Roast curry chicken, something strong and something milder

As I started reading the news about the books bound in human flesh discovered in Harvard I immediately thought of Sam Raimi and The Evil Dead, only to discover at the end of the piece that the writer had thought of them, too. :)

Movies are a matter of taste, just as food is: this über simple roast chicken, tenderized by the buttermilk and spiced by the red curry paste, is a nice idea even for busier days, since the oven does all the work – you just need time to let the marinade do its thing while the chicken rests in the refrigerator. However, not everyone likes super spicy food, and since curry pastes vary in heat, strength and intensity of flavor taste the one you have at hand before adding it to the marinade: it might be super strong as the 1981 movie, or a lot milder like the 2013 version. ;)

Roast curry chicken
adapted from the delicious and stunning Feed Me Now!

3 tablespoons whole milk
juice of 3 large limes
3 tablespoons red-curry paste*
2 garlic cloves, pound to a paste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 chicken pieces – use the ones you like the most

In a large shallow bowl, combine the milk and lime juice and set aside for 10 minutes (you’ll get buttermilk). Add the curry paste, garlic, salt and pepper and mix to combine. Add the chicken pieces, turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 190°/375°F. Line a large roasting pan (large enough to hold the chicken pieces without overlapping) with a triple layer of foil and brush it lightly with oil. Arrange the chicken pieces side by side on top of the foil and pour over the marinade. Bake for about 60-70 minutes or until deep golden brown (cook it to your liking).
Serve immediately.

*curry pastes vary in heat, strength and intensity of flavor, so taste it before using it and adjust the amount accordingly – I used this one

Serves 4

Roasted carrot soup

A lot has been said about Michael Jackson’s death and I won’t bother you with my thoughts about it. Just wanna say that to me he was a genius, his music has been part of my life since I was a little girl and “Thriller” scared the bejeesus out of me for the first time - the guy never ceased to amaze me.

When it comes to food, Donna Hay is the one that always amazes me – this delicious soup comes from her website.

Roasted carrot soup
from Donna Hay magazine

1kg carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
340g brown onions, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1.5 liters vegetable stock
1 cup (240ml) pouring (single) cream
parsley leaves, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Combine the carrot, onion, oil, salt, pepper and cumin in a baking dish. Roast for 30 minutes or until the carrot is tender.
Process, add the stock and blend until smooth. Place in a saucepan over medium heat, add the cream and bring to the boil. Cover, cook for 5 minutes and sprinkle with the parsley.

* I used garlic infused olive oil

Serves 4 (generously)

Lemon and chilli marinated chicken

Some dishes take me way back to my childhood days - roasted chicken is one of them. My mom loved it and used to make it deliciously well: nicely golden and crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, the meat almost falling off the bones. So good! I can almost taste it as I write this. :D

I immediately thought of mom when I saw the “simple chicken classics” spread on the latest DH magazine. Since I had some marvelous lemons around, this is the recipe I chose.

Oh, and before I forget, I have added an ingredient measure list to the blog that might be useful to some of you.

Lemon and chilli marinated chicken
slightly adapted from Donna Hay magazine

1 x 1.5g whole chicken, butterflied – or use your favorite chicken parts
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon chilli flakes*
1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil – I used garlic infused olive oil

Place the chicken on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place the garlic, salt, paprika, lemon zest and juice, chilli flakes and oil in a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour over the chicken and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/390ºF. Roast the chicken for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through – I roasted mine for 1 ½ hours to get it really golden.

* the chicken turned out spicy and I loved it but my husband thought it was a bit too hot; therefore, adjust the chilli flakes amount according to your taste.

Serves 4-6

Baked pesto chicken

Some things sound wonderful but don't turn out so fine...

Take “Arrested Development”, for instance. Such a great show – perfect writing, sharp cast. To think that the poor boy’s name is George Michael makes me laugh already; nothing against the name - to be clear about it, in case there’s a George Michael reading me right now – but for someone my age it’s impossible to read that name and NOT think of him.

So, back to the show. I love everything about it. It even gave me hope about Ron Howard – I don’t like the guy, but he’s the voice behind the episodes (though I’ll never forget he made this). It should be the #1 comedy and all that. But it got cancelled. And that makes me sad.

What also made me sad was this recipe. I got it from an ad in Bon Appetit magazine a few months ago and I knew it would be delicious. Well, it was OK. But not I-want-to-make-this-200-times delicious.

I should have learned my lesson about not marinating chicken before cooking it, but apparently I have not. The idea of chicken with pesto blinded me.

So don’t be like me and marinate the chicken before making this recipe. And please, let me know how it turned out.

The original recipe is here – I changed it a little by browning the chicken before baking it.

Baked pesto chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 (about 680g/1 ¼ pounds total) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup pesto sauce – I used this recipe
¾ cup (3 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Line baking sheet with heavy-duty foil.

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat; add garlic and cook until it starts to brown. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until nicely browned in both sides. Remove from the pan and place it in a medium bowl. Add the pesto and toss to coat. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet and drizzle any remaining pesto sauce over it.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove from oven; top with the mozzarella. Bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serves 4

Two side dishes worth trying: Jamie's potato salad and Martha's roasted asparagus

I beg of you – make one of these recipes. Or go wild and make both. You won’t be sorry, I promise.

Fresh asparagus are something quite new to me – I don’t ever recall seeing them in supermarkets when I was younger. But ever since I spotted them for the first time there was no turning back – I became a huge fan. In my humble opinion, fresh asparagus will taste great no matter how you make them – I especially love them in risottos – but pair them with olive oil, black pepper and parmesan and you’ve got yourself an addictive combination.

As for the potato salad… I’ll tell you that it’s another recipe from the show “Jamie at home” and I know you’ll be convinced of how good it is. I would never have thought that a simple potato salad could be so delicious – and it tasted even better the next day.

Jamie used lemons for the salad, but I used limes instead; since I’m making this again about 184 times, I’ll try it with lemons too.



This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Lia from Swirling Notions.

Martha’s roasted asparagus with parmesan
from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

2 bunches (680g/1 ½ pounds) asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 230ºC/450ºF. Trim the tough ends from the asparagus.
On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the asparagus with the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer. Sprinkle with the cheese.
Roast until the asparagus is tender and the cheese is melted, 10-15 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Jamie’s potato salad
from Jamie at Home

500g new potatoes, peeled
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
grated zest and juice of 1 large lime
3 tablespoons capers, drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful chopped parsley*

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until they’re tender but not too soft; drain.
Place the olive oil, lime zest and juice in a large bowl and mix well. Add the potatoes while they’re still hot, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add the capers.
Add the parsley after the potatoes are cool. Mix well and serve.

* Jamie used dill

Roast chicken tray bake with tomatoes and potatoes

A couple of weeks ago I watched "Jamie at Home” for the first time – it was an episode about potatoes. I love potatoes – who doesn’t? – and all the recipes were mouthwatering. Joao must have thought so too, because he asked me to make this chicken for lunch on the following day – and he is a beef guy. BEEF.

I didn’t have a pen at the moment to take notes, and I don’t really remember him giving exact ingredient amounts, so this is my version of his roast chicken tray bake with tomatoes and potatoes.

The food was really good and I like the idea of using fresh oregano – a nice herb change to a basil addict like me.



This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Erin, from The Skinny Gourmet.

Roast chicken tray bake with tomatoes and potatoes
from Jamie at Home

8 chicken pieces – I used thighs, wings and drumsticks
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt
freshly ground black pepper
juice of ½ lime
400g new potatoes
100g cherry tomatoes
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
1 large handful fresh oregano leaves + 2 extra sprigs

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, heat the 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil. Add the chicken, garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until nicely browned.
Meanwhile, boil some water in a large saucepan and rapidly cook the potatoes – drain and set aside. If there are potatoes much bigger than others, cut in half.
Squeeze the lime juice over the chicken, mix well and remove from heat.
Place the handful of oregano leaves in a mortar or food processor – Jamie used his crazy shaker - and lightly smash/process. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and smash/process again, until you get some delicious green oil.
Place the chicken, potatoes and tomatoes in a baking dish, drizzle with the green oil, add the oregano sprigs and mix.
Bake for 25-30 minutes and serve immediately.

Served very well the hungry couple on a Sunday lunch. :)