Category: Chicken

Chicken drumsticks with sweet chilli marinade

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

I always tend to by chicken drumsticks when they’re on offer, as I like the darker chicken meat and these are perfect to snack on, bring to a picnic etc.

The recipe for this fabulous marinade is from a great Swedish food blog called Smaskens. Annika who runs it is one of my role models in cooking and all the recipes I have tried from her have been wonderful. This was no exception.

I ate the drumsticks in two ways. First served with couscous with lemon and spinach and a simple cold sauce with creme fraiche and sweet chilli. Second just lukewarm with corn on the cob. Both were delicious, and if you marinade the chicken for as long as I did, 48 hours, the meat is so tender and succulent you don’t need a sauce with it.

Chicken drumsticks with sweet chilli marinade

After Annika’s recipe.

1,8 kg chicken drumsticks

50 ml Chinese soy sauce

100 ml sweet chilli sauce

100 ml olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, grated/pressed

2 tsp sambal oelek

1 tsp salt

black pepper

Mix the ingredients for the marinade and pour it into a large ziplock bag (double-bag if needed) and add the chicken. Marinade for at least an hour, preferably longer. I kept mine in the fridge for 48 hours, turning it around a few times to the marinade to distribute evenly.

Place the chicken on a wire rack with a roasting tray underneath. Cook in 200C oven for about 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes so the cook evenly.

Weekday wonders: Egg-fried rice with chicken

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If one, like me, never ever seem to get the quantities right when making rice, then you will probably end up with a lot of left over rice. And as I really dislike to throw away food, I want to use it up. The quickest (and tastiest) way to achieve that is to make egg-fried rice. It is a speedy supper that tastes wonderful.

You can vary it in any way you want; I used what I had at hand; green pepper, romano pepper, chicken thighs and salad onions. I enjoyed this with a dollop of a sauce made with creme fraiche and sweet chilli sauce because I had some left in the fridge. It is a nice addition, but it is nice without it too.

Egg-fried rice with chicken, serves 2

3 chicken thighs

1/2 green bell pepper

1 romano pepper

3 salad onions

neutral oil for frying

500 ml cold cooked rice

1 garlic clove

1 egg

a few drops sesame oil

soy sauce

sweet chilli sauce

salt, white pepper

Skin and de-bone the chicken and cut the meat into strips. Fry in oil on high heat until just cooked through, won’t take long. Add salt and pepper. Remove from the frying pan. Cut the peppers and salad onions into strips and fry in the same oan for about 5 minutes. Remove as well. Add more oil to the pan and lower the heat. Fry the rice for a few minutes until it is warm. Beat the egg with the sesame oil. Make some space in the frying pan by pushing the rice to one side. Pour in the egg onto the empty surface and let it set a little before mixing it with the rice. Fry for a few minutes. Add the vegetables and chicken. Add the garlic, soy sauce and sweet chilli after taste. Fry for another few minutes and adjust the seasoning. Serve and enjoy.

Warming chicken soup with beans and mushrooms

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I like to eat soup at least once a week when it is cold outside, but mostly I stick to smooth soups, but it is about time I venture into different soups as well.

This chicken soup is perfect to use up leftover chicken and very tasty, warming and filling. I added some sambal oelek for heat and flavour, and although I made this with homemade chicken stock it works just as well with a stock cube or concentrate.

Chicken soup with beans and mushrooms, serves 3

1 carrot

1/2 onion

2 celery sticks

1 tbsp mild olive oil

500 ml chicken stock, homemade if possible

400 g tinned plum tomatoes or tomato chunks

400 g tinned borlotti beans

2 tsp sambal oelek

1 garlic clove

3 tbsp cream

1 tbsp maizena

7 sliced, fried button mushrooms

1/4 chicken, cooked and the meat shredded

salt, white pepper

To serve: grated parmesan

Peel the carot, rince the celery and peel the onion. Place it all into a food processor and mix. Heat up the olive oil in a 3 litre sacue pan. Add the minced vegetables and fry for a minute or so. Add the stock and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Stir occassionally. Rinse the beans and add them to the pot. Bring to the boil again and cook for a few minutes. Add sambal oelek and garlic, then cream and maizena. Then add the fried mushrooms and the chicken meat. Let it all heat up. Serve with grated parmesan.

Roast chicken with smoked salt and garlic, white wine sauce and butternut squash with feta and pine nuts

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Last week we had the Sunday roast on the Saturday, which worked really well actually. I served it with a creamy sauce instead of gravy to make it worthy of a Saturday night supper, and it worked!

I also tried some smoked salt I bought a while ago from Halen Môn. I have been dying to try it and thought chicken was the perfect place to start. To make it adhere better to the chicken I crushed the salt flakes in my pestle and mortar first.

Apart from the smoked salt I only used butter, garlic and white pepper to season the chicken. It tasted lovely and came out very moist, but if you want a more distinct smoked taste you need to add more salt.

I also put some potato chunks and red onion in the roasting tray with the chicken so they could soak up the meat juices and taste all lovely. Roasted butternut squash with feta cheese and pine nuts as well as green beans was the perfect addition.

And then the sauce. It was a creamy concoction with white wine and a dash of balsamic vinegar and it was excellent with chicken. I will definitely make it again. Soon even.

Roast chicken with smoked salt and garlic, serves 4

1 medium chicken

3 tbsp butter

3 tsp smoked salt, crushed

white pepper

3 jacket potato sized potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1/2 red onion, cut into wedges

Rinse the chicken and trim it if needed. Make a cut in the skin above each breasts. Stick your finger into the whole and create a pocket between the skin and the meat. Make two slashes on each thigh with a knife. Mix the butter with garlic and fill the breast pockets with this mixture. Smear it onto the thighs and rub what is left onto the whole chicken. Season with smoked salt and white pepper all around the bird. Place in a roasting tray with the potatoes and onions. Roast for 45-60 minutes in 200C or until the chicken is cooked through (clear meat juices by the thigh joint) and the potatoes are done. Leave to rest for 10 mins covered in foil before serving. Sprinkle on some more smoked salt when carved.

Roasted butternut squash with feta and pine nuts, serves 4

1/2 butternut squash

3 tbsp crumbled feta

1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted if you prefer

Remove the pips and cut off the ends of the squash. Cut into chunks and place in a small roasting tray. Sprinkle with feta and pine nuts, salt and pepper. Roast in 200C for 20-25 mins.

White wine sauce with chicken, serves 2

100 ml white wine

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp concentrated chicken stock

100 ml cream

1 tsl mild chilisås

salt and pepper

Pour all the ingredients into a sauce pan. Bring to the boil and heat up. Adjust the stock and seasoning.

Tray bake with chicken, chorizo, potatoes & parsnips

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I love a good tray bake when I’m feeling lazy or am exhausted after a work day. It needs little preparation, and all you need to think about is each ingredient’s cooking time.

When I made this particular tray bake I wanted something comforting but with lots of flavour, and good chorizo does add all that. The fat from the smoky chorizo and the chicken melts nicely into the tray and get absorbed by the root vegetables, making the whole dish moist and crispy at the same time. There is no need to add a sauce, although creme fraiche with sweet chilli sauce, salt and white pepper would be a fab addition, but if you’re lazy a (big) dollop or good quality mayonnaise will do nicely too.I took my plate and curled up under the duvet, a ‘la Nigella and watched an episode of Rizzoli & Isles. That’s allowed when home alone on a gloomy and dark autumn evening.

Tray bake with chicken, chorizo, potatoes and parsnips, serves 2-3

3 baking potato sized potatoes, I used Maris Piper

1 parsnip

1 green bell pepper

1/2 chorizo ring, sliced

1 garlic solo, sliced

4 chicken thighs

1/2 lemon, the juice

mild olive oil

salt & pepper

Pour some oil onto a roasting tray. Dice the potato into large chunks (with the skin on). Peel and cut the parsnip into chunks as well as the pepper. Place it all in the roasting tray. Add salt and pepper and place it in the oven for 20 minutes on 200C.

In the meantime, brown the chicken thighs on medium-high heat in a frying pan. Remove the roasting tray from the oven after 20 minutes and add the sliced chorizo and garlic. Squeeze the lemon juice on top and place the chicken thighs in the tray. Put it back into the oven for another 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

Chicken breasts with smoked ham and mozzarella

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Chicken breast. Probably the most commonly bought item in the Swedish meat counters. And no wonder, the meat is lean, contains no bone and can be seasoned with almost anything.

The only problem I have with chicken breasts is that a lot of people don’t know how to cook it, so they end up dry.

My besy tip to avoid the dryness is to brown it in a skillet and then fry it until just done in the oven. Having the heat from all around the meat than just below is a more tender cooking process, which gives you juicy meat. Providing you don’t over cook it.

This recipe is very simple, and basically just thrown together, but still nice enough to cook for friends. I served the chicken breasts with potato wedges, fried courgettes, carrots and leek and a simple creamy sauce.

Chicken breasts with smoked ham and mozzarella, serves 4

4 chicken fillets

2-4 slices of nice smoked ham (depending on size)

2 tsp dijon mustard

4 basil leaves

1 buffalo mozzarella, sliced

salt, black pepper

butter for frying

Start by flattening the chicken breasts. I do this by placing them one at the time on a (plastic) chopping board, cover it with clingfilm and bash at it with a wooden rolling pin. A great way to take out your anger btw. Then make a little incision to create a pocket where you can put the ham. Place 1/2 to a whole slice of ham, rolled up or folded, in each pocket. Fry the fillets in butter until golden brown. Season.  Place ‘ham side’ up in a greased ovenproof dish. Spread dijon on top and place a basil leaf on top. Cover with mozzarella and sprinkle with black pepper. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes on 200C until clear juices. 

Italian chicken liver mousse

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I had almost my first encounter with chicken liver (cooking it I mean) just a little while ago when I used this recipe to make a paté with cognac and porcini mushrooms. The only reason I didn’t post it on here is because I didn’t get a decent photo of it. But it was fabulous!

I am a huge fan of chicken livers since then. It is really tasty, and has less of a liver flavour than say pig’s livers or calf’s livers. On top of that it is very versatile to add different flavours to, and it is cheap.

Last week we had Chris and Jess over for dinner, and we had an Italian theme for the evening, with both food and wine. The most typical Italian starter to me is chicken liver crostini, so that’s what I made. This one is flavoured with white wine, sage and anchovies, very Italian flavours to me.

Since liver might not be for everyone I also made a bean spread (that I will post tomorrow) and classic bruschetta with tomato and garlic. We served the mousse and the bean paste in mini copper pans (my boyfriend’s idea) on a rustic cutting board and piles of crostini on the side. A nice and laid back start to the evening.

Italiensk kycklinglevermousse

400 g fresh chicken liver

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed

2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

100 ml dry white wine

4 anchovies

100 ml homemade chicken stock

50-100 ml mild olive oil

Remove all tendons and chop the liver coarsely. Fry the onion until soft in butter and oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and sage, make sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the wine and watch some of it disappear. Add the anchovies and let it melt together with the other ingredients. Turn up the heat and add the liver, cook until cooked through. Add the stock and let it bubble away a bit.

Mix it all in a food processor. Add mild olive oil bit by bit until it has the moussy texture you’re after. I used almost 100 ml, but start off with a lot less. Leave to cool, then refridgerate.


Poussins with rosemary and lemon, and the most wonderful jus

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It is not the first time I have cooked poussins this way. I followed my usual recipe but simplified it and didn’t brown them before roasting them, and they turned out better than ever! However, it was the simple but lovely jus with rosemary and shallots that really improved the dish. Served with roast potatoes and chanteney carrots and a wonderful Rioja, this was a joyful meal.

We finished this meal off with Christopher’s signature dessert – tarte tatin. We usually serve it with vanilla icecream but had pouring cream with it this time, and it was almost as good.  Poussins with rosemary and lemon, serves 2

4 poussins

100 g softened butter

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 lemon, the zest and some of the juice

1 bunch rosmary

salt and white pepper

Rinse the chickens and place them in a roasting tray covered with tin foil. Mix butter, lemon peel and juice, garlig and some rosemary leaves in a bowl. Make  cut at the top of the breast and insert your finger underneath the skin to create a pocket. Fill this with the butter and repeat for all the chickens. Make 2 cuts on each thigh and smear butter over it. Use the rest of the butter to coat the birds on each side. Season with salt and pepper on all sides. Place two rosemary sprigs on each bird, but remove them before serving. Fry in 200C for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is clear from the thigh joint. Wrap in tin foil and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

Jus with rosemary and shallots, serves 4

1 shallot, finely chopped

a little olive oil

the juice from the poussins (about 500 ml)

500 ml chicken stock

2 rosmary sprigs 

1 msk smör

Fry the onion until soft in the oil in a large frying pan. Pour into the meat juices and stock and turn the heat on high. Place the rosemary in the liquid and let it reduce to around half and thicken. It goes slowly in the beginning, but since it has started to thicken it won’t take long until it is done. Remove the rosemary and lower the mat. Add the butter and turn the heat off. pour the jus over the chickens and serve. 

Sweet chilli chicken with ginger and pineapple

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I got this recipe in an email from my dear Mama (said like in Downton Abbey, my obsession at the moment) who in turn tasted the dish at a friend’s house. So I am afraid I don’t know the original source of the recipe. But that doesn’t matter, because it is really easy to make and very tasty.

Dear Mama only emailed me the ingredients, so below is my version of the dish. I know I usually recommend chicken thighs for more or less every chicken dish, but not this one actually, it works better with chicken breasts here, and they are anything but dry cooking in the cream.

Sweet chilli chicken with ginger and pineapple, serves 4

4 large chicken breasts/fillets

butter/oil for frying

3 tbsp tinned pineable chunks (in juice, not syrup)

1 cm grated fresh ginger

3-4 tbsp sweet chilli

300 ml single cream

a splash of dark soy sauce

salt, white pepper

Brown the fillets in butter/oil until golden brown. Add salt and pepper and place in an ovenproof dish. Mix the other ingredients in an saucepan and bring to the boil. Let it thicken for a few minutes and pour the saue over the chicken breasts. Place the dish in the oven, 200C for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables (i.e. broccoli). 

Chicken thighs with sambal oelek and basil

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Once again, I am promoting chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. I like that this meat always come with skin that you can crisp up. It is also a lot cheaper than chicken breasts, but the main advantage for me, is that the meat is so much juicier, and it is almost impossible to end up with dry meat on a chickn thigh.

This dish is perfect as a weekday dish or even a casual dinner party dish if you prefer, as the cream adds a little pinch of sofistication. I am certainly pleased with the combination of basil and sambal oelek, it really works!

Chicken thighs with sambal oelek and basil, serves 3

800 g (ca 6) chicken thighs

butter/oil for frying

1 large leek, sliced

300 ml single cream

3 tsp sambal oelek

2 tsp Chinese soy

1 garlic cloves

a splash of concentrated chicken stock or 1/4 stock cube

salt, white pepper

a bunch or fresh basil, chopped

Brown the chicken thighs on high heat in the fat, until gold and crispy skin. Transfer to a plate. Fry the leek in the same frying pan until it has some colour. Place it in the bottom of a greased gratin dish. Place the chicken fillets on top, skin side up. Mix cream, soy, sambal oelek, garlic and stock in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Let it thicken while stirring. Season with salt and pepper, add the basil. Pour the sauce into the gratin dish and place it in a 200C oven for 15-20 minutes. Make sure the chicken is cooked through. A lot of meat juices will make the sauce thinner, which I quite like. If you want a thicker sauce pour it back into the saucepan, add thickening granules and let it thicken for a few minutes and pour it back into the dish to serve. Serve with potato wedges or rice and steamed broccoli.