Gammon Berets and Tarragon Chicken

Going through Gran's recipe folder is...ummm.....interesting. Liver risotto? Pork crumble? Or how about some "American Mould"? There are some strong themes running through her collection. She has a dozen recipes for Rhubarb & Ginger jam and nearly as many for Chinese Chews (neither of which I have any problem with). She has an obsession for jellied salads (actually I do remember these from when I was small, particularly something made with lime jelly, carrots, coconut, mandarins and marshmallows - I shudder at the memory). And she seems to have had shares in a pork farm.

Really, I've never seen so many pork recipes. I had no idea it was so versatile. I found a solitary fish recipe ("Party Halibut") and the first ingredient was "1/2lb of pork pieces". Really? Pork & fish? What kind of parties was she throwing?

I'm going to have to try a few out, even if they don't sound too prepossessing - after all, she must have kept them for a reason. I'm intrigued by "Gammon Berets" - they sound like the paramilitary wing of the Pork Marketing Board.

I just couldn't face a pork crumble for my dinner tonight, so I went all continental and made Tarragon Chicken instead. This involves industrial quantities of Maille Dijon mustard but it all cooks down to a delicious mild sauce.

Tarragon Chicken

8 small chicken breasts
3 dsp Maille Dijon mustard
1 tsp vegetable stock granules
1 small bunch tarragon, minced
1 small bunch parsley, minced
4 small onions, chopped fine
2 red peppers, sliced fine
2 cloves garlic
1 large glass white wine
1/2pt whipping cream

Fry onion & pepper till soft, add garlic, fry another minute. Add mustard and stock, cook another minute, add white wine, cook 2-3 more minutes. Add cream & herbs, bring to the boil, add chicken breasts and poach for 30 mins.

Chicken Fajita spice mix

1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tsp Marigold powder OR 1 chicken Oxo cube, crumbled
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon La Chinata hot smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Put it all in a plastic bag, put 350-500g sliced chicken breast in, shake to coat. Do your usual Chicken Fajita recipe.* There you are, I just saved you a pound.

*If you don't have one, fry 2 onions, finely chopped, on the highest heat in a tablespoon of oil, stirring constantly till browned, then add 2 roasted skinned red peppers, finely sliced, cook for a few more mins. Decant to a bowl, reheat the pan, add a bit more oil, stir fry the chicken for 5 mins, add the onion mix back in, stir a few mins more while you heat up the wraps, serve with grated cheese, sliced tomato, salad leaves, tomato salsa, sour cream/yoghurt, sliced red onions, sliced avocado, whatever.

McCartney's Chorizo, Chicken & Bean Stew

Messy but completely delish!

McCartneys of Moira are going a dinger at the moment! First of all their Corned Beef beat 7,500 other entries to become the Great Taste Awards 2011 Supreme Champion, then they were named best Neighbourhood Retailer Butcher of the Year! But we knew that anyway! Their sausages are just the best thing ever and so cheap when you consider how delicious they are. I'd rather have a plate of McCartney's sausages (especially their Italian ones) than a supermarket steak any time.

I made a fantastic (even if I do say so myself) casserole for the weekend from McCartney's chorizo sausages, some chicken fillets, a few tins of beans and a tub of tomato sauce. These sausages aren't as strong as proper chorizo (they are more accurately chorizo flavoured) but they are full of garlic & paprika and perfect for a winter casserole. Incredibly easy and quick to do, this will keep us going through a busy weekend where my husband and I are doing a very accurate impression of ships that pass in the night. You can eat a bowl of it on its own or have some crusty bread and cheese on the side. I make a pretty damn good tomato sauce in industrial quantities once a month and freeze 400g or so batches of it, so that's what I used here. Use your own recipe or a supermarket one if you must, though I can't recommend one cos I think they are all awful.....if you can recommend a good one please let me know!

Chorizo, Chicken & Bean Stew
450g McCartney's Chorizo sausages (If you are not lucky enough to have McCartneys, use a premium pork sausage with a lot of garlic, paprika and spice in the mix) cut into bitesize chunks
450g chicken breast fillets cut into bitesize chunks
1 punnet chestnut mushrooms sliced
1 medium aubergine diced into 1/2" chunks
100g Kabanossi sausage sliced
1 tin chickpeas drained and washed
1 tin flageolet beans drained and washed
3-400g or so of tomato sauce (see recipe below)
1 tsp paprika
Oil for frying

Fry the mushrooms on high until caramelised and golden. Transfer to a large casserole. Do the same thing with the aubergine. Turn the heat down slightly to medium high heat. Fry the chorizo until golden and add to the casserole. Then do the same with the chicken. Put everything else (beans, kabanossi, tomato sauce) into the casserole, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 mins.

My tomato sauce
2 x 500g cartons of passata (Tesco's 29p one is grand)
2-3 large onions
2-3 peppers (optional)
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 tsp sugar
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme or a few sprigs of fresh.

Put the peppers, onions & garlic in a food processor and whizz till finely chopped. Fry on a medium high heat till cooked through (30 mins?). Throw everything else in, bring to the boil, simmer on low for an hour or so, remove whole herbs, cool & freeze in batches (this makes 3 batches for me). If you make it without peppers it's stupidly cheap and tastes much better than any dirty oul thing out of a jar.

Chicken and dill pilaf

Dispose of your
chicken carcass
wisely...in a stock pot

This weekend I found myself hoking round Tesco's reduced section and gathered up some random vegetables, some of which gave me the makings of stock. One thing I did not get to eat on my holidays was my favourite bulgur wheat pilaf - the restaurateurs of Side preferred rice and orzo to coarse bulgur and vermicelli. So I dragged a chicken carcass out of the freezer and made a main course pilaf inspired by Turkey and Tesco's.

Chicken & Dill Pilaf

1 chicken carcass (or a pack of chicken wings)
2 onions, halved
2 carrots, cut into chunks
3 stalks of celery
Handful of parsley
Salt and pepper

Coarse bulgur (or rice if you can't find any)
3-4 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 nest vermicelli (optional)
1 small bunch of dill, chopped

Take the first 6 ingredients, put them in a large pot and cover with water, bring to the boil, skim off the foam, simmer on low for a few hours. Strain the liquid off and measure it (I got 24 fl. oz.). Measure out half that amount of bulgur or rice (e.g. I poured the bulgur into a measuring jug up to the 12 fl.oz. marker). Pull any chicken meat off the carcass and chop finely. Take a large pan with a lid (I used a flat bottomed wok) and fry up the onion and celery in olive oil until it's transparent, then crumble a nest of vermicelli in, stir till the vermicelli is translucent. Add the bulgur and fry for a few more minutes. Then add the hot stock (there will be lots of steam!), add the chicken bits, bring to the boil, cover and turn the heat to medium. Leave without touching for 10 minutes, then turn the heat off and leave it to stand on the ring for 10 minutes (it will sit longer if needed). Do not touch the lid! No peeking, no stirring. Chop the dill finely and stir it through, check for seasoning and then leave covered for another few minutes for the flavour to permeate.