Chicken & Fig Fricassée with Red Rice Pilaf

I’d had a box of Camargue red rice in the cupboard for blimming ages. I can’t even remember if there was a reason behind the purchase in the first place but eventually I decided enough was enough and figured it was time to use it. A quick browse online came up with this recipe which served as the basis for this.

The original had dried figs but I had some fresh ones so used those. Also made a few Raymond Blanc-esque tweaks.

Just as a little background, this red rice was discovered in the swampy Camargue region of France and has a delicious earthy flavour with a little nuttiness. When cooked, it is slightly sticky.

This pilaf by the way is absolutely delicious and the only criticism I have is that there wasn’t enough of it - the next time I make it I will definitely make more.


Fricassée of chicken & figs
serves 2

2 tsp flour
½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
2 chicken legs
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
10g butter
50ml white wine
80ml chicken stock
200g figs, quartered

Mix the flour, paprika, salt and pepper together then evenly dust the chicken pieces with the mixture.

Heat the oil in a saute pan and brown the chicken pieces until golden brown.

Add the vinegar and butter and boil for 10 seconds, until the vinegar has reduced. Stir to coat the chicken pieces in the reduced vinegar and butter.

Add the wine and chicken stock, bring to the boil then gently simmer covered for 30 minutes, adding the figs after 10 minutes.

Serve in wide bowls with some of the sauce and the pilaf alongside.


Camargue red rice pilaf
serves 2

2 tsp olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
75g Camargue red rice
pinch sea salt
140ml chicken stock
20g slivered almonds, toasted
5g flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped

In a medium saucepan heat the oil and gently sauté the onion, celery and garlic until soft.

Add the rice and stir to thoroughly coat the rice in the oil and vegetables.

Add a pinch of salt and the chicken stock and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes then turn off the heat and leave to steam for 10 minutes.

Toss the almonds and parsley through just before serving.

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Honey Soy Chicken

Marinating some chicken pieces in this honey & soy marinade means that you get not only beautifully tender and flavoursome dark meat falling off the bone but you’ll also end up with the most amazingly delicious sauce for drizzling over when you serve. Make sure then to serve this with something that you can soak up some of those tasty juices with. I opted for roasted baby potatoes but you could just as easily go for some crusty bread or mash.

It would have been nice to garnish with a little chopped parsley but sadly I forgot to buy some.


Honey Soy Baked Chicken
Serves 2

1 tbsp olive oil
½ tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 bone-in chicken pieces with skin (I used 2 drumsticks and 2 thighs), about 500g
sea salt
parsley, chopped

Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a large plastic freezer bag and then the chicken pieces making sure to coat each piece in the marinade. Leave to marinade for a good couple of hours (or overnight in the fridge).

When ready to cook tip the chicken and marinade into a baking dish and bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes with the thighs skin side up.

Turn the drumsticks and flip the thighs skin side down and cook for another 10 minutes. Then turn the drumsticks and flip the thighs again so they are skin side up again and finish cooking for another 10-15 minutes to crisp up the skin.

Make sure the chicken is cooked through and serve with some roasted baby potatoes and a green vegetable or salad.

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Chettinad Chicken

New favourite chicken curry alert! Well it was at the time of cooking and eating it anyway, but honestly that was so long ago now it may well have changed a few times.

I’d not used Olive magazine as a source for recipes for some time, although I’m not sure why. There were a few in the most reason issue (at time of cooking - I’ve now actually cancelled my subscription as nothing seemed to be particularly interesting or challenging to me anymore) that took my eye though and this is one of those.

Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu state in South India. The Chettiar community, who are a majority in this region, are a very successful trading community.

The dishes are famous for their use of a variety of spices used in preparing mainly non-vegetarian (but generally no beef or pork) food. The dishes are hot and pungent with fresh ground masalas that often contain fennel seeds, star anise, cinnamon and whole red chillies. As such Chettinad cuisine is apparently one of the spiciest and the most aromatic in India and the Chettinads (the word "Chettinad" means a social caste specialising in the preparation of food) are considered master chefs.

Chettinad Chicken is a fiery curry but I see no reason why you can't reduce the chillies to suit your own taste - which I did to a certain extent. I also did a bit of research into Chettinad Chicken and decided that the recipe needed a little tampering - poppy seeds for instance are mentioned in pretty much every recipe I looked at bar the Olive one. With this in mind I wrote them into my curry only to realise that on this front the spice store cupboard was bare. Boo.

I did add a tomato, red chilli powder, a clove and some lemon juice but the next time I cook this, and there will be a next time, I’ll definitely add a teaspoon of poppy seeds to the spice mix.


Chettinad Chicken
serves 2

1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
250g skinless chicken thigh fillets, quartered
¼ tsp turmeric
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 small/medium onion, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, seeded and sliced
1 plum tomato, roughly chopped
1 tsp tomato purée
1 tbsp unsweetened dessicated coconut, toasted
½ cinnamon stick
½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
150ml chicken (or vegetable) stock
1 tbsp lemon juice
For the dry spice mix
½ tsp each of fennel seeds, cumin seeds & coriander seeds
1 clove
1 cardamom pod
½ dried long red chilli
½ star anise

Mix the ginger and garlic pastes with the turmeric and a splash of water in a bowl. Add the chicken and stir well to coat then set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Toast the spice mix in a dry frying pan then grind in a spice grinder or using a pestle & mortar and set aside.

Heat the oil in a sauté or frying pan and add the onion and sliced red chilli. Season with salt and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes until softened and starting to brown.

Add the chicken and marinade, spice mix & chilli powder, tomato and purée, coconut and cinnamon stick and fry for 5-10 minutes.

Pour in the stock and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Stir through the lemon juice and serve immediately over rice, or with a naan bread if that’s your thing.

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Smoky Chicken Pasta

This is a something I had pinned to my pasta board and had wanted to cook for absolute ages as it just looked so damn good (sadly this is not the case with my photos). I wasn’t able to get the marinade specified though (and I now presume that this is probably available only in the US anyway) so kept putting it off.

In the end I decided to try it anyway using any smoky BBQ marinade that I could get my hands on (as it turned out, Nando’s) mixed with a little liquid smoke and lime juice.

I also employed the slow cooker for the chicken as from my experience thus far I knew this would be a good way of marinating and getting a pulled chicken effect in one.


Smoky Chicken Pasta
serves 3

225g Farfalle pasta
250ml double cream (I used Elmlea to save on calories)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp dried basil
20g butter
½ tbsp flour
125g bacon, cooked until quite crispy and crumbled / chopped
40g Parmesan cheese, grated
170ml Nandos’ smoky Portuguese BBQ peri peri marinade
juice of ½ lime
¼ tsp Stubbs mesquite liquid smoke
100ml water

Put chicken, marinade, lime juice and liquid smoke plus 100ml of water in a slow cooker. Give it a good stir then put it on low for about 4.5 hours.

Pull the marinated chicken out of the marinade liquid, allow to cool a little bit, then shred and pop back into the marinade in the slow cooker to keep warm.

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

While the pasta is cooking melt the butter In a small saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute or so until the flour starts to colour a little. Add the garlic, stir in and cook for 30 seconds to a minute more.

Add the cream, basil, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumbled bacon. Stir together on a low heat for 5-10 minutes.

Add the chicken and marinade sauce to the creamy sauce. When the pasta is cooked combine with the sauce.

Serve immediately with a little bit more shredded Parmesan cheese on top.

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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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Yellow Bean Chicken

There are many types of bean paste available in Chinese cooking: chilli bean paste for instance (made from broad beans) as well as, of course, black bean paste. This recipe uses the most common type of bean paste made from soy beans - sometimes called yellow bean (although it isn’t actually yellow) or fermented bean paste it can, confusingly be sweet, salty or hot making it important to know which you're getting!

This recipe is adapted from one in Ching’s Fast Food, with changed made to quantities as well as the velveting method.


Yellow Bean Chicken
serves 2-3

500g skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of fat & sliced
1 tbsp groundnut oil
150g green beans, trimmed & cut in half
5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
sea salt & freshly ground pepper
2 spring onions, finely chopped
For the marinade
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
2 tbsp yellow bean paste
4 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp potato (or corn) flour
1 tbsp water

Mix together the marinade ingredients and the chicken in a bowl then cover with cling and set aside for around 20 minutes.

Heat a wok over high heat until it starts to smoke then add the oil and swirl around to coat the sides of the wok. Add the chicken (and marinade) and stirfry for 4 minutes and then add the beans and keep stirring around briskly for another minute.

Tip in the mushrooms and keep stirfrying for another couple of minutes.

Check the seasoning and adjust carefully to taste if necessary then sprinkle over the spring onions.

Serve immediately with plain rice.

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Artichoke Chicken with Polenta

There’s a website I check out every now and then called Budget Bytes - in fact it was where I got inspiration for the “one-pot” pasta - and I saw this recipe a while ago instantly bookmarking it to adapt at some later point. Anything with artichoke hearts in it is a winner for me as I absolutely love them and this is fairly quick to chuck together of an evening and I think would probably be pretty good when cooking for friends too.

The original suggests serving with pasta but I opted to have this with polenta. My most recent batch - having scoured supermarket after supermarket for the stuff after my last lot had run out - was eventually bought at an Italian deli in Borough Market and as such it is the “proper” stuff rather than the quick variety I’d hitherto, and unknowingly I might add, used. What this means is that it is 45 minutes in the cooking. And stirring. If you don’t like cooking risotto do not under any circumstances buy proper polenta as it will drive you nuts.


Artichoke Chicken
serves 2

300g skinless chicken breast fillets, pounded flat, each breast cut into 3 pieces
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tbsp capers
small tin chopped tomatoes
½ tin artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp onion granules
1 tsp lemon zest (about ½ medium lemon)
small handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
polenta to serve

Season the chicken lightly on both sides with salt & pepper.

Heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat and when hot add the chicken pieces. Cook for about 5 mins per side until golden. Remove the chicken to a plate once browned and set aside.

Add the remaining olive oil, along with the garlic to the pan and lightly fry the garlic for 1-2 minutes until fragrant but not coloured.

Add the chopped artichoke hearts, chopped tomatoes, dried basil, lemon zest, onion granules, red pepper flakes, capers and a small pinch of salt.

Stir well and return the chicken to the pan, nestling it down into the sauce. Bring to the boil then turn down to low and let the chicken simmer for 15 minutes, flipping it once half way through.

Stir through most of the chopped parsley then serve over polenta, sprinkling the remaining parsley on top.

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