Spanish chicken recipe

I've been cooking variations of this for yonks. So simple, yet delish.

8 chicken pieces, with skin on. Ask your butcher to chop up a chicken for you - easier than doing it yourself really

2 chorizo sausages

1 spanish onion

3 Kipfler or similar waxy potatoes

1 red, yellow, or orange capsicum

six cloves of garlic

1 tsp or more smoked paprika 

1 lemon, cut into wedges

salt and pepper

Italian, flat leaf parsley to serve

Place chicken, skin-side up in the bottom of a lightly-oiled baking dish. Cut chorizo into bite-sized chunks and pop in between the chicken . Cut the capsicum into 1 inch chunks, cut onion into quarters, and quarter the peeled potatoes. Arrange all ingredients artfully around each other and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Dust with a good, generous pinch of salt (Maldon or Murray Pink Salt are my faves) and grind over plenty of black pepper. 

Cover with foil and bake in 180 degree fan-forced oven for 15 minutes, then remove foil and bake further 10 - 15 minutes until potatoes are nicely browned and the chicken's cooked through. Sprinkle with a good handful of roughly chopped parsley and serve with a nice green salad. 

This serves three to four people quite nicely thank you.

slow cooked chilli con carne recipe

Okay, this has just been popped on to cook, so I thought I'd best write the recipe while it's fresh.

Ingredients.
2 small-med onions (I used one purple and one brown), finely diced
1 red capsicum, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
a couple of cloves of garlic, finely diced
500g mince
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans, drained
a slug of red wine
a slug of tomato sauce (or tomato paste - I was all out today)
2 bayleaves
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder

Method
First of all heat up your heavy based frypan. Then add a slug of olive oil and let it heat up. Turn the heat down and add the vegies and stir. Let soften for about 15 mins. Add spices and cook for one minute. Remove from pan and add mince, break up and let it brown.

Add the wine (1/4 cup-ish) and let alcohol cook off (2 mins). Add tinned tomatoes. Fill tin with water and add that to pan. Stir well and add tomato sauce and bay leaves. Bring to boil, add a lid and turn onto a low-heat to simmer.

Cook for around three hours. Add a tin of drained kidney beans 30 minutes before you're ready to serve. Stir well and adjust the seasoning to taste. Before eating, stir in two squares of dark chocolate and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add sweet chilli sauce if it needs more of a kick.

Serve with rice, corn on the cob, guacamole and some burritos. A dollop of sour cream or natural yoghurt's yummy too.

I've cooked this in my Le Creuset french oven, but it's just as good in a slowcooker. Just brown the meat and vegies and then tip it all into the slow cooker. You might need to use less water, probably only half the tin as it won't evaporate in the slow cooker like it does in a normal pot. Don't forget to cut a piece of baking paper the size of your slow cooker, wet it and place it on top of your chilli before adding your lid. I swear by this for non-dry meat.

Enjoy (especially you Melissa and PTT x)

caramelised pork recipe

Ingredients:
One pork fillet, large enough to feed your family
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 tablespoon of lime juice
A few drops of fish sauce, to taste
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 dessertspoon of sweet chilli sauce
Udon noodles or rice
Asian greens

Mix all ingredients together and then marinate the pork fillet at room temperature for up to an hour (or until it comes to room temperature). Rub the marinade all over the pork to get it all sticky and well-covered.

Heat frypan until it sizzles. Pop in pork, turn the heat down to medium and cook on all sides until it's golden and cooked medium rare (or to your taste if you prefer pork cooked through). You might need to add a splash of water and cover the pan to get the pork to cook through. Don't worry, it just makes for extra sticky sauce!

Take the pork out and rest for up to 10 mins. Cook up some udon noodles and wilt some asian greens in the frypan you cooked the pork. Add a little water to deglaze the pan and the remainder of the marinade with some extra garlic and soy if needed.

Slice the pork into 2cm thick slices and serve on top of noodles and greens. Pour sauce over.

You can top with some crushed roasted peanuts and a few slices of chilli if you're feeling impressive and don't have littlies.

Use this recipe as a base and add more or less of your fave and less-fave flavours.

Enjoy.