This is a super simple, serves 2 greedy people and takes about 20 minutes to cook and if you don’t like prawns you can always leave them out. It also works really well with good chicken stock but when I made this last night I didn’t have any stock so used the oxo cube and water.

If you really want to stir the rice you can, although a Spanish friend once told me never to stir it so for once I’ve done as I’m told.

Ingredients

• 1 Chicken breast, cut into chunks
• 1 small packet of smokey bacon lardons
• 4 mini cooking chorizo (picante ones if possible), skin removed and then sliced
• 10 (ish) large raw king prawns
• 1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
• 5 large chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 3 sprigs worth of thyme leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 oxo chicken stock cube
• 350-40ml water
• 150g paella rice.
• pinch of saffron soaked in a tablespoon of water.
• Handful of chopped flat leaf parsley.
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1 handful of frozen peas
• 1 medium tomato, chopped and seeds removed.
• 1 glass of white wine.
• salt
• pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• bay leaf
• olive oil

Method

1.  Heat a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan, add the bacon and cook until crispy, add the sliced chorizo and cook for a minute or so before adding the chicken.
2. Cook the chicken for a few minutes until its nice and golden then add the mushrooms, peppers and onion along with the garlic, bay leaf, chilli flakes and paprika. Stir well.
3. Cook until the onions are soft, add the wine, give it a really good stir then add the rice , once the rice has soaked up the wine add the water and crumble in the stock cube (unless your using stock then just add the stock), give it a quick stir.
4. Now turn the heat down so the pan is simmering and just a say bubbling. The trick here is not to stir anything and leave it for 10-15 minutes, checking it every now and then to make sure it’s not drying out too much, the rice will soak up all the juices and puff up nicely, the bits that catch on the pan add a little more texture and taste fab too.
5. The rice will start to soften so after 15 minutes try a few grains, if they are about cooked add the prawns and peas, pushing them into the rice but not stirring too much as you don’t want to disturb the pan too much.
6. Cook until the prawns are pink and cooked through.
7. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.
8. Remove from the heat and give it all a good mix before you plate it up.

Enjoy!

As much as I’m not a fan of the kits and preffer to create my own fajitas, the crispy chicken seasoning is delicious.

I’m not sure of you can buy the crispy coating seasoning separately but if not some normal fajita seasoning mixed with breadcrumbs should do the trick.

Crispy, spicy and delicious

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, bashed out so they are nice and thin and sliced into 2 or 3 big chunks/escalopes
• 1/2 packet Old El Paso crispy chicken fajita seasoning.
• Guacamole
• Salsa
• Sour cream
• 2 bread buns
• Salad and potato wedges to serve with.
• Olive oil
• Sandwich bag

There’s also a chance for the budding cooks reading this to submit their recipes and to win a chance to be in a cookbook alongside Rachel Allen

Kerrygold and Rachel Allen Launch Community Cookbook

Kerrygold, the Irish butter brand, has teamed up with top Irish Chef, Rachel Allen, to produce the very first Kerrygold Community Cookbook. Kerrygold is inviting  cooking enthusiasts across the UK to be part of it by submitting their best-loved recipes, be they old family favourites or original flashes of culinary inspiration, to their Facebook page

Roast chicken with honey butter chorizo stuffing
Serves 4-6

Rachel’s quote: ‘Chorizo and honey are two powerful flavours that are carefully balanced in this stuffing, they both work wonderfully with the supremely versatile chicken. I have used Kerrygold Honey Spread as a convenient cheat for adding both honey and butter.’

Ingredients:

• 40g (1 ½ oz) Kerrygold Honey Spread
• 110g (4oz) chorizo, finely chopped
• 100g (3 ½ oz) white breadcrumbs
• 1 chicken (1.5 – 2.25kg or 3lb 5oz – 5lb)
• 2 tbsp thyme, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°f/Gas mark 4.
2. First make the stuffing, melt 25g of the Kerrygold Honey Spread in a saucepan with the olive oil, then add the onion, garlic and chorizo, cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 8-10 minutes or until the onions are soft but not browned.
3. Take off the heat, then stir in the thyme and breadcrumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper then allow to cool.
4. Spoon the cooled stuffing into the chicken cavity and place the chicken in a roasting tin. Smear the remaining Kerrygold Honey Spread over the skin of the chicken and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
5. Place in the oven and roast for about 1 hour and 30-45 minutes (allowing about 20 minutes per 450g/1 lb), until cooked, basting occasionally. If it begins to look quite dark while cooking, cover with some foil.
6. To check whether the chicken is fully cooked, stick a skewer into the thigh with a spoon placed underneath to catch the juices, the juices should run clear. Also, the legs should feel quite loose on the bird.
7. When cooked, transfer the chicken to a serving plate and leave to rest, covered with foil and in the oven at the lowest temperature. This will keep the chicken warm while you make the gravy or sauce.
8. Spoon the stuffing out of the chicken into a serving bowl or onto a plate.
9. Carve the chicken and serve.

For more information on the Kerrygold, delicious recipes and to be in with a chance to have your recipe featured in the Kerrygold Community Cookbook alongside Rachel Allen’s please visit
www.facebook.com/KerrygoldUK

perfect for BBQ's

After the amazing suicide wings at Hickory’s in Chester I thought I’d have a go at making some my self, I very nearly just coated them in the Smart Arse Sauce that The One Stop Hot Shop sent me, but decided that would be the easy and slightly lethal option.

The idea is you can just make them as hot as you want by adding more chilli either using powder, fresh chilli or chilli sauce, these had a nice tingle which I’m pretty sure came mainly from the dash of the Smart Arse Sauce that I ended up throwing in for good measure.

After demolishing a plate of the wings I reckon the sauce would work on almost any meat or fish and especially well on a roast chicken. They’d even work really well with a nice blue cheese dip.

I griddled them but they’d be even better done on the BBQ

Ingredients

• Packet of fresh chicken wings
• 2 Chillis – use which ever ones you want, play around with different ones to give different heat levels and flavours.
• 1 clove of garlic,crushed
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2cm piece of ginger, grated
• 1tsp of red wine vinegar
• splash of olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp honey
• dollop of your favourite chilli sauce (optional) as mentioned I used Smart Arse.
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup

Method

1. Place all of the ingredients apart from the chicken in a bowl, mix well.
2. Add the chicken and mix until all of the chicken is really well coated in the sauce.
3. Place in the fridge for as long as possible.
4. When ready to cook, heat your griddle, BBQ or grill up so it’s nice and hot, place the chicken on.
5. Cook, until done, turning occasionally, depending on the size of your wings and how you’re cooking them. They shouldn’t take long and the meat should just fall off the bone.

Obviously the cooking time will depend on the size of the bird you have.

We had ours with new potatoes and a lovely green salad and then had the left overs in sarnies with salsa and salad.

Ingredients

• 1 Whole chicken (preferably free range)
• 1 tsp Chlli powder
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• black pepper
• salt
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• pinch of mustard powder
• pinch celery powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• olive oil
• zest of 1 lime
• zest of 1 lemon

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 200 degrees C.
2. Mix all of the herbs and spices together with the zest’s (or open the packet if you went down the pre mixed route)
3. Rub the chicken with a little olive oil then sprinkle over the spices and rub into the skin of the chicken.
4. If you want to add some extra flavour you can put some of the spices under the chicken skin and in the cavity.
5. Place chicken into a lightly oiled roasting tin, cover with a double layer of foil.
6. Cook for suggested time for your bird, but half an hour before the end remove the foil, baste the chicken with the juices and cook until the skin has crisped up.

Remove from the oven, allow to rest for 10-15mins then carve and serve with salad and new potatoes.

You can easily substitute the chicken for pork fillet, it works an absolute treat, just adjust the cooking time slightly as you don’t want raw pork.

It also works best if you have a nice hot griddle pan, but if you don’t a nice heavy frying pan works quite well too, or if we get a summer it’s amazing on the BBQ.

Marinading time: 30mins – an hour

Cooking time 30mins

Ingredients:

Reggae Reggae Chicken

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 bottle of Reggae Reggae Sauce
• Garden Peas
• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 Tsp of freshly grated ginger
• 1 Tsp chilli flakes
• 1 Tsp dried mint
• Salt and pepper
• Knob of butter

Method

1. Lightly score your chicken breasts and marinade in a couple of tablespoons of Reggae Reggae Sauce for as long as you can.
2. Peel and slice your sweet potato, place in a pan of cold water and boil until cooked.
3. Heat the griddle pan up so it’s really hot and place the chicken on it. Turn and baste the chicken ever few minutes for around 15 mins, or until the chicken is cooked.
4. Turn the pan off but leave the chicken on it to rest.
5. Melt a knob of butter in a pan and the chilli and mint, followed by the peas, fry until cooked through.
6. Mash your sweet potato with another knob of butter, mix in the ginger and season with black pepper.
7. Serve the chicken on top of the mash and with the peas….enjoy.

Ingredients

• 1 fresh mango (peeled and diced)
• Hand full of fresh pineapple (skinned and diced)
• Fresh mint
• Fresh coriander
• 3 spring onions (finely sliced)
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• Squirt of honey
• 1 chilli or some chilli flakes
• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 sweet potatoes
• fresh ginger (grated)
• salt + pepper
• 1 tablespoon of creme fraiche
• knob of butter.
• olive oil.
• white rum or tequila (optional)

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 200 degrees
2. Mix the mango, pineapple, chilli, spring onions, lime. mint, coriander and honey together in a bowl and add a splash of white rum.  Set aside
3. Microwave the sweet spuds for a few mins so they are part cooked then place in the oven until really soft on the inside.
4. Flatten the chicken breasts, season with salt and pepper and rub with a little olive oil, cook on a hot griddle pan. place on a baking tray and place in oven to keep warm.
5. Warm the salsa in a hot pan until the alcohol has cooked off and the salsa is nice and soft.
6. Place the ginger in a bowl with the creme fraiche, butter and some salt and pepper, add the insides of the sweet spuds and mix well ,either eat or discard the skins.
7. Remove the chicken from the oven and plate up, top with the salsa and serve with the sweet potato mash and veg.

This works best if you have some leftover chicken from Sunday lunch but you can use any kind of leftover or fresh chicken. Quantities are kind of to your own liking but if I have a cold, I really ramp up the ginger and chili!

Step 1

From leftovers:

Deflesh what remains of your chicken and put to one side, quarter the remaining carcass and boil for around an hour to make a stock. Remove the carcass and strain stock through a sieve.

From fresh:

Take a couple of chicken breasts and slice into inch thick strips, add them to a pan and poach gently until cooked (about 10 or so mins)

Step 2

Finely slice a thumb sized piece of ginger and two hot chillies, add them to a hot pan with some vegetable oil and gently fry, add some thinly sliced spring onions and garlic and fry gently for a few more minutes. Add your chicken and a couple of pints of (either cube or proper) chicken stock, add a good slug of soy sauce. Boil for about 20 mins on a low heat.

Three or four mins before serving add a couple of nests of dried medium egg noodles and continue boiling until they cook.

Just before serving thinly slice some pak choi and add along with some beansprouts.

Stuart tells me he picked this recipe up on his travels and has slightly westernised i. Apparently as long as it’s bitingly hot, sour, salty and has loads of mint it’ll be good! Stuart has made  it with chicken but  he said pork or fish would also be good.

Stuart also sent me a pic which really shows what a great photographer can do.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast or thigh fillets, minced or finely chopped
• 2 sticks lemongrass, inner part only, finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 thumb sized piece of galangal, finely choppped (optional)
• 4 birds eye chillis, sliced
• a good glug of fish sauce
• juice of 2 limes
• huge bunch of mint – I’ve had this in some places with half a garden full greenery
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled and sliced into thin strips (use a potato peeler)
• sticky or jasmine rice to serve
• extra whole chillis to garnish (optional)

Method

1. Mix  the chicken, lemongrass, garlic, spring onion, galangal, and chilli in a bowl and leave to marinade for 10mins.
2. Get a wok smoking hot on a high heat, add a little groundnut oil and fry the mixture for 2 – 3 mins.
3. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and cook for 30 secs.
4. Add the mint, roughly chopped, (and the extra chilli if using) and serve immediately with the rice and the cooling cucumber.

To me that sounded really simple yet really tasty so i will be sure to give it a go.

If any of you reading this make it then please leave your feedback on here so we know how it went.

Sorry about the poor photo i was in a rush!

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• half a pack of good quality thinly sliced chorizo
• 2 large hot chillis
• 1 carrot
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• handful of ripe tomatoes.
• 4 tablespoons of cider vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• squirt of honey
• parmesan cheese.

Method

• Roll the chicken breasts in some grated Parmesan, salt and pepper then wrap the chorizo round each breast, bake in the oven for 20-30 mins at 200 degrees c
• While the chicken is cooking blend the chilli, carrot, peppers, tom’s in a blender with the honey,lime juice and cider vinegar, to make a sauce, tip into a pan and cook thorugh, taste it as you go along and add more lime, cider vinegar and salt and pepper if need be.
• Put the sauce on the plate, then the chicken on top and serve with peas and home made chips