Zesty Orange and Red Grape Chicken Salad

So its 2015. Wow that kinda came around fast! I would really love to say that this New Shiny January the first we have dumped all the sugar, eaten the last sausage rolls and cleared the drinks cupboard...but that would be a lie! I am finishing off the last glass of Prosecco as I type this, opened at midnight for the celebrations (though we had to pause watching Frozen in 3D to watch the fireworks!)  and I am eating some rather nice pistachio nougat sweets my dad brought over. We are still surrounded by several tins of very nice biscuits, half a tub of heroes, a chocolate orange awaiting its fate and a fridge full of reduced vegetables! Oh and a Stollen, various half eaten bags of party snacks and a lot more still!

 

So vowing to be healthy this January is going to take a lot of will power and power walking and may well fail but I have been developing some healthier recipes and this gorgeous Zesty Orange and Red Grape salad makes a great start to the year! Its loaded with super food chia seeds, endorphin inducing red chilli and or course lots of lovely fresh salad leaves courtesy of Florette! It only takes a few minutes to prepare and you could sub white for red grapes if they are to hand.

 

I made two versions of this to suit our guests palates last night and for lunch today - this one was for the adults and our friends little one had it without the chilli in. Its great to serve as part of your buffet or in individual bowls but really needs to be eaten freshly prepared. If you wish to serve it cold, simply make up the chicken part, chill and allow to come to room temperature before tossing with the salad leaves. I did experiment a little by marinading one portion in the juice mixture vs straight into the pan and there was no notable difference so save time and simply add as you go along!

 

 

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 Cooked chicken breasts, finely sliced
1/2 an orange, juice
1 inch sliver of the orange peel
2 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
125g Florette Mixed Salad Leaves - either Crispy or Bistro
1 spring onion, finely sliced
16 red grapes, halved
1/2 large red chilli, minced
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 yellow pepper, sliced
1 tsp olive oil


Mix the orange juice and vinegar and put to one side. Cut the peel into fine slices.

Heat the oil, fry the pepper and spring onion for 1 minute over a moderate heat, then add the chicken, chilli and grapes, heat through gently turning in the pan for 2 minutes, pour over the juice mixture and allow to gently bubble away until reduced down - about 2 minutes or so.

Place the salad leaves in a large bowl or platter. Spoon over the chicken mixture and any remaining juices. Scatter over the prepared zest and chia seeds.

Serve warm or at room temperature.


We all really enjoyed this salad - its hint of chilli combined with the zesty orange scented chicken made it a very welcome winter salad and added a bit of lightness up against all the heavy winter feasting on pastries and cakes! If you fancy looking for more inspiration check out Florette's website which has lots of salad recipes to explore!

Many thanks to Florette who provided vouchers to cover the cost of the salad and a very lovely salad cook book!

Turkey, Pecan and Cranberry Strudel

Trying to come up with this dishes name was initially easy in my planning process but after actually making it did Strudel still fit the bill I wondered? Strudels tend to be more of the sweet variety but in a restaurant for lunch the other week I had a roasted vegetable and goats cheese one so I think I can happily borrow the name for this occasion! I did momentarily consider the word puff that makes me just think of dragon's which is obviously just plainly wrong! Plus it might be rather tricky catching one....

When it comes to leftovers, I really do enjoy making them into something new and always relish the challenge! With Christmas approaching faster than Santa's sleigh it is most probable you might just have quite a few leftovers from the big meal to play with - and Sainsbury's asked me to create something using leftover Turkey. Now Turkey leftovers and Christmas makes me think of turkey curry and boxing day, something a bit of a joke nowadays - yes it does make a rather nice curry but there is so much more you can do with it too! Its usually a very lean meat, and whilst most people go for the white breast meat I am much more fond of the slightly gamier tasting brown meat, usually the thighs or legs and chances are you might have that in particular leftover, though this dish would work well with either so don't worry too much if its only a small joint like a crown you have leftovers from.

Whilst I may fold the pastry a little differently next time, overall it was a great success and I really enjoyed having our pre-Christmas dinner last Sunday complete with fairy lights! My strudel was a great use of leftovers - the cranberry sauce left from who know's when and a handful of pecan nuts added a tasty crunch to the mixture too! You could probably use walnuts equally well if that's what you have leftover instead. The sweet, slightly tangy cranberry with the lovely pecan crunch and sweet turkey meat was really tasty, definitely a keeper of a recipe!

Turkey, Pecan and Cranberry Strudel

Serves 3-4 adults, fairly easy

Ingredients

200g cooked brown Turkey meat, shredded

50g butter

100g cranberry sauce

50g pecan nuts

6 sheets of filo pastry, by Sainsbury's

30g plain flour

30g unsalted butter

200ml milk

1 tbsp poppyseeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 190o.

Place the pecans on a heavy baking sheet, cook for about 5 minutes until lightly toasted - do not forget - they burn super fast (as I found out the hard way!) remove from the oven and lightly break up into smaller chunks.

In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk together thoroughly, slowly add the milk bit by bit to form a thick roux, until all combined and simmer for about 5 minutes or until it coats the back of the spoon well. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper and stir through the turkey.

In a small pan melt the butter and keep warm.

Unroll the filo sheets gently, place one on a flexible baking sheet or parchment paper in a rectangular shape, brush with butter thinly all over, repeat with a further three sheets. You need to work fast as filo dries out fast - if needed dampen some kitchen paper and place on top of the open sheets.

With the prepared pastry, spoon over the prepared turkey mixture down the middle, allowing an inch gap on the sides. Spoon over the cranberry sauce, butter the exposed pastry and place a new filo sheet over the top, pressing out any air gently. Repeat with a further sheet over the top.

Fold up the opposite ends, inwards, brushing again with butter to seal. Using sharp scissors, make horizontal slashes about an inch apart but not through to the filling, and brush again with butter. Fold up the slashed pieces of filo in an alternate pattern. Cover liberally with remaining butter and sprinkle over the poppyseeds.

Lifting the sheet onto a heavy based baking tray, bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. My oven is questionable as to its temperature but you want a fairly hot oven!

Slice into portions and serve with roasted baby potatoes and a green vegetable medley, I sauteed leeks with courgettes and it went very well together! Oh and lots of gravy!

With thanks to Sainsbury's who provided vouchers to cover my time and ingredients.

As I used up some neglected cranberry sauce, leftover Turkey meat and the last few pecans I am sending my festive recipe over to Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary's No Waste Food Challenge which is being held by Slice Off Me this November!

Zesty Lime and Coriander Spatchcock Chicken

This September marks the 20th Anniversary of Freedom Food, the RSPCA’s food accreditation scheme and in conjunction with Sainsbury's, who sell over 60% of the UK's Freedom Food certified products, and I have developed a delicious recipe for you to enjoy, using a Freedom Food certified whole Chicken. 

Freedom Food was developed to promote higher welfare foods but with a more affordable price tag and hopefully my recipe can inspire you to explore the range. I do try to buy free range or at least freedom food products where possible but I admit I am not perfect and by buying the best we can, it affords a little peace of mind that we are doing the right thing. This whole meal including the sides came in well under £10, approximately £7.50 for the four of us.

Now this recipe is possibly not for the faint hearted...It involves a little bit of butchery..but its relatively easy so don't fear! I have via trips en France acquired a few pairs of poultry shears but if you have a sharp heavy knife or decent scissors you can also achieve the results.. by spatchcocking the chicken, it cooks quicker, its easier to carve and also marinade too - a win win situation! I have given instructions but if in doubt simply look for online guides to show you how!

When it comes to marinading things, especially those involving chillies you want to be careful on the whole eye face contact afterwards...for which I can't recommend having been there got the tee shirt but I can recommend using CSI style gloves for this manouvere! You can pick them up pretty cheaply and they save a lot of mess and facial burn risks!

I spent ages trying to decide what to make with the chicken but after much deliberation I decided to go vaguely down the Thai route, using zesty lime juice, fresh fragrant coriander and a little chilli to add a little zing to the party! It worked really well, I just wish my oven understood the crispy setting - I am sure it will go a far more delicious shade of golden n crispy in a regular oven! 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 x whole Freedom Food Chicken
15g fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp Nam Pla (fish sauce)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

You will need 2 x metal or bamboo skewers to keep the chicken in place but its not essential so don't worry too much if you don't have some!

Method:

Start by turning your chicken over and using your shears or equivalent sharp implement remove the backbone, cutting through either side of it. Remove any excess fatty bits or skin.

Turn the chicken back over so its breast side up and use the heel of your hand to press down so that the chicken breast and legs are all one equal layer

In a small bowl combine the coriander, chilli, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, oil and season with salt and pepper.

Glove up and get massaging your chicken all over. Place on a large, shallow baking tray and using the skewers, thread through to form a kriss kross, to keep the chicken in one layer.

Marinade for a couple of hours, though one hour will be okay..

Pre-heat the oven to 180o, then cook the chicken covered in foil for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, baste with the juices and roast for a further 15-20 minutes, or until juices run clean and its cooked through. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before carving.

The easiest way is to use a sharp knife to remove the legs, then remove the breast meat. This way you can also please your squeamish guest who dislikes meat on the bone! 

Personally for me the legs are the best bit - juicy and flavoursome! What is your favourite part?

To go with my chicken I tested out my Steama cooking basmati rice for the first time - I flavoured it with a little coconut and seasoned on serving with soy sauce, nice and simple! I also added steamed broccoli dressed with sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil:

Many thanks to Sainsbury's who provided vouchers to cover the cost of the meal and my time developing the recipe. 

Chilli Chicken Bean Bowls

Have you heard of Uniform Dating? For those who don't know they are a dating website and whilst I didn't meet my B via there, in these modern times I think dating sites are a great idea to find people with shared interests without having to hang around a bar trying to catch someones eye or some dingy pub batting off the undesirables! I have had my fair share of that and I am so glad to have settled down now! Anyway over the past few months Uniform Dating have been working with Chef Michael Caines to create a new Uniform Foodies dating app, featuring his recipes - and as of today it has my Chilli Chicken Bean Bowls too! It goes live today so do check it out! Its currently only 69p to download in the app store!

Whilst I am not a Nurse, outside of blogging I actually work in a hospital and up until very recently worked as a Healthcare Assistant alongside the Nurses on a busy medical ward, and for my Uniform Foodies recipe challenge I of course chose to create a Nurses favourite meal – which following a national survey by Uniform Dating was salad! (I wont mention how quickly a box of chocolates or biscuits will disappear in when left at the desk!) 

For my salad I wanted to keep it simple but special as when you are working shifts around the clock and often lack time to create something tasty the instant noodle packs become far too appealing – so when planning my salad for the challenge I decided to go with some lean protein – chicken breast and lots of veggies for replacing all those vitamins lost during a busy shift along with some carbs in the form of a tortilla wrap that forms the base of the meal too and kidney beans for extra protein! Its also quick to assemble with fairly normal ingredients to find and can be prepared in advance around your life!

By making my salad a little spicy plus the idea to eat with your hands if desired, you can potentially eat this with your loved one (who you might perhaps find on Uniform dating!) and turn on a bit of caveman instinct getting a little dirty by breaking off chunks of the crispy tortilla to scoop the filling out or simply enjoy by yourself and save the leftovers for lunch the next day! Either way its quick, tasty and super easy to make!

Serves 2

Easy

Ingredients

Bowls:

2 tortilla wraps

Spray oil

Salad:

375g Chicken breast diced into ½ inch chunks

½ red onion finely sliced

120g cooked kidney beans

1 spring onion, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp Lime juice

1 tsp cumin seed

2 tsp Smoked paprika

½ tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground coriander

½ Yellow pepper sliced

20g coriander leaves shredded – save the stalkier parts to put with the chicken

6 outer leaves Romaine lettuce

1/6^th Cucumber, halved cored and finely sliced

1 salad Tomato

Salt and pepper

4 heaped tbsp sour cream

Olive oil

Start in advance by making the ‘taco bowls’. There are a few different methods I found on the internet but I used one of our large cereal bowls. Spray with oil soften the wrap in the microwave for about 20 seconds to make pliable and shape around the upturned bowl. Place on a baking tray (it will be easier to get our the oven!) and cook in a hot oven – about 200o for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy. Allow to cool fully and if not using straight away store in a food bag or air tight container.

Marinade the chicken in a bowl with the lime juice, smoked paprika, chilli powder, cumin, ground coriander, season with salt and pepper and add a teaspoon of olive oil and mix well.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, sauté the onion until lightly browned, add the chicken and brown on both sides before adding the pepper, fry for a further 3-4 minutes then stir through the beans and tomato slices, cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until the tomato is starting to break up, stir through the spring onion and coriander stalks then turn off the heat and put to one side.

By hand, halve the romaine leaves through the middle. Use the top parts to garnish your taco bowl and finely chop the remainder. Place in a bowl with the cucumber slices and most of the fresh coriander.

Add to the bowl the warm chicken mixture, toss together and fill the taco bowls. Top each bowl with 2 tablespoons of the sour cream and a little remaining coriander to garnish.

My spicy Chilli Chicken Bean Bowls were great fun to make and to eat! I constantly try new things and it ticked the boxes with a tongue tingling chilli kick! Its healthy, affordable and of course very tasty! Don't forget I am on twitter under @anneskitchen and you can also check out other #Uniform foodies on there too!

I am sending my recipe over to this months Cooking with Herbs challenge, held by Lancashire Food this month:

Disclaimer: I received vouchers to cover the cost of ingredients and my time developing the recipe for Uniform Dating

Thai Turkey with Coconut Coriander Sauce - Random Recipe #36

This months Random Recipe #36 - New Year, New Book was set as always by Belleau Kitchen, was actually chosen by B – he had no idea what he was doing it for at the time but I gave him the most recent cookbook I was given (though admittedly was a slight cheat as I was given this particular book and the ‘Reggae Reggae’ cookbook together but nothing really appealed in there when I had previously looked!) I just simply handed the book over and told him to flick it open to a recipe – and with a slight sigh of relief Thai Pork with Coconut Coriander Sauce was read out! If you just noticed the deliberate change from the title to the reference above then well done – we did switch the meat from Pork to Turkey, mainly as I had bought reduced some Turkey breast steaks, and as the recipe called originally for Pork Fillet which is equally pretty lean it made an excellent and economical substitute!

So the book in question this month … its Rachel’s Favourite Food at Home (by Rachel Allen), and the Thai Pork is also the first recipe cooked from it. Dad gave me the book late last year after managing to source it for I think something like a measly 99p brand new in a clearance shop! I do like a bargain but really lack bookshelf space now (in fact a boxful linger sadly in the loft softly calling at night..either that or we’ve got pigeons!) and now I’ve actually had a proper look through it there are some rather tasty looking recipes including some Fruity Breakfast Muffins that the page just opened on as I got the book out to type it up!

This also reminded me once again (and the second time that week oops) to READ A RECIPE FROM START TO FINISH as we completely cacked up the timings and wasted precious time and energy making it! Dinner was finally served about 9pm! I have written the recipe out to make it easier for those with similar brain programming to me!

Many moons back I attended evening classes for a Thai Cookery course, it had been initially advertised in the local paper as South East Asian Cookery but I think Thai food was becoming popular and there must have been requests made and it was changed to just Thai cookery. To this day ashamedly I note that I have never looked up the difference! I am no expert by any means on Thai cusine and not really sure how authentic this is either but it has all the elements of a Thai meal, and despite our attempts to ruin it piece by piece, it actually turned out pretty tasty and can see us definitely making again.

The original recipe serves a whopping 10-12 so I have scaled it down somewhat to suit 2-3 adults. I also opted for using Gourmet Garden’s fresh herb and spice pastes as er its easier and I had them in! I left out the lemon zest as I er forgot to buy one. I’ve never used lemon zest in Thai recipes before either so wasn’t too concerned missing it out!

Ingredients:

400g Turkey breast, into 1x2cm chunks

Marinade:

2tbsp fresh coriander leaves chopped up

3 spring onions, roughly chopped

½ tbsp ginger paste

2 cloves garlic

Squeeze of lemon juice (I use bottled)

½ tps red chilli paste

½ tbsp lemongrass paste

1 heaped tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp Nam Pla (fish sauce)

1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Sauce

1 tin coconut milk (in hindsight next time use ¾ tin)

2 tsp Nam Pla

3 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves and stalks roughly chopped

S&p to taste

Some of the ingredients!

Method:

This is the bit I we-wrote completely - there are two options for making the marinade– option one is if you have a liquidizer or similar gadget. Option two is if you only have a food processor (I don’t this is how book states it?!)

Option one – whack all the marinade ingredients together in a liquidizer till nicely combined, mix with the Turkey and reserve for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Option two – In the food processor add the coriander, spring onions, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, chilli and lemon juice, blitz and combine with the remaining marinade ingredients mix with the Turkey and reserve for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Mmm soo good!

1) Heat a large frying pan until very hot (but not so hot the alarm goes ping ping ping) and lift the turkey bits out of the marinade (a slotted spoon in great here) and fry in a single layer for about 2 minutes, turn over and cook through – should be at the most 3-4 minutes and lovely and sticky and your kitchen smells fab. Keep warm

2) Meanwhile place the leftover marinade in a small pan and bring to the boil uncovered, and boil until slightly thickened, then add the sauce ingredients. (We were a little impatient having mis-read original instructions and added cornflour shh!)  It may well not need much seasoning – the soy and nam pla are quite salty on their own so do check first!

3) Serve the cooked turkey on top of rice if desired and lather a little sauce over the top or on the side. We actually poured most of the sauce back over the turkey to warm through! It most likely lost some marks at this point in the looks department but it tasted great! As you can see we didn't have rice - I used up some leftover chapati's and made a dry sweet potato curry on the side. Garnish with a little extra corinader and spring onions to hide the dodgy colour if you like.

No stake in the beauty contest but wins on taste! 

As I managed to make the recipe more economical by substituting Turkey breast for the Pork Fillet, and it was reduced to a purse friendly £1.78 I am sending over this to Credit Crunch Munch set up by Fuss Free Flavours and held by Fab Food 4 All this month:

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The trio of tasty cheats!

Disclaimer: Gourmet Garden provided me with the spice/ herb pastes for my own review and I was under no obligation to feature on Anne’s Kitchen

Turkey and Black Olive Roulade

Some nights I eat relatively quick and simple meals..some nights I feel like making more of an effort, and this was one of them! However it still was ready in under 20 minutes so not really too much effort was needed!

Serving meals up that look good on the plate always help I think, you do eat with your eyes after all as the saying goes! Also most importantly when cooking for one, you really do have artistic licence and you should make a little effort to treat yourself! Recently on a food forum we were discussing the highs and lows of cooking for one, and its a constant balancing act, however this is a perfect meal for one - you don't have leftovers for three days or even more tupperware to squeeze into the freezer and as it looks pretty, it feels that bit more special. As I used the rice water to poach it in, it also equalled less washing up - never a bad thing!

Prior to this I’d never made a roulade before and not even sure why I thought about it at the time, however I was glad I did. It actually was very easy to make, the only scary bit was trying work out how long it would take before it was cooked through due to my inexperience! Luckily my judgement paid off and the turkey was beautifully moist. This would also work really well with chicken breasts.

Ingredients:

1 turkey breast fillet, 

Heaped tbsp black olive pate

Couple of freshly basil leaves

Method:

Start by covering the turkey in cling film and bash with a rolling pin evenly, until about 1/2cm thick and spread with the pate, tear over a couple of the basil leaves

Carefully roll up the turkey really tightly in the cling film, a little like a Christmas sweetie and firmly pinch/ tie the ends together.

I was cooking rice anyway to go alongside the turkey, so also went in the roulade and boiled gently for about ten minutes, then very gently unwrap on a paper towel lined board. Alternatively simmer in boiling water.

Once the cling film has been removed, then brown the roulade in a hot lightly oiled pan to make it look pretty and golden all over. 

Slice the roulade into rounds and serve with whatever you fancy. I had rice and roasted vegetables with a little onion gravy, which worked very well. Making nice gravy too can be a bit of effort for a single serving, however I tart up instant with a spoonful of onion marmalade - works a treat!

N.b. The olive pate was one of my random purchases for 75p reduced from about £3 – I do love a bargain! If you can't lay your hands on some, something like tapenade would be suitable.

Turkey Escalopes...with Marmite love!

I know when it comes to Marmite, you either love it - me me me - or hate it - there are strange folk out there!! It has this weird, enticing lure. Savoury and delicious. Nothing really does compare!

Twice this week I have managed to include heavenly marmite in my cooking - I finally tried Nigella's marmite spaghetti, albeit with vermicelli pasta, which was quite simple and yet simply heavenly, and secondly the old brain went a bit awol (oh the joy of shift work), and I had seen the marmite jar earlier that day.... Saw my turkey steak. And thought hmmm......could I ...really?!

You see that night I had not planned to actually do anything remotely turkey related. My meal planner (ha)  said frittata but I really did not fancy frittata. Also I had been food shopping for the week that afternoon, and had randomly picked up 3 turkey breast steaks reduced for a measly £1.50..how could I say no? This despite having a freezer full of food....

On a separate note earlier on that particular day I had made some ginger biscuits (nice but not blog worthy), which involved only the egg yolk, and was left with the white, hence the frittata idea. But then ~I thought what about coating something - in this case the turkey was to hand - and went from there!

My steak was a bit chunky and I was worried about it drying out in the pan, so I sliced it though horizontally into two thin steaks, dried off with kitchen paper, massaged with marmite, floured, bathed in beaten egg white, then pressed into a good handful of breadcrumbs (top frugal tip - never throw away that end bit of crusty bread - blitz and freeze for future meal making!) and then fried in a drizzle of olive oil for about 3 minutes on each side. Super quick!

And the result? These turkey escalopes were a zillion times better than the ones I was brought up on! The marmite added a deliciously savoury note, and this is in no way the end of my love affair with having marmite other than on my toast!

This in no way a sponsored post. Just a marmite addict at the helm.

Crispy Roast Chicken with a herby Mushroom Sauce

**COMPETITION HAS NOW ENDED**
Following on from my recent delicious chicken liver and tarragon pate post, I also created dinner for me and my dad using other goodies within my Knorr hamper, including a delicious tomato stew, which I will post up soon, which was served alongside my crispy roasted chicken with a mushroom sauce and herbed potato stack.

Being that the lovely organic Rhug estate chicken was whole, and that I didn’t want to cook the whole bird at once due not to wanting to eat it three days running, I dug out a copy of ‘the cooks book’, armed myself with poultry shears and a sharp knife, and set about properly butchering the poor bird up.

Having not done that particular kitchen task in a long time and I had forgotten how brutal it felt but it was quite satisfying to finish it and resulted in a chopping board with all its separate portions laid out neatly! It also makes the chicken go that bit further and ensures nothing goes to waste either - you know my motto by now is to not waste anything!

Serves two

Ingredients

2 Chicken leg quarters (I.e thigh and drumstick)

1 banana shallot, sliced into rounds

15 quartered small white mushrooms

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp chopped curly parsley

75ml white wine

300ml chicken stock (made using a Knorr chicken stock pot)

1 heaped tsp cornflour, made into a paste with 2 tsp water - see notes below

Step one - Preheat oven to 190o

Step two - pour yourself a nice glass of wine, test for quality control - after all you want your dish to taste good! The wine in my box fitted the job perfectly, I thought it was crisp, refreshing and delicious but was not to my dads taste. Oh well more for me then!

Step 3 - For the crispy roasted chicken I started off by flouring the leg quarters, as recommended by Marco Pierre White, browned them in hot oil in a large saute pan, skin side down for just under 10 minutes, cover slightly with a lid if the oils spitting a lot, when browned place them on kitchen paper to drain.

Step 4 - Using the same pan, add a splash more oil if needed and fry the shallot and the mushrooms, until lightly golden in colour. Add the wine and bubble off for a couple of minutes, add the stock and bring to the boil, add 2 tbsp fp the parsley, stir in and then transfer the sauce to a suitable baking dish and nestle the chicken pieces on top - they should just fit inside - I used my rectangular glass pyrex roaster. Roast for approx 45 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through.

Step 5 - Make up the cornflour and water paste, this is where I made a slight error of judgement and have adjusted the quantities in the ingredients section …the sauce was a little thin for my liking and so I strained it off into a saucepan and bought it back to the boil with a tad too much cornflour..my lovely sauce become a rather thick and gloopy.... Alas, cooking is always something to learn from and improve upon, bit like life really! Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve with your choice of vegetable.

Despite the slightly hmm sauce, the chicken was gorgeously crispy, you could really tell the difference in quality of the meat and we cleaned our plates so all was not lost!

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