Magic Roast Chicken

OK, this time we're taking it up a notch.  This is roast chicken with a twist.



The secret is that this is a self-basting chicken. The bigger secret is that it's reallllly easy!

Before you start taking the chicken out of its bag, do a quick bit of preparation:  in a small bowl, mix 1-2 tablespoons of softened butter with a clove of garlic (chopped, sliced, or crushed), a teaspoon of lemon zest, and a teaspoon of chopped herbs (I used basil and thyme.  Please use basil if you can get it.)  Set aside.
Cut one lemon into quarters, and set it aside too.
..and preheat the oven.  I always forget that.  180C please.

Now, take one whole chicken.  Double-check it's clean (they still shove little plastic bags of liver inside them every now and then),  and pat it dry with a paper towel.
Using your fingers, make a small pocket between the skin and each breast (this is usually quite simple, just push gently through the neck-hole.  You could use a dessert spoon if squeamish, but be careful not to tear the skin).  Divide the butter mixture between the two pockets, and then tuck the loose skin back into the neck-hole.  Your chicken should now look a little like this:



Trust me, it is worth it.
Shove the quartered lemon up the chicken's bum.  Yes, really.  
Tie feet together with kitchen string (I use these really cool silicon bands I picked up in Portland, Oregon) and use a skewer to hold the lemon in if required.
Now drape a piece of tinfoil over the chicken (this stops the butter burning) and pop it in the oven.  Remove the foil after 30 minutes, and roast a further 40 minutes or until cooked.
(To check if the bird is done, poke a skewer into the thick part of the thigh.  Juices should run clear. The legs tend to move freely and almost fall away when you touch them.)

To carve a chicken, I generally remove the legs with a knife and a pair of tongs.  They don't typically put up a fight, and should come away easily.  Repeat for wings.




Now, carve the breast, slicing across the grain with a sharp knife.  See all that flavour packed under the skin?  Magic.



Serve with brussels sprouts, or your favourite roast veg, and gravy.  But use a nicer jug than I did if you are entertaining!



I need to make this again, soon.  My mouth is watering! 

Roast lamb 101

One thing I love about winter is roasts!


 

Preheat the oven to 200C, and line a roasting pan with baking paper.  If you can, leave the lamb on the bench for a couple of hours to warm to room temperature, too.

Trim fat if you prefer - or score it in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife so that it runs off during cooking and leaves a crisp crust.  Rubbing with oil, and salt and pepper, helps too.
I almost always add garlic and rosemary.  Make cuts into the flesh with a small sharp knife, then push a (peeled) clove of garlic, and a sprig of rosemary into each hole.





Finally, pour over approx 1/4 cup of wine (red or white - whichever is open, or whichever you want an excuse to open!).




Pop into the oven, and after 20 minutes turn the dial back to 180C.  Roast for 30 minutes per kg.
Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes before carving (this gives the juices time to settle, and helps to make the meat moist, and tender).  I usually take this opportunity to crank the heat up and finish the vegetables.




Tell the man of the house that it's his job to carve the roast (I'm terrible at this, but it does taste the same even if you don't slice tidily).  Serve on heated plates (cold lamb is greasy), with roast veges and gravy.

Cherry Tomato Sauce

I love this for a quick tomato sauce that is packed with flavour.  Add to pasta or gnocchi as a main or a side dish - no additional flavour required.



Best made with sweet, flavourful cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or baby roma tomatoes (in that order).  Use the smallest, darkest, reddest tomatoes you can find!
I use a punnet of cherry tomatoes for one to two people.

First, slice each tomato in half, and give it a quick squeeze over the sink to get rid of most of the seeds.  The seeds are watery, and can be bitter, so I prefer to ditch them - but be careful or you'll squirt yourself in the eye when you do this!  (I've also managed to squirt the wall on the opposite side of the kitchen).

Throw into a hot pan with a dash of oil, and keep them moving until they start to brown just a little.




This is me being to lazy to stir (and then have to wash th espoon).  Feel free to use a spoon or spatula if you prefer!

Now, dial the temperature back to medium-low, and let them stick to the pan a bit.  Be patient, try not to stir compulsively, and they'll caramelise a little underneath.  You want them to go from looking like this:





To this:





Once they look like this, add a knob of butter (compulsory), and a splash of balsamic (optional).  Stir to coat, and then let them simmer for another couple of minutes.

Add to your favourite pasta (preferably fresh) or gnocchi.  Delicious.

Summer risotto

It is officially too hot to stand over a pot stirring anything.

I've adapted my red wine risotto recipe to a summery white wine version.  Beautiful with fish (hapuku featured here), chicken, or just salad.



Instead of rosemary, I've added the zest of a lemon, and instead of red wine I've used, uh, white.  Pinot gris works a treat, as does sauvingon blanc.  I expect that chardonnay would give a much deeper, buttery flavour which would work well with dark chicken (thighs, drumsticks) - and now I'm going to have to find out!

Remember, the trick for no-stir risotto is vialone nano rice.  If you can't find it, wait til it cools down to try the stand-and-stir-version.

1 1/2 cups vialone nano rice 
a bottle of wine 
1 cup of chicken stock (low salt) or consomme
1 large or 2 small onions
2 cloves of garlic
zest of one lemon
50g of butter 
1/2 cup of grated parmesan. 

Heat the stock and 1 1/2 cups of wine in a small saucepan.
Soften onions and garlic in a little oil, then "toast" the rice.
Add a splash of wine, and stir until it has mostly absorbed.
Pour in the hot stock/wine, add lemon zest, and bring to a simmer
Turn to low, cover, and walk away for 14 minutes.  I suggest you use this time to drink what's left in the bottle.
Give it a stir, then add the parmesan and butter and let them melt through.
Enjoy!

Oh, yeah, and my New Years resolution is to get off my butt and post more often.  And it's February already so I'm not tracking so well.  Sorry.
Thanks, Nicola for filling in!!  I suspect you have a few exciting things lined up for us...!

Repeats

It must be almost Christmas, I baked gingerbread trees today! Successful first attempt at baking in the new oven.

Looking forward to spaghetti marinara for dinner, with fresh scallops and calamari from the markets today.

..but you've seen both of these before!! I've been cooking a lot of old favorites while I dial in to the new kitchen, as this seems the most reliable way of finding differences. Summer will be a challenge to create new meals which don't generate too much heat (I hate a hot kitchen in summer), but which don't require the BBQ or pizza oven, as both are in storage for the duration of our inner-city tenancy (no gas bottles allowed!)

Have also recently decided that risotto season is over until sometime next year when the temperature drops again. There is no way I'm standing over a pot of risotto in 30C!!

I still have notes on my obsession with risotto (which is pretty much all I've cooked for months) to share with you.. Watch this space! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

On gadgets, and how to zest a lemon without a zester

I love buying new toys, but hate clutter. Some people will never be happy. I have come to peace with my dilemma, and the following things have helped:

1) a ban on single-purpose items. This means no waffle iron (sniff), no mandoline, and no lemon zester.

2) zenhabits.net and getrichslowly.org - two sites which encourage me to live without "Stuff".

3) moving from a large, 4-bedroom house to a small, 2-bedroom inner-city apartment. We will attempt to cram all of the Stuff I couldn't live without into our new home tomorrow. And I'm starting to worry about just how much I need to throw out. Again.

4) living without said Stuff (which I could not live without) for almost three months during the transition between countries. There are some things I miss terribly, but for the most part, I can't remember what's in the boxes...

I'm also learning that there is so much you can do without much extra effort at all, which makes the once-needed gadget redundant. I'm even thinking of ditching the microwave in favour of much-needed bench space!

So, I use a sharp knife instead of a lemon zester, a sharp knife instead of a mandoline, and steam or hot water instead of a microwave. I haven't found a solution for the waffle iron, but it's nice to know there is one thing restaurants can do that I can't!

 

Use a sharp knife to remove thin strips of zest. Avoid the white pith by staying close to the surface of the lemon.

  

Cut into thin strips lengthwise. 

  

Cut into the tiniest cubes ever by slicing in the opposite direction. Please be careful of fingers!

  

Give it a few extra chops for good measure. I love the slightly bigger pieces of zest, they seem to hold that beautiful, citrusy flavor better than thin, flimsy zest. And the colour is gorgeous! 

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Testing 1,2,3. Can I handle the technology?

OK, so it's not much of an excuse, but I've been neglecting you because I'm in love with my iPad. My laptop is 2 metres away on the floor, but it's much easier to read the hard work of other bloggers, or to play another round of angry birds, than to get the laptop, turn it on, and upload photos. That's officially the only thing the iPad can't do. It can surf the net, make you laugh, and herd cattle, but it doesn't do photos.

Lucky for you, my lovely husband is now in the same country as I, and taking beautiful photos. And, most importantly for you, he's doing the hard yards and uploading these photos to the internet! So we have photos, folks, which means you'll be hearing from me again. From time to time.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad