Tummyrumble

Chicken, rhubarb and onion one pot stew

Chicken may rightly be called the most boring meat in the world, but when it comes to comparatively quick one pot cooking nothing beats a few chicken legs. Cheap, sturdy enough to take the abuse of stewing, yet moist and succulent after just an hour.

Being a big fan of one pot cooking I have tried a bunch of recipes to that effect. My chicken and brown rice casserole came out very nice, so did roast chicken on a bed of root vegetables and cabbage.

Typically it is always the same things that go in with the chicken though. Potatoes, mushrooms, onion, carrots and so on. Tasty, but gets a bit repetitive. So here is a recipe that uses something completely different: rhubarb!

How good does that look? It was delicious.
Originally uploaded by Manne.

(More photos of making this dish at Flickr.)

I love rhubarb, but has only ever eaten it as compote with milk. My mum used to make that every year when I was a kid. It signified the coming of summer. But why not use it in savoury cooking? Not stranger than adding lots of lemon juice (Yassa, from Senegal, yum) or really tart apples (pork roast with apples...).

Rhubarb is super tart though, so will need some added sugar to not make your dinner guests faces pucker up as if biting into a lemon.

Ingredients, serves 4

400 gr rhubarb, cut in 3 cm pieces
50 gr sugar to sweeten the rhubarb
3 medium onions, halved and sliced
4 chicken legs
1 thumb sized piece ginger, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 sprigs lemon thyme
juice of half a lemon
1 cup white wine
1 tbsp paprika powder
2 tsp cayenne powder
2 tsp dried thyme
salt
crushed black pepper
butter for frying

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Mix the paprika, cayenne, dried thyme and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Rub the chicken legs vigorously with the mix.

Place the rhubarb in a bowl and sprinkle them with the sugar, mix it up to get sugar on all pieces.

In a large pot (with a lid) suitable to place in the oven fry the chicken legs on medium heat until they have a nice golden skin. If you get lots of smoke stinging your eyes from the spice mix, don't worry. It will be good in the end. Set aside on a plate when done.

Succulent golden chicken
Originally uploaded by Manne.

In the same pot add some more butter and then the garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute while stirring, releasing the flavour. Add in the onion and fry while stirring until it starts going translucent. Then add the rhubarb and fry for another minute or two.

Garlic and ginger add lots of aroma and flavour
Originally uploaded by Manne.

As you stir the pot the rhubarb will actually go paler from the heat
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Pour in the wine and then put the chicken back in the pot with the sprigs of lemon thyme. Squeeze the lemon juice on top and give it a good stir. The wine doesn't have to completely cover the chicken. Put the lid on and pop it in the oven for an hour.

Ready to simmer away in the oven
Originally uploaded by Manne.

One hour later, the rhubarb has almost dissolved and the chicken is ready
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Serve with some nice greens, like this salad with radishes and pea shoots, and some cous cous or quinoa.

Rhubarb chicken bake, ready to go
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Radishes and pea shoot salad with a lemon and coriander dressing

It is March, and radishes are in season. Radishes are definitely not used enough. I love the crisp texture, a bit like water chestnuts, and the zingy flavour can lift any dull green salad to great heights.

This salad is really quick and simple. The lemon based dressing goes really well with the radishes.

Ingredients

1 handful of radishes, finely sliced
2 handfuls of fresh pea shoots
1 can of butter beans
1 small handful of coriander, finely chopped
1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper

Slicing the radishes finely is a bit fiddly, but well worth the effort.

Method

Slice the radishes and place in a bowl with the pea shoots.

Rinse the butter beans under cold running water, add to the bowl.

Salad components
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Chop the coriander finely and put in a measuring jug with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Half the lemon and squeeze lemon juice to taste into the coriander and oil mix.

Tip: before you cut the lemon, roll it while pushing with your palm against the chopping board, this loosens the meat up inside and makes it easier to squeeze out the juice.

Also check out the really clever little lemon "shower caps" we found, they are like small hair nets for the lemons so that when squeezing the seeds don't fall in your food! So pointless, they are lovely! You can also just use some cling film that you pierce with a knife before squeezing... The little shower caps are washable though. ;)

Very clever lemon "shower cap" to keep seeds away from the food
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Season the dressing with some salt and pepper, stir it up.

Pour the dressing over the beans, radishes and pea shoots and give it a good stir, making sure it all gets covered with the lemony goodness.

Excellent match with a fish dish. Or why not a pot of chicken and rhubarb stew... Recipe for that delicious dish to follow.

This salad tastes just as nice as this photo is over exposed!
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Scottish spring rolls - haggis the Chinese way

Always curious to explore new ways of consuming her favourite breakfast, the infamous haggis, W this week cracked the stellar idea to turn haggis into spring rolls.

Inspiration came from Chris Pople blogging about his alternative Burns Supper, feasting on haggis dim sum at Min Jian in Kensington.

Haggis spring rolls, ready to devour
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Simple as 1,2, 3: 

First mix in a bowl one McSween 2-3 portion sized haggis with one can of Libby's pure pumpkin, add a generous handful of grated cheddar. Caution, this will make enough mix for quite a few rolls... If you are a greedy piggy like us, that is not a problem. If not, you might want to half the amounts.

Split sheets of round feuilles de brick down the middle, place a generous tablespoon of the mix on the middle of the straight side (see video), wrap and roll.

Bake at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes until crispy. Enjoy as a starter or snack.

Clever instructional video with crap sound where W explains how she got the idea, as if writing it wasn't enough:

Clearly this is not a new idea. A quick googling shows that other people have had similar ideas, proving the versatility of the mighty haggis!

Haggis spring rolls by McSween.

Haggis nachos, tostada, spring rolls and more...

Thanks to W for a tasty treat!

Happy as Larry, wrapping away
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Roasted chicken with chorizo on a bed of root vegetables and cabbage

Waitrose saved our Sunday dinner (again)
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Building from a Waitrose recipe, we made this for Sunday dinner. While their recipe was basically just the chicken on cabbage and chorizo, served with potato mash, we decided to whack a load of various veggies in there and let it all roast together in the same pan. 

Lazy buggers, we are.

Simple as day, and in Waitrose's own words "quick to prepare, lovely mix of flavours".

While I am at it I'd like to recommend these sausages from Unearthed that we found through the Waitrose recipe. The little kabanos snacking sausages are brilliant on a plate with some Comté cheese...

Mini sausages from Unearthed, delish
Originally uploaded by Manne.

Ingredients (serves 2 hungry piggies)

2 carrots
1 parsnip
1 swede, diced
1 leek, sliced
1 pointed spring cabbage, shredded
1 onion, cut in clefts
1 pack cooking chorizo (250 gr)
4 chicken legs
2 tbsp sherry
rosemary, 4 fresh sprigs
garlic, 4-6 whole peeled cloves
olive oil
salt
black pepper

Method

Heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Start with cutting the root vegetables and onion in rough pieces, chop up the chorizo, peel the garlic cloves, place it all in a roasting tray. Drizzle with some olive oil, splash in the sherry.

Add the chicken legs to the tray and rub it all around, getting some of the oil and sherry on the chicken. Then place the legs skin side up and season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 20 minutes.

Remove tray from oven and lift chicken out on to a plate. Mix the cabbage and leek into the vegetables and chorizo, give it all a good stir. See how the chorizo has released its juices, all that lovely bronze colour? You want some of that to rub off on the cabbage and leek.

Put the chicken back on top, return tray to oven and roast for another 35 minutes.

Chicken should be golden in colour, and when cooked through no pink meat should be seen near the bone in the thickest part.

Place a few good spoonfuls of vegetable mix on a plate, rest a leg (or two...) on top and drizzle with the juices from the pan.

Serve with a rich red wine that survives the spiciness from the chorizo. Waitrose recommends Vina Fuerte Old Vine Garnacha, Catalyud, Spain.

Why not, I say.

In season: Jerusalem artichoke, American sunflower - February

Weird and knobbly, but packed with delicious flavour
Originally uploaded by avlxyz, made available through Creative Commons, thanks!

WHAT: jerusalem artichoke, great from November through March. In fact, if you grow your own, they start producing tubers in August but you should wait until after first frost to pick them as that apparently produces a sweeter flavour.

WHY: they provide an excellent alternative to potato, but with a different taste.

HOW: prepare like you would potatoes, actually, but unlike potato it can even be served raw in salads. Steam (boiling makes them go mushy), sauté with garlic, fry, puré, oven roast, make a hearty soup, deep fry, or fry with batter and serve with a dip. 

Pick out smooth ones as you will waste less when peeling. More knobs does not equal better quality. It is easier to peel them after they are steamed, but keeping the peel on provides more nutrients. Also, the peeled tuber discolours in air unless you keep them in a pot of water with some lemon juice squeezed in.

Jerusalem artichoke puré with apple and spices, yum!
Originally uploaded by wfiupublicradio, made available through Creative Commons, thanks!

Funny plant, this. Despite its name it has no connection with globe artichokes, nor Jerusalem. It actually is a type of sunflower. Native to North America, as Italian settlers arrived they called it "girasole" (Italian for sunflower) and it is believed it was distorted through the years to "jerusalem". And yes, the tubers do taste a bit like globe artichokes. For more background, see "eat the seasons".

While it looks a bit like ginger (or the Mandrakes of Harry Potter...) it is more like a potato in texture and consistency (although very different in taste). Rather than starch the carbohydrate is something called inulin, an important component in the fructose (don't eat too much of this...) industry which uses a lot of jerusalem artichoke.

This inulin is also what may cause some people to get digestion problems from jerusalem artichoke. Sometimes causing tummy pains and excessive wind, it has been nicknamed "fartichoke"...

Taste is often described as nutty and sweet with hints of honey. My favourite way of serving this delicious root vegetable is as a soup. Try 32 Great Queen Street for a fantastic jerusalem artichoke soup, topped with a bit of truffle oil and served with fantastic bread.

Jerusalem artichoke soup, and some very excellent bread.
Originally uploaded by Manne.