Strawberry chicken-a recipe.

What quite a few of you won't know is that before I became a horticulturist I was a chef.....

I started off in restaurants and ended up in an exclusive nursing home cooking for 40 elderly and mainly lovely older people who had chosen to spend the last years of their lives somewhere they would be looked after properly and well. I helped out in the gardens too and ran a little gardening club.....

 

Anyway every year we held events for the residents, their families and the friends of the home group, and one year we decided on a strawberry themed event. 

Easy I hear you say but not that easy when you've promised an entire menu that includes strawberries in every course! What on earth do you serve as a main with the knowledge that most older people aren't keen on salad?

And then Hugh Fernley Whittingstall came to the rescue! Strawberry chicken was a recipe on one of the early River Cottage series and so I decided to trial it in the menu to see how it went down.

Older folk tend not to like anything new so there was only a small take up but my usual guinea pigs took up the challenge. I had already trialled it with some of the care staff who had definitely enjoyed it so off we went. 

The guinea pigs lapped it up, especially my dear old pal Frank who was always up for trying something new, and so we decided that it would go on the strawberry lunch menu.

So how do you make it? Well it's very easy. 

Take enough chicken breasts to feed however many people you're feeding and roast in the oven, making sure it's well seasoned. You can use chicken quarters too.

Once they're cooked, pop the chicken on a plate and cover with foil to keep hot and then make a gravy using the juices in the pan, mixing in some chicken stock at about 150ml per person, and thickening it with some cornflour. Once it's thickened to your personal preference, put the chicken back in along with a good slug of cream, a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Leave it on the hob on a really low heat, just enough to keep it all hot, and slice some strawberries. I usually used 4/5 fruits per person. Once sliced pop them into the gravy and just allow them to heat through, and then serve. 

 

Now what is important in this dish is the seasoning is correct. It needs a good whack of black pepper to cut through the sweetness of the fruit. It's just a great combination and don't scoff until you've tried it!

Firstly a massive thank you to Richard Chivers of  Sharpenyourspades.com who recently wrote a blog around 10 best strawberry recipe,and gave me the idea to write this blog. If you haven't already you should subscribe to his blog. 

I'm going to start posting a few more recipes here too. Sharing things I love and make regularly as well as recipes for preserves, pickles and other things I enjoy. Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to focus on!!

 

Pumpkin Soup the Thai Way!

This is another simple recipe for pumpkin soup, but this time with a bit of extra warming kick. It's great for a quick weekend supper served with lots of crusty bread and is a recipe I go back to again and again.

You will need....

1 Medium sized pumpkin, peeled and chopped
Sunflower Oil
1 sliced onion
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 stick of lemongrass
3-4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
850 ml veg stock
lime juice and sugar for seasoning

Firstly roast the pumpkin for about 30 minutes until it is cooked.
Meanwhile add some oil to a pan and fry off the onion, ginger and lemongrass and cook on a gentle heat for about 10 minutes. Then stir in the curry paste, add the roated pumpkin, most of the coconut milk but leave about 3 tbsp in the can, and the stock and bring to a simmer. After 5 minutes remove the lemongrass, leave to cool for 5 minutes and then blend with a hand blender.  return to the pan to heat through and add salt, pepper, lime juice and sugar to taste and serve with a dibble of the remaining coconut milk.....

It could not be simpler!!

 

Pumpkin scones?!? Oh go on then!!

So dear reader I thought a teatime recipe would be fun for today, but a savoury one. These are delicious and great to get kids joining in to help make too, and we eat them with cheese and chutney. They are great for that point on sweetens afternoon when you need something after a late breakfast or brunch, but aren't ready for dinner yet. And they freeze well too.

 

So all you need is......

40g butter

200g pumpkin flesh chopped into small pieces

225g self raising flour-don't put the bag away as you'll need more for dusting!!

1 tsp baking powder 

A (largish)handful of grated cheddar

A handful (smallish) of chopped herbs-we use parsley but anything leafy and fresh is fine

3-4 tbsp milk plus some for brushing.

Pop the pumpkin into a ban with water and boil until its tender and then drain, and mash and leave to cool off.

Then put the flower and baking powder into a bowl, add the butter and mix with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. This is a great bit for kids to help with and you'll stay clean. Then use a knife to mix the pumpkin into the flour mix, add the cheese and herbs and a tiny splash of milk and bring the dough together, and then lightly kneed it for 30 seconds 

Roll out the dough to about 3cm thick and cut out scone shapes using a cutter, put them on a buttered baking tray, brush the top with milk and bake for 10-12 minutes on 180fan/200c or gas 6.

When they're risen and golden take them out and hide until cool. 

It's that simple and they are delicious!!

More to come tomorrow folks!!