Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients :

• 6 large chicken thighs and 6 chicken drumsticks
• 700 ml chicken stock
• 50 gm butter
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 400 gm, mixed wild mushrooms
• 300 ml dry white wine
• 250 ml double cream

Preparation :

• Heat oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken pieces for 8-10 minutes till golden brown.  Set aside.
• Place the chicken pieces in a pot, and pour the stock over it. Cover the chicken with the stock. Bring stock to the boil and cover, leaving lid slightly ajar. Simmer for 30 minutes until chicken is cooked.
• In a separate pan, heat the butter in a pan, and sauté the onions till they are tender. Turn up the heat, and fry the mushrooms until they soften. Add the wine and increase the heat. Boil for 10 minutes until reduced by 2/3rds. Turn off and keep aside.
• Once the chicken is cooked, strain stock from the chicken into the pan with the onion, mushrooms and wine. Continue to boil, until further reduced, and the sauce is thick.
• Add in the cream and bring to a boil again. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken and serve.

Serves 4

Beer Batter Chicken

Ingredients :

• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup of beer
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 3 chicken breast halves; skinless, boneless
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Preparation :

• Whisk the egg in a bowl along with the beer. Add flour, soda, salt and pepper, whisking constantly, to ensure that the batter is smooth and uniform.
• Cover the bowl, and let the batter stand for half an hour.
• Cut the chiken into lengthwise pieces. 
• Heat a sauce pan, and add oil for frying the chicken strips. Once the oil is heated, dip the chicken in the batter. Allow the excess batter to drip off, and then place the chicken in the oil.
• Fry the chicken until golden brown. Remove the chicken once cooked, and allow to rest on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. Cook all chicken strips this way.
• Serve hot with sweet-chilli sauce.

Serves 4 

Chicken Breasts with Dijon Mustard

Ingredients :

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme plus thyme leaves for garnish
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preparation

• Heat oil in a large heavy bottom pan, over medium heat.
• Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and brown the chicken on pan. Keep aside.
• Place onions in the same pot and sauté till soft. Add garlic and continue cooking. Add the stock
• Heat oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place chicken in Dutch oven and cook until brown on both sides, 12-15 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Place leeks and onion in same pot and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, wine, Dijon mustard, and minced thyme and bring to a simmer. Return chicken to pot. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to plates. Bring liquid in pot to a boil; cook until sauce is thickened and glossy, about 15 minutes. Whisk in butter and season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and garnish with thyme leaves.

Serves 4

Grilled Trout

Ingredients : 

• 2 x 500 gms trout
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Preparation :

• Combine coriander, olive oil, basil, rosemary and garlic. 
• Spread mix inside the fish evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. 
• Oil the grill pan.
• Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and grill for 8-10 minutes on each side over a medium heat.
• Remove the fish from grill and serve.

Serves 4

Scallops with Lime and Chillies

Ingredients :

• 6-8 scallops
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 100 gms green beans
• 1 large chopped garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp chopped fresh red chilli
• juice of half a lime
• roughly chopped coriander
• salt and pepper

Preparation :

• In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil, add the beans and cook for two minutes. Drain the water, rise the beans with cold water and keep aside.
• In another saucepan, fry the scallops in olive oil for about a minute or two, until golden on both sides. Add the garlic cloves and chopped red chilli on top of the scallops and toss in the pan.
• Cook for a minute more, and then drizzle the lime juice on the scallops
• Take off the heat, and garnish with salt and pepper, and chopped coriander

Serves 2

Pork Fillet with Thyme

Ingredients : 

• 500 gm pork fillet, trimmed
• 60 gms butter, softened
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 potatoes,
• 2 tbsp black pepper, coarsely ground
• 3 tbsp freshly chopped thyme
• salt, pepper and oregano for seasoning

Preparation :

• Preheat oven to 200 C.
• Brush the pork fillets with butter and garlic, and lightly cover them in the pepper and thyme.
• Peel and quarter the potatoes, braise with oil and season with salt, oregano and thyme.
• Put the pork and the potatoes on a roasting pan, and bake the pork in the oven for 20 minutes, until meat is cooked.
• Serve with roasted potatoes.

Serves 4

Steamed Chicken with Chilli and Coriander Butter

Ingredients :

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 50 gm soft butter
• 4 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 red chili, chopped finely
• 350 ml chicken / vegetable stock or water
• salt and pepper

Preparation :

• Combine the butter, with chilli and coriander.
• Cut a deep gash in the chicken breast sides, to create a pocket
• Divide the chilli coriander butter mix in the sides of each chicken breast, and place each chicken breast in a 12 inch square of baking paper
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste
• Roll the baking paper tightly on either ends, to wrap the chicken completely. Twist the sides of the paper to seal the chicken
• In a steamer, boil stock / water in the lower pot, and place the chicken package in the top steaming compartment. Allow the chicken to steam cook for about 15 – 20 minutes, covered.
• Take off gas, once the chicken is tender.
• Garnish with finely chopped onions, carrots and celery. Brush some butter on top and serve.

Serves 4

Salmon with Orange Butter

Ingredients :

• 4 x 155 gms salmon cutlets
• 170 gms salted butter, softened, cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp orange juice concentrate
• 1 tbsp orange zest, finely grated
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning 

Preparation : 

• Slightly soften 125 gms of the butter, and mix with orange juice, orange zest, parsley and ¼ tsp salt.  
• In a frying pan, melt the remaining butter. Keep the gas on medium so that the butter doesn’t burn.
• Once the butter is moderately hot, add the salmon to the pan, and cook for around 3-4 minutes on each side. Make sure that the salmon is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place the cutlet on a plate, and top off with a tablespoon of orange butter.
• Garnish with orange wedges, topped off with a few slivers of orange zest and serve.
• For a variation, you can add 1 tsp of Dijon mustard to the orange butter.

Serves 4