Italian Style Boned and Stuffed Chicken Legs

While this recipe is fairly inexpensive, boning the chicken legs is time consuming and not without difficulty. Start at the top of the leg and work the flesh off the bone.  If you wish, you can use pancetta instead of jamón, in which case you will need about 8 - 10 slices of thin pancetta.

6 chicken legs (about 2kg)
4 thin slices of jamón or prosciutto
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic
about 10 leaves of sage
rosemary
50 ml olive oil
100ml white wine
Salt & Pepper


Skin and bone the chicken legs without cutting into them too much. Start at the top of the leg and work the flesh off the bone using a sharp knife.  Don't worry about any holes which appear in the chicken flesh, they can be hidden when the chicken leg is rolled. The most difficult part is getting the flesh away from the joint, just be patient!!

Place the garlic, rosemary and sage  in a food processor and chop  finely. Chop the jamón with a knife and mix with the finely chopped herbs and grated parmesan. Place some of this mixture in each of the boned chicken legs and roll up, tieing each roll with string.

Heat the butter and the oil in a pan and brown the chicken rolls on all sides. Add the white wine, cover and cook for around 40 minutes.

Remove the string from the chicken rolls, lay the rolls out on a platter, spooning some of the sauce over the assembled rolls, and serve.

Alternatively, cool the chicken rolls, then chill them. Then slice each roll into 3 mm slices and spread on a platter for a great cold dish which is just as good.

Roast Chicken Provençale Style

Roasting a chicken is something which we all often do. I like a moist chicken with lemon and rosemary flavors which is what this recipe gives. The moist chicken is obtained by covering the chicken with aluminium foil for 2/3 of the roasting time, and then uncovering it to brown. The same result could be obtained by first browning the chicken for about half an hour and then covering it aluminium foil.

1.4 kg chicken
sprig or two of rosemary
1 lemon, sliced lengthwise into eighths
1 bay leaf
5 cloves of garlic, halved
olive oil

Slice a lemon into eighths, and halve 5 cloves of garlic. Stuff the inside of the chicken with the lemon slices and garlic together with a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf. Place the chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan with 3 cups of warm water. Rub a small amount of olive oil into the chicken breast. Cover the pan with foil and roast in a 175°C oven for about 1 hour. Now take the chicken from the oven and  remove the foil from the roasting pan. Put the pan and the chicken back in the oven for another half hour to brown the chicken.

Remove the chicken from the oven and rest it for a few minutes before serving accompanied by a sauce made from the garlic cloves and cooking juices.

Poulet Basquaise

I first tried Poulet Basquaise at a small restaurant whose name now escapes me in St Jean Pied de Port in the French Basque country. It is a delicious and great way of preparing chicken.

1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
olive oil
100 g onions, finely chopped
2 red peppers, de-seeded and sliced
2 green peppers, de-seeded and sliced
4 tomatoes, peeled, de-seeded and chopped (use canned tomatoes if you wish)
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bayleaf
1/2 teaspoon of pimenton
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 glass dry white wine
chicken stock
salt and pepper


Fry the onions, garlic and peppers until soft. Remove from the pan and set aside. Reheat the pan and brown the chicken pieces. Then add all the other ingredients except the chicken stock. Simmer gently, stirring from time to time,  until  the vegetables have formed a sauce, about 40 minutes. Add some chicken stock if the sauce becomes too thick. Add seasoning before serving.

Chicken with Prawns

This is a recipe inspired by the Catalan region of France

Ingredients
1 small chicken, cut into 8 pieces
12 large green prawns
1 brown onion
1 red pepper
1 eggplant
1 tomato, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
3 cloves of garlic
200 ml of chicken stock
1 lemon
2 cups rice
1 packet powdered saffron
salt, pepper, olive oil
chopped chives

Method
Brown the chicken pieces in olive oil in a quite hot frying pan. Remove when the pieces are browned on each side. Put onions, garlic and vegetables in the pan, cut in small pieces, to soften a few minutes. Add the pieces of chicken, saffron powder, chicken stock, salt, pepper and spice slightly. Gently cook covered for about 20 minutes (add a little water if necessary). During this time, make the rice with water saffroned to give a yellow colour. Before being served, put the prawns on the pieces of chicken, cover, cook for 2 minutes, remove from the flame and let rest for 5 minutes. The prawns should be cooked at that point. Place a little rice, a chicken quarter, and 3 prawns on each plate. Sprinkle with cooking juices and vegetables, squeezed lemon, and some chopped chives. Serve at once.

Paella

There are hundreds of “authentic” recipes for paella. However, a few basic rules are important. The dish must always be made with olive oil. This helps to brown the chicken and meat evenly and to keep each grain of rice separate. Saffron must be added, to give the rice its golden colour and the sauce its special pungency and aroma. The best way to make a paella is to cook everything together in a large shallow paella pan, uncovered.

1 1.2 kg chicken, cut up.
1/2 kg chorizo, sliced and fried
50 - 75 ml olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
2 whole garlic cloves
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 medium onion, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon saffron
2 teaspoons salt
1 litre chicken stock
300g Spanish Calasparra rice (allow about 80g per person)
1/2 kg prawns, peeled or 2 blue swimmer crabs chopped and cleaned
1/2 kg sliced and cleaned calamari
1 litre mussels or clams (or use both) well scrubbed
1 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp white wine

1. Remove about 8 pieces of chicken from the body. Use the carcass and the wing tips to make some stock.  If using prawns also, add the prawn shells to the stock
2. Heat the oil in the paella pan over medium heat. Add onion, red pepper, garlic, chorizo, chicken and calamari. Add rice and stir for 1 minute. Stir in stock, saffron and paprika.
3. When the stock is boiling and rice grains begin to swell, add the crab or prawns. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the stock has reduced and the rice has begun to swell. Push the mussels and clams into the rice and cook until the shells open. Finally add the peas, strips of capsicum and parsley and leave it for five more minutes on low heat.
4. Cover and leave standing for about 10 minutes before serving.

Chinese Spicy Eggplant and Chicken

This is one of my favourite recipes
 
INGREDIENTS
2 largish eggplants
salt
2 garlic cloves
1 knob ginger, peeled
12 spring onions
oil for shallow frying
750g chicken mince
2 tbsp chilli bean paste
4 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine (or substitute dry sherry)
1 tsp sesame oil
½ cup water

METHOD
Cut an eggplant into 1.5 cm cubes and then put about one eggplant at a time into boiling water in a large saucepan. When each eggplant is soft, remove with a slotted spoon to a colander to drain and add the next eggplant to the boining water. Continue until the eggplants are cooked.

Meanwhile in a food processor, blitz the garlic, ginger and four spring onions into a paste. Slice the other spring onions into 5cm lengths. Set aside.

Heat a pan with with some oil oil and when hot, add the garlic paste and chicken mince. Stirfry for 5 minutes on high until the chicken is cooked, then add all the remaining ingredients, including the sliced spring onions. Cook for a few minutes until the flavours have melded together and add the cooked eggplant.

Season to taste.  Serve with boiled rice.

Serves 4

Chicken Curry

1 chicken cut into pieces
1 onion sliced
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 tablespoons tomato sauce (or 1 tablespoon tomato paste)
2 tablespoons milk
3 cups water
juice of ½ lemon or 1 tablespoon of lemon grass
1 - 3 tablespoons of curry powder (preferably Singapore or Malaysian)
1 sliced potato
Additions
100 g green peas
4 whole potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
Method
Heat cup of oil in the pot. When the oil is heated, add sliced onions and fry for 2 - 3 minutes, then add garlic and fry for a further 1 minute. Add curry powder made into a paste by mixing with some water and stir for 2 minutes. Add milk and tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes. Add 3 cups water and let simmer for 3 minutes – to boil. Then add chicken pieces, cover, and cook until tender (about 15 minutes). Then add potatoes and cook. Add frozen green peas near end of cooking.