Marks Mighty Goujons

Marks Mighty Goujons

• 400g chicken fillets
• 25g panko breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp hot smoked paprika
• Handful of finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Zest of one lemon
• Salt and pepper

Method:

Mix the Dijon mustard, smoked paprika and a little salt and pepper in a bowl.  Place the breadcrumbs onto a plate and mix through the Parmesan cheese and lemon zest.  Press the fillets into the mustard mix and then into the crumbs, ensuring they get a good coating, place onto a plate and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Put enough vegetable oil into a shallow frying pan to cover the base by about half an inch, heat until nice and hot.  Cook the chicken fillets until they are nice and crispy, should take around 15 minutes or so, leave to drain on kitchen towel and then serve.  We had these with chips and dips but they go equally well with a nice crisp salad.  Yet again another quick and easy recipe idea, who said chicken had to be plain and boring!

Lasagne

Lasagne

• 300g fresh lasagne
• 75g finely grated Parmesan
• 50g butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 250g pancetta, finely chopped
• 600g mincemeat
• 300ml red wine
• 4 tbsp tomato purée
• 400ml beef stock
• 150ml double cream
• Sea salt and ground black pepper
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning

Bechamel sauce

• 600ml full fat milk
• 60g butter
• 60g plain flour
• Freshly grated black pepper

Method:

First we need to make the ragu (that's the meat sauce).  Heat the oil and butter in a large deep saucepan over a medium heat, add the vegetables and fry until softened.  Add the pancetta and mincemeat and fry until browned off (making sure you break up the mince otherwise you end up with clumps!).  Add the wine and simmer until it is absorbed into the mixture, then add the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, tomato purée and a little of the stock, stir well, cover and cook over a low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring in the remaining stock during this process.  Stir in the cream and cook uncovered for around 10 minutes or so until it is reduced, then set aside.

To make the bechamel sauce, heat the milk until it's just about to boil, then set aside.  Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour over a medium heat until you have a smooth golden roux.  Gradually add the hot milk, stirring all the time, until the sauce is smooth and thick, then stir in a few grinds of black pepper then set aside.

Preheat the oven to 170g (fan assisted).  In a large rectangular baking dish add about a third of the ragu, smooth it out until the base is covered, cover with sheets of lasagne, top with a third of the bechamel sauce and then repeat the layers twice more.  Sprinkle over the Parmesan and bake for around 40 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and browned.  Serve hot on its own or with a nice green salad and garlic bread.  This recipe will feed 6 or with careful portioning you could get 8 servings.

I prefer to use fresh pasta but you can use dry sheets, however they can be a bit crunchy if not covered fully!  Whilst it may seem a long time to cook the mince you will be glad you did as you will end up with a thick glossy ragu which is packed with flavour.  

This dish is perfect for any time of year and is an all time classic, once mastered you won't need another ragu recipe!  If you like to batch cook you can portion up some of the ragu and add some tinned chopped tomatoes and you then have a perfect bolognese sauce.

Chicken enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas

• 2 chicken breasts (cut into bite sized pieces)
• 4 flour tortillas
• 1 tin of black beans (or kidney or pinto beans, drained and rinsed)
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• Handful of finely chopped coriander
• Good few handfuls of grated cheese
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic pwder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 450ml chicken stock

Method:

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan, add the flour and whisk through over the heat for around a minute.  Add the remaining seasonings (don't have your head to near the pan as you will get a hit of the chilli!!) and stir through until combined.  Gradually whisk in the stock, continue to whisk in order to remove any lumps.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until thickened.

Whilst the sauce is thickening, heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.  You can add a few grinds of black pepper to the chicken or even some taco/fajita seasoning, for an extra hit of flavour.

Once the chicken has cooked and the sauce is done, we are now ready to assemble our enchiladas.  Coat each tortilla with some of the enchilada sauce.  Put a line of beans down the middle of the tortilla, top with some of the red onion, chicken and cheese then roll until you have a fat cigar shape which you place into an oven proof dish along with the other enchiladas.  You want a dish that the enchiladas just fit into, that way you ensure they don't open up whilst being cooked.  Drizzle any remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas, top with more cheese and cook in a preheated oven (180 degrees) for around 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is nice and gooey.  Garnish the enchiladas with some chopped coriander and serve.

We had the enchiladas with some cheesy nachos, topped with sour cream and salsa and of course some freshly made guacamole.  Don't be put off by the amount of chilli powder in this recipe, it does even out in the cooking process, trust me!  Also when adding some sour cream that will have a cooling effect.  However if you are a real heat fiend you can always add some chopped jalapenos to the chicken and bean mix to really spice it up.

Whilst I dare say it myself, these are some of the best enchiladas I've had, the sauce is so quick and easy to make and if you have any leftovers it can be stored in the fridge for a few days or if you have made up a batch, freeze whatever is left, but believe me, this sauce wont hang around for too long, especially once your friends and family get to try it!

Garlic, basil chicken with a tomato, chilli and butter sauce

Garlic, basil chicken with a tomato, chilli and butter sauce

• 2 chicken breasts
• Handful of fresh basil, cut into ribbons
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 6 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 55g of salted butter
• Salt and pepper

Method: 

Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of cling film and give them a good bashing with a rolling pin or the base of a heavy pan, basically we need to flatten them somewhat in order that they cook quicker.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, season the chicken breasts with the salt and pepper and fry in the hot oil for around 15 minutes or until cooked through, you want to get some good colour on each side of the breast.  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.  Remove the pan from the heat and allow the oil to cool slightly, otherwise if the oil is too hot when you add the tomatoes they will spit all over the place!  Place the pan back onto your hob on a lowish heat, add the chilli and garlic and fry for a few minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes.  Increase the heat slightly, season with salt and pepper and give everything a good stir.  You want to get the tomatoes bubbling as we need to reduce them down somewhat in order to get a chunky sauce, this should take around ten or 15 minutes.  Once the sauce is at the desired consistency add the butter, return the chicken breasts to the pan and add the chopped basil and stir through, cooking for a further couple of minutes.

I served this dish on a bed of spaghetti and also a bed of courghetti spaghetti, as the other half is watching his carbs!  With this dish you can leave out the chilli if you don't like a kick or add more if you like a big kick!  I think next time I would add some chopped olives to the dish to give it an extra texture and that briney olive taste, but on the whole a good dish which we both enjoyed, I might also bread the chicken as well with my lemon, Parmesan breadcrumbs, watch this space.

Garlic, basil chicken with a tomato, chilli and butter sauce on a bed of courghetti spaghetti