Pan Roasted Chicken Breasts with Preserved Lemon Sauce

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Monsieur Wag

Cooking chicken breasts can be fraught with dry danger. There is a very fine line between moist and tender, and dry and tough. In other recipes, I use chicken thighs because the brown meat is always moist and it has a much richer taste. But, when I do cook the breast meat, I opt for searing heat on the stove and then into the oven for the bulk of the cooking. This way always gives me a moist and tender fillet.

I begin by letting the pan heat up to searing hot and I never add oil to the pan. I massage a very small amount of oil into the flesh and leave it at that. Even though chicken breasts are very lean, there is a small layer of fat just under the skin, which is drawn from the flesh during the cooking. I would recommend avoiding skinless breasts, there is a discernable difference.

I use vermouth in this sauce because I love the way it complements the chicken and the lemon. But you can use a dry white wine if you have it a hand. And the best thing about making the sauce it that it forces you to let the chicken rest for a good while. Letting the meat rest is crucial for a moist tender dish. You can of course omit the sauce or change it completely to suit your tastes.

2 Chicken fillets with skin on, and brought to room temperature for ½ hour
1 quarter segment of preserved lemon, very finely diced
1 tbs dried thyme
1 spring onion (scallions), sliced very finely
50-60mls extra-dry vermouth
30g butter
Sea salt
Black pepper
Vegetable oil

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C

Rub the chicken fillets with a very small amount of vegetable oil, and season with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and the dried thyme.

Place an ovenproof pan on high heat, and allow it to reach smoking hot. Place the chicken fillets on the hot pan with skin side down. Add the preserved lemon and leave the fillets to sear without turning them. When the skin is a nutty golden brown, turn the fillets over and place the pan in the hot oven. Set the timer for 7 minutes.

After the first seven minutes, turn the chicken fillets over, at which point the skin side should be face down and continue to roast in the oven for further 7 minutes.

Prepare a plate with aluminum foil.

Remove the chicken from the pan and place them directly on the foil and wrap them tightly. Leave them to rest for a final 7 minutes.

Place the pan on a medium heat and deglaze the pan with the vermouth (or dry white wine). Add the spring onions and continue to stir. When the vermouth has reduced by half, add the butter and reduce the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the chicken fillets and spoon the sauce over the top. Serve with vegetables or salad.

Lindor Chocolate Tarts

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Monsieur Wag

Without reservation or question, ‘Lindt’ is my absolute favourite chocolate. And when I was eating with a friend of mine recently, we were served a ‘Lindt’ Chocolate Tart which had me clapping and wanting more. So I began thinking of making my own.

I thought about using a block of ‘Lindt’ and adding yummy ingredients like butter and cream, and of course, pouring it into a short crust pastry shell. But my thoughts kept returning to the taste and texture of the individual ‘Lindt Lindor’ balls. I wanted a small tartlet that reminded me of the small, but meltingly delicious ball. With that thought, it seemed pretty obvious to me, just melt the ball into the pastry shell. And to help reinforce the idea of the chocolate ball, I dusted each one with a little splash of red edible glitter.

250g plain flour
150g butter, chilled
1 egg, chilled
2 tbsn castor sugar
2 tsp milk, chilled
1 tsp sea salt
24 milk chocolate ‘Lindt Lindor Balls’, unwrapped
Red edible glitter (optional)

Blitz the plain flour, butter, egg, castor sugar, milk and sea salt in a food processor until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Pour the pastry onto a cold, clean work surface. Bring the pastry together into a solid ball without kneading. Put the pastry in a clean bowl covered with cling wrap and place in in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Roll the pastry out on a clean work surface until it is approximately 0.25-0.5cm thick. Use a round cutter (for example, a 68mm) to cut 24 circles to line a small muffin tin, approximately 3cm deep and 5cm diameter. Line each muffin cup with a circle of pasty.

Bake the pastry shells for 10 minutes. Remove the shells from the oven and add one unwrapped ‘Lindt Lindor’ ball into each shell and return them to the oven for 8 minutes.

Remove the shells from the oven and leave them to cool completely. Remove the tarts from the tray and dust with a small amount of red glitter.

Christmas Cherry Chocolate Crackles

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Monsieur Wag

I know chocolate crackles seem a bit incongruous with Christmas, but when you add a touch of cherry to the mixture, it all seems to work. Adding a sherry-imbued cherry on top gives a little bit of extra cheer.

Ordinarily, I would not opt for chocolate crackles, simply because I do not like copha. In Australia, coconut fat is known as Copha, which has a uniquely obvious flavour and can override the chocolate. In this recipe, I have done away with the copha completely. I have used melted chocolate with a bit of butter and cherry jam. They do need to be stored in the fridge, particularly in the warmer weather.

375g rice bubbles
400g dark chocolate
150g butter
100g cherry jam or conserve
46 pitted cherries*

Place a large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Break the chocolate into small pieces and add it to the bowl with the butter. When the chocolate and butter have melted, add the cherry jam and stir until smooth and even.

Remove the bowl from the heat.

Add the chocolate rice bubbles and combine the ingredients until the bubbles are well coated.

Spoon the mixture into paper patty pans. Top each crackle with one pitted cherry and place them in the fridge for a few hours until the chocolate sets. Serve.

*You can use any type of cherry you prefer – glace, tinned, jarred or fresh. In this recipe, I used a jar of morello cherries that I soaked in sherry for a few days, just for a little bit of extra love.

Christmas Cherry Marshmallow

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Monsieur Wag

I know I have written about marshmallow before, but here is my Christmas offering. A little something extra for the Christmas table, or as a yummy gift to take to someone’s house.

I wanted an intense cherry flavour, so I started with 400mls of cherry juice and reduced it down to half its volume. I checked the correct volume by pouring it into a measuring jug. When I added the sugar and heated the syrup, I found I could not bring it to the desired 125°C without the mixture erupting over the pot edge. I could only get the temperature to 115°C which worked. So, my word of caution is to take very good care if you make this recipe.

400g sugar
200g cherry juice
125ml cherry juice, extra
2 egg whites
13g leaf gelatin
200g corn flour
200g icing sugar

Prepare the marshmallow dust by sifting the corn flour and icing sugar together into a bowl. Set it to one side. Prepare the tin by wiping it with olive oil, then with a dry cloth to clean way any residual oil. Line the tin with baking paper or silicon paper, ensuring that it is flat. Generously dust the tin with the marshmallow dust.

In a small bowl, soak the gelatin in the extra 125ml of cherry juice.

In a saucepan, place the sugar and remaining 250mls of cool cherry juice on a medium heat.

Place the egg whites into a clean mixing bowl and beat until the peaks are stiff.

Use a kitchen thermometer to bring the sugar syrup to 125°C. Remove the syrup from the heat. Carefully add the gelatin and slowly stir until. Take care because the hot syrup can bubble and foam at the start. When the gelatin has dissolved, very slowly and carefully pour the syrup in a steady steam down the side of the mixing bowl with the beaters turned down to slow. When all the syrup has been added, return the beater speed to high and continue to beat while the mixture cools.

When the mixture has cooled slightly, pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Gently tap the base of the tin on a bench surface to help bring any bubbles to the surface. Generously dust the surface with more marshmallow dust and set the tins aside to cool completely for a couple of hours. Do not place the mixture in the fridge.

When the marshmallow has cooled and set, remove it from the tin. Place it on a clean surface dusted with more of the marshmallow dust. Cut the marshmallow into desired shapes and roll them in the dust to ensure all surfaces are coated.

Store in a clean, dry container.

Fig and Prune Tart

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Monsieur Wag

Using sherry soaked fruit, this tart is definitely not for children. The cooking times are not long or intense enough to burn off the alcohol, so each mouthful tends to give a little kick.

I’ve previously written about the sherry soaked fruit that has become a backbone in my Christmas fare. This year, I modified the fruit mix by using dried figs and prunes. I added the chopped fruit to the imbued fruit from last year and topped up the jar with enough sherry to cover the fruit. If you do this, leave it to soak for as long as you can, preferably for a year, but a month will do.

If you’ve left soaking the fruit too late, don’t fret. You can place your chopped dried fruit into a saucepan and just cover with enough sherry. Bring the pot to a very gentle simmer and leave it to slowly bubble away until the fruit has swollen and the bulk of the sherry has evaporated. Leave it to cool and you’re done.

To bring a bit more Christmas cheer to the tart, I’ve added freshly ground hazelnut meal and the zest of an orange. The pastry is very short, but I like the crumbly contrast with the rich sweet fruit.

250g plain flour
150g butter, chilled
80g hazelnut meal
1 egg, chilled
1 tbsp castor sugar
zest of one orange
pinch sea salt
4 cups sherry soaked figs and prunes

Blitz all the ingredients except the fruit, in a food processor until it starts to form a small ball. Tip the pastry onto a cold, clean work surface. Bring the pastry together into a solid ball without kneading. Put the smooth ball in a clean bowl covered with cling wrap and place in in the fridge for at least an hour. Don’t over work the pastry – be quick and gentle – it will give a more crumbly and finer texture.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wipe the flan tin with a small amount of vegetable oil.

Roll the pastry out on a clean work surface until it is approximately 0.25-0.5cm thick. Line the flan tin (12 x 36cm) with the pastry and press it into the corners and edges with clean fingers or a spoon. Cover the pastry with baking paper and blind bake with baking beads for about 15 minutes. Remove the beads and baking paper and bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven, but leave it in the tin.

Place the soaked fruit into a sieve and let the excess juice drain away. (I return the excess liquid back to the remaining jar of fruit for next year’s fruit – it helps to intensify the flavours)

Spoon the fruit in to the tart shell and gently press it down into the corners and edges. Bake the tart for 20 minutes. Allow it to cool before removing from the tin.

Christmas Gingerbread

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Monsieur Wag

For me at Christmas, some foods are essential; like Christmas pudding, mince tarts, and gingerbread and I think this cake is a great addition to Christmas fare. You can cut it into small squares to serve as a treat or you can serve larger squares or slices with vanilla ice cream for a merry dessert.

In this recipe, I have stepped the spices up a notch because I think there is little point including them if you can’t taste them, and they have some steep competition from the dense iron rich treacle and Guinness. By all means, play around with the spices to suit your preferences. I have seen grated fresh ginger in some versions of gingerbread, so feel free to add a teaspoon or two. I have not added fresh ginger in to this recipe because Southern hemisphere Christmas’ are already searingly hot and I see no point in taking it beyond necessary.

The best part of this recipe is that it is melt and mix which means it’s easy to prepare, in and out of the over in the hour and fills the house with a Christmas spiced scent.

160g unsalted butter
350g treacle
150g brown sugar
250ml cream
2 eggs
250ml Guinness
350g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
1 tbls ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground clove
½ tsp nutmeg

Lightly grease a 20x30cm tin with vegetable oil and pre heat the oven to 170°C.

Gently melt the butter together with the Guinness, treacle, brown sugar and spices in a medium saucepan over a low heat. Whisk the warmed ingredients until they are smooth and well combined.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs into the cream until it is smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, add the sifted plain flour and baking powder together. Whisk the black treacle mixture into the flour ensuring there are no lumps. Then whisk in the creamy egg mixture.

When the mixture is smooth and even, pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes. Use a skewer to test the cake, it should be clean. Try not to over bake the cake because the texture should be dense and moist.

Cool the cake on a rake and slice into servings of your desire. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Lemon Meringue Tart

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Monsieur Wag

Lemon meringue must surely be in the top 10 favourite desserts of all time, certainly for the comforting and home baked variety. This version is more like a tart than a pie. The meringue is not piled high into a towering peak; rather it is smoothed out across the top at the level of the pastry shell.

Cooking lemon curd without curdling or splitting can be a bit tricky, so I find cooking it low and slow works best. Letting the curd set in the fridge also helps give a smooth silky texture. I have used recipes that bake the curd at high temperatures, but I have found there is a very thin line between baked well and curdled mess.

I like to use an Italian meringue. Adding the hot sugar syrup cooks the meringue and gives a smooth sweet texture that compliments the sharpness of the lemon curd. You can use other meringues if you desire.

If you don’t have a blowtorch, use the grill. Just be careful and never leave it alone. The sugar in the meringue will caramelise very quickly. If you a looking for a good blowtorch to use in the kitchen, go to the local hardware store, they are significantly cheaper than most home or kitchenware stores.

Pastry
250g plain flour
150g butter, chilled
1 egg, chilled
1 tbs milk, chilled
Salt,  pinch
1 tsp castor sugar
1 egg beaten (for the egg wash after blind baking)

Lemon Curd
8 eggs
400ml cream
300g castor sugar
100ml lemon juice
Zest three lemons

Italian Meringue
3 egg whites
150g castor sugar
4 tbs water

To make the pastry, blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Pour the pastry crumbs onto a cold, clean work surface and bring it together into a solid ball without kneading. Place the dough in a clean bowl covered with cling wrap and place it in the fridge for at least an hour.

Lightly grease the inside of 20cm x 5cm pastry ring with some extra butter and place it on a silicon sheet and baking tray. Roll the dough out on a clean work surface until it is approximately 0.25-0.5cm thick. Gently line the ring with the pastry and press it into the edges. Leave any overhanging pastry in place. Place the tart shell in the fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C and blind bake the shell with baking beads for 15-20 minutes. Remove the baking beads and continue baking for a further 5 minutes. Remove the shell from the oven and brush the tart with one beaten egg. Trim the overhang from the edge of the shell, leaving a clean sharp edge.

Reduce the oven to 160°C.

To make the lemon curd, beat together the eggs, cream, castor sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a large bowl or jug (at least 2.5L volume). Make sure the mixture is smooth and even. Pour the lemon curd in to the tart shell. There should be about 2cm gap between the curd and the pastry edge. Bake for 1 hour.

Remove the tart from the oven. Set it aside to cool. Place the tart in the fridge for at least 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.

To prepare the Italian meringue, place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring it to boiling point.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Use a kitchen thermometer and when the syrup reaches 120°C, very carefully pour the syrup down one side of the bowl into the egg whites with the beater on low speed. Turn the beater up to medium and continue until the meringue cools to room temperature.

Use a spatula to spread the meringue across the top of the filling the 2cm gap between the curd and the pastry edge. Smooth the surface. Use a blowtorch to quickly toast the meringue surface. Place the tart in the fridge for a few hours and serve.

Banana Bread

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Monsieur Wag

Banana bread is a brilliant way of using well ripened bananas but be careful of the brown banana from the fridge. Apparently, temperatures below 5 degrees activate an enzyme in the fruit’s skin that turn it brown. So what might appear to be well ripened, may actually be a banana that is a bit firmer than you would need.

In this recipe, I wanted to add a hint of caramel by replacing white sugar with brown. At the same time, I wanted to keep the sugar to minimum, allowing the natural sweetness of the banana to carry the load.

If you want a little bit of something extra, try adding about half a cup of chocolate chips.

400g well-ripened banana (approximately 3 bananas)
320g plain flour
130g soft, unsalted butter
150g brown sugar
2 eggs
50g almond meal
2 tspsn baking powder
1 tspsn vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tspns demarera sugar for a crunchy top

Preheat the oven to 180C and mash the banana’s to a smooth consistency.

Cream the soft butter and brown sugar together, then add one egg at a time, ensuring each is well combined. Add the mashed banana, vanilla extract and almond meal to the mixture and continue to mix well.

Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture and add the cinnamon. Gently fold the flours through, taking care not to over mix or over work the mixture.

Pour the mixture into a prepared loaf tin and sprinkle the top with demarera sugar. Bake the loaf for 45 minutes. Test the cake with a skewer before you remove it from the oven – it should come out clean.

Set the loaf aside to cool before you slice into it.

Radishes with Butter (Radis roses au beurre sel)

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Monsieur Wag

I first came across this dish when we were traveling in France a number of years ago. We were staying in a house in Velleron, Provence, where there was a small cookbook to encourage guests to cook using the local produce. When I found the fresh radishes in the Velleron farmers market, I could not resist. And it has been love ever since.

It can be a little tricky to find these long slender radishes in Australia, but when you do, grab a bunch and some good quality salted butter. I promise you will not be disappointed.

I love this dish so much, and can gnaw though a bunch with such voracity a rabbit would be envious. I’m not sure if it is the butter or the radishes I love more, but when they are combined, I’m in heaven. This dish is ridiculously easy to make and it is a great appetizer to serve with a glass of wine.

Given that there a few ingredients, it is really important to pick the best quality.

1 bunch of fresh radishes
Fresh butter
Good quality sea salt

Wash the radishes and leave them in cold water for a few hours. Rinse and dry the radishes.
Leave the green leafy stems in place, but trim the fibrous roots from the base.

Slice each radish lengthways, but only as far as the stem, ensuring you don’t cut all the way through. Take a small amount of butter and gently press it between the edges.

Serve with good quality sea salt.

Flat bread

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Monsieur Wag

Of course you can buy good quality bread, but there is something very comforting about making your own.

It is ridiculously easy to make flat bread and if you have a BBQ, you can achieve a great authentic result. If you don’t have a BBQ or it is raining, you can cook the bread on a dry frying pan.

The recipe works best if you use strong or baker’s flour, but plain flour will still work if that is all you have at hand. There is more gluten in strong flour (often called ‘000’ flour) than plain flour, which will give you a much better result.

400g strong flour
7g dried yeast
1 tsp castor sugar
1 tsp sea salt
225ml warm water.
Vegetable oil

Activate the yeast by adding it to the warm water. Stir to combine and leave it aside for a few minutes until small white bubbles appear on the surface.

Add the flour, salt and sugar in to a large mixing bowl and add the yeasty water. Combine the ingredients to form a ball. Remove the ball and knead it on a clean dry surface. There should not be any need to dust the surface of the bench. Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes until you have a smooth ball. Take a small bowl of dough and tease it out with your fingers to form a small windowpane. If you can see the shadow of your fingers through the window without the dough tearing, it is ready. If the dough tears, keep kneading for a few minutes longer.

Cover the dough with about a tablespoon of vegetable oil and cover with cling film. Set it aside in a warm part of the kitchen and leave it to prove for about 2 hours. The dough should nearly triple in size.

Divide the dough into even portions, anywhere between 8 – 12 balls and use rolling pin to form flat oval shapes.

Place the ovals onto a tray or bench surface, lined with baking paper. Cover with cling film and leave it to prove for another 30-40 minutes.

Place a large pan on a high heat and allow it to heat for about five minutes.

Lightly brush vegetable oil over one surface of each oval. Depending on the size of the pan, place one or two of the oval flat breads, oiled side down. Cook for about two or three minutes. Large pockets of air will form. Brush the top surface with oil and turn the bread over to cook the second side. When both sides are toasty brown, remove and set aside, and repeat the process until all the bread is cooked.

Serve with curry or any other dish of your liking.

MONSIEUR WAG

Home food from my kitchen