Chicken, bacon and spinach risotto with porcini mushrooms and white truffle recipe
Sometimes we pick up great bargains at Tesco. These are not in the CFC (Condemned Food Counter- our fun name for the soon to be out of date/ reduced item shelf) rather in baskets or on the shelves. These are deluxe items that are just not selling in our branch. A few months ago we discovered the wonder of Tesco Finest Tellicherry peppercorns. These were reduced to half price and were a real revelation. Luckily I bought two packs and when these run out I will be searching for them on line. Normal peppercorns are a feint whisper compared to...
read moreBest recipes for leftovers: St Clements chicken, Romano pepper and rice noodle stir fry
Danny found some rice noodles on the condemned food counter at Tesco and we decided to try making a stir fry with some of the leftover St Clements chicken and gravy. This was really quick and easy to make and quite delicious. Packed with lots of subtle, summery flavours, the sweet Romano peppers balancing the citrus hints of the chicken. St Clements chicken, Romano pepper and rice noodle stir fry recipe (for 2) Ingredients: I large handful of cooked diced St Clement’s chicken 100 ml of left over gravy (from the St Clement’s chicken) 1...
read moreSunday roast: Chic St Clement’s roast chicken recipe
I think that a really good roast chicken with all the trimmings is my favourite Sunday roast. Last weekend I decided to firm up the idea that we had for St Clement’s chicken – stuffing the bird with oranges and lemons. It was delicious. Delicate, fragrant, summery and so easy. And it tasted wonderful – as if we had slaved for hours. The secret ingredient is adding the half teaspoon of chopped preserved lemons – these are essential. The recipe below is for a small chicken (1 kilo) so we only needed one orange and one lemon to pack...
read moreBest budget recipes for 50% or less: Warm chicken liver salad with chicory and pears
These are a collection of recipes inspired by cut price, soon to be out of date, supermarket food. I have discovered that this sort of shopping has made my cooking a lot more inventive and it’s really satisfying to create something delicious out of ingredients that would otherwise be destined for landfill. Many years ago I was very keen on a tall dark stranger that moved up to live with his sister in the vicinity. He invited me to lunch and made a wonderful warm chicken liver salad. I was so goofy and overawed that I was shy and...
read moreBest budget recipes for 50% or less: Roast spatchcock poussin marinated with fresh lime juice, olive oil and fresh herbs
Poussin – a baby chicken weighing about 500g – has been one of my standbys for years. Easy to cook, great if you are living alone as one can easily stretch to two or even three meals as long as you’re not keen on meat heavy meals. The main drawback to a poussin is that they are not naturally packed with flavour. They are baby chickens after all. They are tender birds waiting to be imbued with your herbs and spices. One of the best poussin that I’ve ever tasted was a spatchcock with Provencal herbs sold by Waitrose. The herbs infuse...
read moreDelicious budget meals for frugal entertaining: Chicken, pak choi and chorizo risotto recipe
Danny and I love pak choi (also known as bok choi and Horses Ear). This Chinese vegetable is a member of the cabbage family and cooks in two minutes when it’s sliced and simmered fast. It’s a great side vegetable with a richer dish as it tastes very clean – a cross between spinach and cabbage. The white stalks have a satisfying crunch. Tonight I decided to add it to a chicken and chorizo risotto. It needed to be added right at the end, just before the cooked chicken so as to retain some of its crispness and texture. It worked really...
read moreSunday lunch: Roast poussin with honey, lemon and tamarind recipe
I discovered several great cut priced food bargains at Waitrose on Saturday evening. Wild rabbit, two poussin (baby chickens), beef mince and wonderful organic bread. One of the poussin would do for Sunday. Danny peered at the tiny baby chickens and contemplated sharing one the next evening. He swallowed and said nothing. This is a man who loves to cook and carve enormous slabs of meat. I decided to diffuse the anxiety by talking. “Don’t worry. I’ll cook. Perhaps lemon butter poussin with mini roasts. Or I’d quite like to have a go at...
read moreDelicious budget meals for frugal yet scrumptious entertaining: Chicken and Romano Pepper Risotto
We have done very little entertaining over the past eighteen months. The major reason why we’ve slowed down is cost, and time. When I seriously thought about why we were not entertaining, I twigged that I was hung up on the cost rather than the time and the taste of the food. It’s taken all these months to realise there’s no need to spend a fortune or take a day off to cook. We eat well most nights. Why not open our door and share? You can entertain on a budget as long as the food is delicious. And there’s the rub. Entertaining on...
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