown on all sides. (You may want to do this in several batches to avoid steaming the chicken). Set aside on a plate lined with paper towels.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, over low heat, add the can of Singapore hot curry sauce and coconut juice. Transfer the chicken and lemongrass stalks into the curry sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the root vegetables to the curry. Replace the lid and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve with rice

Notes & Tips

Whilst it may seem odd that instant coffee is added to curry, it's not that uncommon in Asian curries, since it adds a more robust flavour to the dish.

Portuguese Style Chicken

This chicken recipe is great to cook over a BBQ. But if you don't have a BBQ you can place the chicken on a rack over a baking tray/dish and grill them- which was what I did today.

And watch out as this recipe is very hot and spicy! If you prefer your chicken to be less spicy, I would suggest to add fewer chillies or you might be grabbing that glass of water to cool your palate when eating!

Ingredients

1kg chicken thigh fillets
Lemon wedges and hot potato chips, to serve

Chilli Sauce

5-7 small fresh red birdseye chillies, roughly chopped
2 long red chillies, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
¼ cup olive oil
2bs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs sea salt

Method

1. To make chilli sauce, place the chillies and garlic in the bowl of a small food processor and process, scraping down the side occasionally, until chillies are finely chopped. Add oil, lemon juice and salt and process until just combined. Transfer to a screw-top jar or plastic container. 
2. Trim away any excess fat from chicken. Prick the flesh of the chicken all over with a fork to allow the marinade to penetrate. Rub mixture into chicken, cover and refrigerate. Leave to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight for a better result.
3. Preheat barbecue grill to medium high heat. Place the chicken, skin-side up, on the preheated barbecue grill. Cook for 10 minutes, brushing occasionally with a little of the chilli sauce. Brush the top of the chicken with the remaining chilli sauce and then turn over. Cook for a further 8 minutes or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the chicken is pierced with a skewer.
4. Transfer chicken to a plate, cover loosely with foil and set aside for 5 minutes to rest and serve immediately with lemon wedges and chips.

Notes & Tips

You can make the chilli sauce up to 2 weeks ahead. Store in the fridge. The longer it stands, the more the flavours develop.