Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Sumac and date chicken with browned asparagus, broccoli and sticky brown rice


I've been trying to eat healthier because I've been going to Bikram yoga classes and I want to look like Heidi Klum. I thought that three days of eating well and sweating like a concubine (during the Bikram yoga classes) would at least have me halfway there. But when I woke up this morning my cheeks were no higher and my buttocks no smaller. Damn it. But I won't give up! Which is why I made this dish for dinner tonight. It tastes amazing (if I'm honest, much better than I thought it would), is healthy and has a wonderful creamy texture that's quite similar to risotto. I hope you enjoy it!

What you need (makes 3 small servings)...

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 shallots, chopped finely
  • 2 pinches of dried thyme
  • 120g long grain brown rice
  • 1 litre of water
  •  ½ chicken stock cube
  • 2 boneless chicken breasts, roughly cubed
  • 1 tsp sumac 
  • 40g baby asparagus, ends trimmed, the remainder cut into one-inch pieces
  • 40g Tenderstem broccoli, ends trimmed, the remainder cut vertically 
  • 2 soft and sticky dried dates, pips removed, the remainder roughly chopped
What to do:
  1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium pot and once it's hot, add the shallots
  2. Add the thyme
  3. Cook the shallots and thyme on a low heat, stirring gently until the onions are soft and translucent
  4. Remove the onions and thyme from heat
  5. Rinse the rice in cold water and drain
  6. Add the rice to the onion and thyme mixture and put it back on the stove on a low heat
  7. Stir gently until the rice becomes translucent
  8. Add 550ml water and the stock cube to the rice and leave on low heat to cook down slowly
  9. In a large pan add the remaining olive oil and warm on medium heat
  10. Add the chicken cubes and cook the chicken until the cubes are white on the outside
  11. Add the sumac and stir into the chicken. The chicken will turn a pale pink colour
  12. Once the chicken is lightly browned on all sides, add the broccoli and asparagus and cook until the vegetables are lightly browned too. Let the moisture cook out of the chicken and vegetables. If the pan gets too dry add a splash of water
  13. Keep an eye on the rice and if it has cooked down, add water
  14. Once the vegetables and chicken are cooked, add the dates and stir so that they are partially dissolved into the mix
  15. Once the water you have added to the pan has evaporated entirely, remove the pan from the heat
  16. In the meantime the rice will be developing an almost risotto-like consistency. If it dries out add splashes of water and cook until soft and creamy
  17. Once the rice is cooked add it to the chicken mixture and stir well

Monday, July 29, 2013

Easy tartlets to cheat with...

My husband and I had our friend Chris (we call him Crystal Meth because his personality is so sparkly) over for dinner the other night. Because I am so naughty with the upkeep of my blog posts, I cannot for the life of me remember what I cooked for the main course. When I do I'll post it. For now though, no matter. What I do remember is that I made a cheat dessert in the form of ready-made tartlets and lemon curd. They're really quick to prepare and they look cute too. Happy eating!


What you need (makes about 6 tartlets)...
  • 6 ready-made tartlets (you can pick them up at most supermarkets)
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 cup of lemon curd (again, you can find bottles of lemon curd at most supermarkets)
  • 2 handfuls of mulberries
  • 1 cup of cream
  • 1½ tsp of white sugar
What to do...
  1. Heat the oven to 180°
  2. Warm the butter in a saucepan until melted
  3. Paint the inside and outside of the tartlets with the butter and pop them into the pre-heated oven for about ten minutes or until golden
  4. Pour the lemon curd, cream and sugar into a bowl and mix well until the sugar has dissolved
  5. Take the tartlets out of the oven and let them cool
  6. Pour the lemon curd into the cooled tartlets leaving about half a centimetre from the rim of each
  7. Place three mulberries on the top of the lemon curd mixture
  8. Store the filled tartlets in the fridge to keep the berries fresh but remove them about 20 minutes before serving to get them to room temperature

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

I am still alive!

Hello! It's been so long since I last posted anything on here that it’s almost the next ice age. I do apologise. I will also say – rather passive aggressively – “I told you I had problems maintaining my own blogs. What? Don't judge me!” **insert wink here**

So many things have happened since the last time I posted, the most momentous being that I got a new job as online editor at John Brown Media (www.johnbrownmedia.com) Guess what I am working on? FOOD magazine for Spinneys! (www.spinneys-dubai.com) For those who don't know, Spinneys is a massive supermarket chain and FOOD is the fabulous monthly print magazine that we create in collaboration with Spinneys. It is sold in all Spinneys stores across the UAE. Please do pick up a copy the next time you're there. It's only Dh7. Click on the image below to see recipes, our FOOD blog, our favourite foodie products and more.


So you see, food was always in my future?! No, I don't mean the next dish I am about to eat (which, by the way, will be iftar with my good friend Anna.)

To be honest, getting this job (which is really amazing) was one of the reasons I stopped posting so much. No, I’m not blaming anyone for my ludicrously lacklustre personal blogging style. It's just that it’s quite intimidating to be posting pictures of dishes that aren’t quite as gorgeous as the ones that FOOD magazine's stylists and photographers create. And their dishes are really super-styling-stunning-with-a-cherry-on-top. 

I'll put it into perspective for you. Next to FOOD's dishes, my meals look like they were fished out of a bin and then nudged into semi-fathomable shapes to be made ready for consumption by confined maximum-security prisoners who are on hunger strike anyway. FOOD's dishes are a millisecond away from being served to the Queen, Lenny Kravitz and Angelina Jolie (if she actually ate anything). They're beautiful.

Having said that, I guess I do have to remember that I am not a professional photographer or stylist, so for now you'll have to do with my cheap and cheerful iPhone pictures. I'm just hoping that the recipes I put up on my blog are at least tasty! **insert another wink here** (I’ll also take this opportunity to state that the recipes I put up on this blog have nothing to do with FOOD magazine or Spinneys. They come entirely from me and there is no cross over between my professional life and this blog. All of my thoughts and opinions on here are my own. I also feel like a trip to the Maldives, but that’s got nothing to do with either this blog or my professional life. Having said that, if anyone has any spare cash they’d like to throw my way so I can make my way to island paradise while sucking on a lolly, please message me.)

If you are interested in seeing what FOOD does though – and if you enjoy eating you should be people, you should be - here are links to FOOD's social media pages and blog. The magazine features absolutely stunning food photography (yes, I said it again) and amazingly simple but tasty recipes for you to try out. 

    •    More from FOOD blog - http://www.spinneys-dubai.com/index.php/more-from-food.html
    •    Find FOOD on Facebook - www.facebook.com/spinneysdubai
    •    Find FOOD on Twitter – www.twitter.com/foodmaguae
    •    Find FOOD on Pinterest – www.pinterest.com/foodmaguae

Happy reading and - more importantly - happy eating!
xxx

PS. I have to add that aside from making a dish look beautiful, there are two other steps to the creation of a successful meal:

1.)    It's really important to have fun while you're cooking.
2.)    Once you’re done cooking, it’s vital to totally savour the flavours of the meal you’ve so lovingly prepared.

So I guess what I’m saying is, whip up something with abandon and enjoy it no matter what it looks like. If it’s made with love, it’ll taste amazing.