Slow Cooker Chicken & Black Bean Soup

Back when we got the slow cooker we’d decided to have a slow cooker meal at least once a week if we could and so I had been pinning quite a few slow cooker (or crockpot) recipes onto my Pinterest boards.

This is adapted from one of those, originally seen on skinnytaste.com - I hadn’t used the slow cooker enough myself yet to have the confidence to devise recipes myself. I needed to get used to it a bit more first. This though seemed like an excellent recipe to try out cooking chicken with. I love a hearty soup anyway and with a bit of zing and spice it is right up my alley.

This makes quite a lot of soup so we froze some of it. It is also healthy and good for you plus you can add more veg, such as sweetcorn, to bulk it out a little if you like. We served this with some sliced avocado and a little low fat soured cream but you could also add some broken up tortilla chips if you like for a bit of crunch.


Crock Pot Chicken and Black Bean Soup
serves about 6

2 tins black beans, rinsed and drained
900ml chicken stock
2 tins / cartons chopped tomatoes
1 red pepper, finely chopped
85g tinned diced jalapenos
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried ancho chili
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp onion powder, finely chopped
¼ tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp chipotle en adobo paste
2 skinless chicken breasts
½ cup chopped coriander, divided
2 spring onions, finely chopped
cut limes, for serving
½ medium Haas avocado, sliced
sour cream, for serving (optional)

Take one can of beans and place in a blender along with 500ml of the chicken stock; blend then add to the slow cooker.

Add the remainder of the beans and chicken stock into the slow cooker along with tomatoes, red pepper, diced jalapenos, cumin, ancho chilli, garlic, onion powder, oregano, chipotle, chicken breast, and half of the coriander.

Cook in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8.

At the end of the time remove the chicken breasts and shred with 2 forks. Place the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker.

Add most of the chopped spring onion, most of the remaining coriander and adjust the salt and cumin (and maybe add a pinch of cayenne if you want it a little spicier), to taste.

Serve hot sprinkled with the remaining coriander and spring onion plus lime wedges, avocados, and sour cream if you like.

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Carne Adovada with Mexican Pickled Onions, Street Salad & Guacamole

I’d had it in mind to cook the New Mexican dish Carne Adovada (pork cooked in a red chilli sauce) for some time and this had a lot to do with the gorgeous red colour I’d seen on the first recipe I saw - sadly mine doesn’t have that rich redness but I think it still looks pretty luscious all the same.

I then found a Kenji’s Food Lab recipe on Serious Eats and decided that I would follow it pretty much to the letter. Kenji approaches recipes in a very systematic, scientific way - he does lots of testing and if he thinks that this would result in the best dish I would put my trust in him.

Of course me following a recipe to the letter is easily said than done. So of course I have here substituted one of the chillies - but for the New Mexico variety as I had bought some specifically many months ago (and also as I didn’t have pasillas). And a couple of quantities have changed but only slightly. Oh, and I added red kidney beans but as they were in the fridge and I wasn’t sure what else I would put them in.

I served this with Mexican pitta’s, homemade Mexican style pickled red onions and guacamole and a Mexican “street salad” adapted from Jamie’s here. Corn tortillas with similar accompaniments would work too.


Carne Adovada
serves 2-3

1⅓ whole dried ancho chilies, seeds and stems removed, roughly torn
1⅓ whole dried New Mexico chilies, seeds and stems removed
375ml chicken stock
25g raisins
150ml orange juice
1 tbsp chopped chipotle chili in adobo
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
435g boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 tsp sunflower oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
¾ tsp dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
100g red kidney beans
sea salt

Place dried chilies in a medium saucepan over medium high heat and cook, turning occasionally, until softening and fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add chicken stock, raisins, orange juice concentrate, chipotles in adobo, white vinegar, and fish sauce.

Bring to a boil over high heat before reducing heat to a bare simmer, and let cook until chilies are totally softened, about 15 minutes. Blend into a smooth puree using a blender (hand or otherwise). Set aside.

Pat pork dry with paper towels and heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed casserole over a medium-high heat until smoking. Add pork all at once and spread as evenly as you can (for once it's ok if the pan is crowded). Cook without moving until bottom surface is well browned, about 8 minutes. Give a stir, cook for a few minutes more then transfer pork to a bowl and set aside.

Turn the heat right down and add the onions and garlic to the casserole and cook, stirring frequently, until onions and garlic are softened and beginning to brown, 10-15 minutes. Add oregano and cumin and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the chili mixture from the blender to the casserole and stir well to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Return the pork to the casserole also. Add bay leaves and beans.

Bring to a boil then reduce to a bare simmer. Cover, leaving lid slightly ajar, and cook, stirring occasionally until pork chunks break apart when you apply pressure with a spoon, about 2 hours.

The sauce should be fairly thick so if needed, increase the heat to a light simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until reduced to the desired consistency. Season very carefully to taste with salt.

Serve with accompaniments of your choice.

Pickled Red Onions
(you’ll make more than you need so keep the excess in an airtight container in the fridge)

2 tsp sea salt
1 red onion, thinly sliced
½ tsp. whole black peppercorns
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. cumin seeds
1 clove garlic, sliced
50ml red wine vinegar
20ml lime juice
40ml orange juice

In a bowl, toss salt and onion together; let sit until onion releases some of its liquid, about 15 minutes.

Mix the vinegar, lime & orange juices together.

Drain the onion and give it a quick rinse. Drain again and put back in the bowl and mix in the peppercorns, oregano, cumin, and garlic. Spoon the mixture into a jar then pour over the vinegar and seal with lid. Pop in the fridge for at least 4 hours before using.

Guacamole
serves 2
1 large ripe avocado
⅛ red onion, very finely chopped
juice of ½ - 1 lime
½ tsp salt
½ green chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Cut open the avocado, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Roughly mash the flesh with a fork (try and keep it quite chunky), adding half the lime juice as you do so.

Fold in the rest of the lime juice, chillies, salt coriander and red onion.

Season with plenty of black pepper and more salt, lime juice and coriander if you think it needs it.



Mexican Street Salad
serves 2
Use a mandolin or food processor with a slicing attachment if you can, it will make the whole process a lot less labourious

½ small white cabbage, finely shredded
6 radishes, (about 10) trimmed and finely sliced
2 small carrots, peeled and finely sliced
small bunch fresh coriander, leaves and stalks finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely sliced
extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
sea salt

Put the cabbage into a large bowl with the radishes, carrots and most of the coriander. Mix everything together really well then add almost all the chopped chilli and a good lug of extra virgin olive oil.

Add most of the lime juice and a good pinch of salt, then toss together and taste. Keep adjusting the flavour by adding more coriander, chilli and / or lime juice as you see fit until its just right.

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Quick Chicken Tortilla Soup

Loving soups and loving Mexican food it is pretty much a no-brainer that this is something that I would want to cook and eat. I ate a lot of tortilla soups when I visited the Yucatan peninsula a few years ago with my friend Naomi (soup and lots of super tasty thin Mexican steaks) and I have fond memories of those bowls of nutritious yumminess.

I think one of the things that I love is the mix of textures: crispy tortilla strips, creamy avocado, silky tomato and the tang of the cheese. They all come together as one delicious whole.

I’ve used feta cheese here and although clearly not Mexican it does have similar qualities to a queso fresco and makes a fair substitute. The crunchy tortilla strips can be made under the grill or in a hot oven - brush a couple of flour tortillas with oil, slice into strips, and place on greaseproof paper on a baking sheet. Grill or bake until crisp, turning as they start to go golden.

You’ll notice that in the ingredients pic the chicken is shredded as I did that step of the recipe ahead of taking the photo. Another disclaimer is that unfortunately we ended up not having avocado with ours as when I cut it open it was all manky inside: instead I chopped up some spring onion,


Chicken Tortilla Soup
serves 2

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
½ tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
½ dried ancho chili, rehydrated, seeded and finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp dried Mexican oregano
1-2 tsp chopped chipotle chili in adobo (to taste)
½ tin (or 1 small tin) chopped tomatoes
200ml passata
500ml chicken stock
85g tinned sweetcorn
2 whole corn tortillas, sliced into 2-3in long strips, baked
40g feta cheese, crumbled
½ avocado, diced
coriander leaves, chopped, for serving
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges, for serving

Preheat oven to 190C.

Mix cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle the olive oil onto the chicken breast and then sprinkle a small amount of the spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.

Place the the chicken breast on a foil lined baking sheet (purely to save on washing up) and put in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is just done. When cooled, use two forks to shred chicken and set aside.

Heat a further 2 tsp of oil in a saucepan over a medium-high and when hot add the onion, garlic and ancho chili and cook for about 5 minutes until softened.

Add the rest of the spice mix, oregano, chipotle chili and mix until fragrant, about 30 seconds more.

Add the tomatoes, passata, shredded chicken, corn and broth and cook at a low simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

Carefully check the seasoning: particularly for salt as you don’t want it under seasoned. Add some more Chipotle chili if it needs more spice.

Ladle into two bowls and top with the tortilla strips, crumbled cheese, diced avocado, coriander and serve with lime wedges.

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Fish Taco Salad

I’m lucky enough to work near the Gherkin - which means that Thursday (and now Friday!) of every week the Kerb street food stall thingy is held there. *

I don’t always remember to go, or there are other things on, and one of my fast days is quite often Thursday, which meant that until recently I didn’t go much at all (sad face) but I always want to get a fish taco.

So far fate has conspired against me - either there is something else there that I have wanted for even longer (step forward Yum Bun) or either Ambriento or Luardos aren’t there when I am.

So I decided to take matters into my own hands: I would make my own fish tacos dammit! But with a twist, and as summer was in attendance (and yet sadly nearly over), I decided on a fish taco salad. Without the actual taco element.

Here it is.

* EDIT - in fact the evil villains that are the City of London Corporation have now closed Kerb down as apparently it wasn’t pretty enough. Or something. The Gherkin itself apparently didn’t have a problem with it but there you go. Boo! There’s a petition here - please do sign it, street food markets are ace.


Fish Taco Salad

serves 2

For salad
1 bag of crunchy salad (to include shredded cabbage & carrot)
1 tbsp coriander, chopped 
½ avocado, diced
10-12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
¼ onion, finely chopped
juice of ¼ lemon
juice of ¼ lime
sea salt 
1 tbsp pickled green chillis (jalapeno slices) or 1 whole green pickled chilli, chopped
For dressing
4 tbsp greek yogurt
1 tbsp coriander, chopped
juice of ¼ lemon
½ tbsp chipotle paste (or hot sauce to taste)
½ clove garlic, minced
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp coriander
salt and pepper to taste

For Mango Salsa
150g mango, diced 
½ green chilli, finely diced
2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
¼ red onion, finely diced
juice of ¼ lime
salt to taste
For fish
2 river cobbler fillets (or any sustainable white fish)
2 tsp old bay blackened seasoning (optional)
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander
⅛ tsp chili powder
⅛ tsp black pepper
⅛ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
⅛ tsp. garlic powder
1 ½ tsp olive oil
To serve
extra chopped coriander
lime wedges
smoked chipotle tabasco

In a small bowl, mix the spices for the fish then put into a large food bag. Add the fish fillets and toss around to ensure that the fish gets evenly coated with the spices.

Heat a frying pan with the olive oil over a med-high heat, and add the fish: frying on both sides for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. It’s fine if they break up as they’ll be broken up for the salad itself.

Remove to a piece of kitchen towel on a plate, squeeze over some lime or lemon juice and set aside to cool a little.

Meanwhile mix the ingredients for the mango salsa in a bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, add all the ingredients for the dressing up and stir together.

In a third bowl, from the salad ingredients, mix together the chopped onion, coriander, citrus juices, jalapeno and salt to taste.

Finally, in a large bowl toss the lettuce mix and tomatoes with some of the coriander / onion / jalapeno mix as above. Season carefully to taste.

To serve, divide the lettuce mix between 2 plates: break up the fish fillets and lay on top of the lettuce mix. Top with a dollop of dressing, some avocado, mango salsa and a sprinkling more of the onion / coriander.

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Mexican Sunday! A little belated...

I’ve been very bad at updates for a good week or so.. not sure why really - time has just got away from me I guess.  So I think I’ll have to do quite a few posts in a short amount of time to try and catch up.

So cast your mind back to Saturday night dinner at the Opera Tavern, just over a week ago...  after perhaps a little bit too much wine, sherry and Pedro Ximenez, Sunday seemed to call for a restorative, “beat the hangover” brunch of simple yet delicious Huevos Rancheros.  I basically took this (with a couple of small changes) from the highly recommended “Mexican Food Made Simple” by Thomasina Miers.  

This really did hit the spot - fairly large amounts of lard aside, it actually makes me feel quity healthy and worthy.  It was a beautiful day though so that may have helped.

Lunch was fairly uncalled for after that but the Mexican theme continued in the evening with dinner of jalapeno, cumin & lime marinated skirt steak, cooked quickly on the griddle at a very high heat, served with fresh guacomole, refried beans, chilli mushrooms, salsa & baked tortilla chips.  

Just what is needed on a Sunday night to chase those back to work tomorrow blues away...

Huevos Rancheros Brunch
serves 2

3 tbsp lard
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tin chopped plum tomatoes
sea salt and black pepper
½ tsp demerara sugar
a couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp chipotle paste
2 tbsp chopped tarragon (with a little extra for garnish)
2 corn tortillas
2 eggs
30g grated Lancashire cheese

Get the sauce started first by heating 1 tablespoon of lard  in a frying pan and add the onion and chilli. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutues until the onions are soft and translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more before adding the tomatoes.  Break the tomatoes up a little more with the back of a wooden spoon.

Season well with salt and pepper, sugar, worcestershire sauce and chipotle paste.  Let it all cook gently over a low heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if the sauce is getting too dry.  After 20 minutes preheat the oven to low (around 100 degrees c).

When the sauce is pretty much ready, melt ½ to 1 tablespoon of lard in another frying pan and when hot add the tortillas one by one cooking for a minute or so each side (turn gently) so they are softened and coated with lard. Wrap in foil then pop into the warm over, together with 2 plates.  

Add the tarragon to the pan with the sauce and give it a stir.  

Melt the rest of the lard - in the same pan the tortillas were just in - over a high heat and when it is sizzling, fry the eggs, spooning the hot lard over them occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper.

Put a tortilla on each warmed plate and top that with the tomato sauce. Finally put an egg on top and scatter with the grated cheese and a little more tarragon.

The next time I do this I will definitely go for the greedy option and have 2 eggs to myself!

So onto the evening meal of mexican steak and accompaniments.  I should point out that the steak went into the marinade and the beans were put in water to soak on Saturday night, and early Sunday afternoon I cooked the beans.  Once the preparation is all done though it’s all very easy to put together.

Skirt is great cut of meat: after marinading, flash frying and cutting against the grain it is super tasty and tender - this really takes me back to a fantastic holiday on the Yucatan peninsula, sadly far too many years ago.

Serve with Margaritas on the rocks!

The tortilla chips were made by leaving a couple of corn tortillas out for a few hours to go slightly stale, then I brushed them with oil and cut into wedge shapes before spreading out on a baking sheet and popping into a hot oven for 10 minutes. Once out of the oven I ground some sea salt over. As you can see they're slightly overdone but were still by far the nicest I've had outside of Mexico!

Jalapeno, lime, coriander & cumin marinated skirt steak
serves 2
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
1 small clove garlic, chopped
¼ tsp smoked sea salt (or normal maldon sea salt)
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, juiced
large handful coriander, chopped
40ml extra-virgin olive oil (about 2½ tbsp)
200g skirt steak

Lightly toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan over a moderate heat until aromatic, about 5 minutes.  

Transfer the seeds to a spice grinder (or food processor, or of course you could use a pestle and mortar).  Add the jalapenos, garlic, salt, pepper, and lime juice.  Pulse then add about half of the olive oil.  Pulse again then add remaining olive oil.  Pulse more until it's all blended into a lovely green puree.

Put the steaks into a freezer or sandwich bag, add the marinade, toss around to coat then seal and refrigerate for 24 hours (I did it for 48 in the end - I had very fresh steak from the fantastic McKanna Meats on Theobalds Road).

Remove the steaks from the fridge about 30 mins before cooking so they can come to room temperature.  Heat a griddle pan until very hot.  Wipe a piece of kitchen towel that has been soaked in olive oil quickly over the griddle.  Sear the steak on both side (about 3-4 minutes for the first side then 2-3 for the other).

Transfer to a plate and let rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting against the grain into thin(ish) slices.

Serve with the guacemole, refried beans and chilli mushrooms.

Chilli Mushrooms
Knob of butter
1tbsp olive oil
200g assorted mushrooms (I used chestnut, shitake & oyster)  - sliced
2 shallots, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
¼ tsp dried chili flakes
1 heaped tsp chipotle paste
25ml water
small handful of chopped tarragon & coriander

Heat the oil in a frying pan and sweat the shallots & chili over a low heat until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the butter to the pan, melt, then add the mushrooms, chipotle paste and water.  Cook for about 10 minutes over a low heat.  Stir the herbs in then serve.

Guacamole
1 fresh green chilli (you can add more or less depending on your personal taste), finely chopped
¼ red onion, finely chopped
Small handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1 ripe Hass avocado  
Juice of 1 lime
½ tsp sea salt
black pepper

Put a quarter of the chopped onion, half the chili and a teaspoon of the coriander into a pestle and mortar, along with half of the salt and grind to a paste.

Peel and de-stone the avocado. Cut into cubes, add to the mortar and mash with a fork to a chunky paste, making sure to incorporate the chilli paste and also half of the lime juice.

Carefully fold in the rest of the onions, chilli and coriander.  Season with plenty of black pepper, add more of the remaining lime juice and salt to taste.

Salsa
5 small ripe tomatoes, seeds & pulp discarded then diced
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Juice ½ lime
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp soft brown sugar
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, taste for seasoning and alter to taste.  Leave, to allow the flavours to meld and develop, for a good half an hour.

Enjoy :)

PS - any leftovers are fantastic the next day as a sandwich in a split and grilled pane rustica roll

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