Posted on

One pot peach chicken

I wanted to try this sweet and savoury combination of peaches and chicken. It turned out delicious. It really tastes better than it sounds, or that was the general consensus in the house. I had no doubts 🙂 It really has such an incredible flavor combination with the fresh peaches, (I actually used nectarines) fresh basil and the reduced balsamic vinegar. I wasn’t sure about the tomatoes but they really gave more dimension to the flavor of the sauce.

prep time 10 min cook time 25 min

ingredients for 2

  • 250 g chicken breasts
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 medium ripe peaches or nectarines
  • 8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • salt and pepper
  • 50 ml balsamic vinegar
  • 10 fresh basil leaves
  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add thinly sliced onion, sauté for a few minutes and push to the side.
  2. Add chicken breasts, cut into bite size bits or a bit bigger, season with salt and pepper and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side.
  3. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
  4. Add balsamic vinegar and cook about 1 minute, then add peaches cut into thin wedges and tomatoes and toss. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
  5. Return chicken pieces to skillet nestling between peaches and tomatoes. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer until chicken has cooked through, about 5-8 minutes.
  6. Top with fresh basil, torn or thinly sliced.
  7. Serve with basmati rice or couscous.

BUON APPETITO!

Posted on

Chicken piccata

Chicken piccata hides behind a fancy name simply chicken breast cutlets, dredged in seasoned flour, browned and served with a sauce of butter, lemon juice, capers and white wine. If you buy capers in brine, make sure to drain the liquid before adding them to a recipe; and if your capers are packed in salt, give them a rinse and a soak in water for 15 minutes.

prep time 5 min     cook time 15-20 min
ingredients for 4
  • 600g boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or cutlets
  • 30g flour
  • 10 g grated Parmigiano
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 100 ml white wine
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 3 Tbsp capers
  • salt and pepper
  • optional: parsley

1. Slice the chicken breasts into cutlets and pound them lightly in between parchment paper until an even thickness, about 1 cm.

2. Mix flour, Parmigiano, salt and pepper and toss the cutlets in the flour.

3. Heat oil  with 2 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Working in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding the pan, cook cutlets, without moving them, until browned underneath, about 2-3 minutes. Turn over and cook on the other side for another 2 minutes. Transfer to a clean plate.

4. Now add the wine, lemon juice and the capers and cook, swirling pan and scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of skillet, until liquid is almost completely evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining butter and swirl pan while butter melts about 1 minute.

5. Return the chicken to the pan and let simmer for a minute or two.

6. Plate and serve immediately (topping with parsley).

BUON APPETITO!

 

Posted on

Lemon chicken soup

This chicken soup uses lots of lemon and feta cheese so you might call it Greek-inspired. Easy and fast to make, and so so good with lemon, feta and peperoncino to give it some heat.

prep time 10 min     cook time 20 min
ingredients for 4
  • 500g skinless, boneless chicken breast
  • 2 l chicken broth
  • 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
  • 3-4 garlic gloves, minced
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 2-3 cm piece of ginger, grated
  • peperoncino flakes
  • salt
  • 2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 avocado
  • 150g feta cheese, crumbled
  • fresh thyme
  • 130g short angel hair pasta or 2 dl pearl couscous

1. Place olive oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Sauté onion, garlic and peperoncino (the amount is up to you) for a few minutes and then add grated ginger.

2. Add the broth, the zest and the chicken breasts to the pot. Season with salt. Increase the heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. You can add the pasta or the couscous now and let cook for 5 more minutes. If making this amount but using only a portion, I suggest adding the pasta at the end to the amount of soup you are using, otherwise the pasta or couscous become mushy.

3. Turn off the heat. Remove the breasts from the pot and shred the chicken using two forks. Return to the pot and add the lemon juice.

4. Ladle into the soup bowls and decorate each bowl with 1/4 of avocado slices, 40 g of crumbled feta and some fresh thyme.

5. The soup keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days without the pasta or couscous.

BUON APPETITO!

Posted on

Chicken alla diavola

Originally a Roman recipe but every region has a variation of this succulent dish. In the Roman version, which is what I use, the chicken is crushed by a weight against the frying pan for it to better adhere and create its crunchy crust.

prep time 10 min + 30 min marinating    cook time 50-60 min
ingredients for 4
  • 1 kg chicken, whole
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • crushed or powdered peperoncino
  • optional: rosemary/oregano/garlic

1. To cook chicken alla diavola, start by cutting your chicken from top to bottom along the spine. You can also cut it along the chest, but the important thing is that you can then crush it and make it stick well to the frying pan.

2. Flatten the chicken on a work surface and wet the meat with two tablespoons of olive oil to which you have previously added the peperoncino. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and let marinate about 30 min, so that it can absorb the flavors well. You can also add herbs and aromas to further flavor the meat, but do not overdo it – you don’t want to obscure its flavor.

3. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and place the chicken with the split part down. Cover the chicken with a flat plate, I used a round tray, and a weight to keep it pressed while cooking. I used a pot full of water. Keep the chicken in this position and let it cook for 25 minutes over low to medium heat, allowing it to brown without burning the skin. After 25 min turn the chicken and let it cook for another 25-30 min. There is another school of thought which asks you to keep turning the chicken every 5 minutes. I belong to the turn-one-time-only category 🙂

4. Serve the chicken well browned, hot and crunchy!

BUON APPETITO!

Posted on

Baked Crispy Chicken Wings

These easy crispy chicken wings go well with fries, veggies or a salad but they are even more fabulous as an appetizer .

prep time 10 min     cook time 45 min
ingredients for 4
  • 1 kg chicken wings
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 eggs
  • bread crumbs
  • salt and pepper
  • flat leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.

2. Sprinkle salt on the wings.

3. Whisk the eggs, add a little salt and pepper, then the zest of the lemon and the juice of half the lemon.

4. Chop parsley and add it to the bread crumbs.

5. Dip the wings in the egg mixture, then coat them in breadcrumbs and place in an ovenproof dish previously covered with parchment paper.

6. Cook for about 45 min or until the wings are cooked through, flipping them once halfway through.

You can serve them with a sauce of your choice but at my house no sauce is needed. They are gone in a blink of an eye!

BUON APPETITO!

Posted on

Coconut curry chicken soup

Curry and coconut are one of the most sublime combinations out there. I love that this coconut curry chicken soup can be a light yet filling lunch as a simple bowl of soup, or a more hearty dish when ladled over rice or noodles. You can also substitute some veggies with others and make it totally new.

prep time 10 min     cook time 25 min
ingredients for 4
  • 400 g chicken breast, shredded or cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 3 carrots, cut into rounds
  • 2 potatoes, diced
  • 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • grated ginger
  • 2-3 Tbsp green curry paste
  • 1 l chicken or vegetable stock
  • curry powder
  • turmeric
  • salt
  • 1 can (400g) coconut milk
  • parsley (or coriander)
  • handful of pumpkin seeds to garnish
  • optional: fresh spinach leaves, snow peas, white buttons, bell peppers

1. In a heavy bottom soup pot over medium heat sauté the onions until translucent. Add garlic, ginger and curry paste and stir to combine.

2. Stir in carrots and potatoes, cook for about 3-5 min. Add stock, curry powder, turmeric, salt and the chicken, cook for 10 min or until your chicken is done.

3. Add coconut milk and cook for additional 3 min. Check the seasoning and add chopped parsley ( or coriander).

4. Serve as is or over basmati rice. Add pumpkin seeds onto your plate.

Tip: substitute chicken with salmon and parsley with dill and voilà:

BUON APPETITO!

Posted on

Roasted orange chicken with fennel

This is my new favourite chicken recipe. It is a more winter-y recipe since it has oranges and fennel, both more in season in winter, but I just had to try it. The original recipe calls for blood oranges but I couldn’t find them in June. In my opinion any kind of oranges would work.

prep time 15min     cook time 45 min
ingredients for 6
  • 1,2 kg chicken thighs or pieces
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 tablespoons flour
  • 1-2 fennel bulbs
  • 1 big onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 1-2 garlic cloves
  • 3 oranges
  • big handful of olives of your choice
  • rosemary sprig
  • a cup of chicken stock (or water)
  • half a cup of white wine
  • salt and pepper

1. Turn on the oven to 175 degrees.

1.  Brown the skin-on pieces of chicken in a hot pan in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and let  simmer for a few minutes for the alcohol to evaporate. Sprinkle with flour. Remove the chicken and the juices to a large glass ovenproof pan.

2. Slice the fennels, save the fronds for garnish, slice the carrots, peel and chop the onions and garlic and add to the pan.

3. Peel two of the oranges with a sharp knife and segment them taking care of removing all the white pith and also the membranes. Add the segments and also the juice of the third orange to the pan.

4. Add the olives, rosemary and pour the chicken stock over the chicken.

5. Place in the oven and roast for 40-45 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through.

6. Serve with rice, quinoa or couscous.

FOR GLUTEN-FREE option use appropriate flour

BUON APPETITO!

Posted on

Sheet pan chicken, broccoli and carrots

The secret of this one sheet pan chicken and broccoli recipe is the balsamic vinegar seasoning.

prep time 15 min     cook time 25-30 min
ingredients for 4
  • 1,2kg chicken breast and/or drumsticks
  • 400 g broccoli florets
  • 3 carrots in sticks
  • 1-2 red onions, quartered
  • 250g baby bella mushrooms, quartered
  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • thyme and origano

1.Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

2. Prep all of your chicken and veggies and dump them on a sheet pan or an oven proof glass dish.

3. In a small bowl add 2/3 of oil, 1/3 of balsamic vinegar, spices, salt and pepper.  Whisk together.

4. Pour the oil mixture over the chicken and veggies and mix well.  Lay out in a single layer.

5. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

BUON APPETITO!

Posted on

Chicken veggie bean soup

This soup is easy to make like most of my recipes. It is full of flavour and very filling especially if you add rice or couscous or even tiny pasta to cover your grain/carb intake. You can easily add or substitute some of the veggies.

prep time 10 min     cook time 40 min
ingredients for 4
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 big onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 500g skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 green peppers
  • 125g baby spinach
  • 4-5 big button mushrooms, halved or quartered
  • 1 can (400g) drained red beans
  • 1 small can (200g) diced or crushed tomatoes + some water
  • peperoncino (optional)
  • basil and or parsley
  • salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or a heavy bottom pot over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and chicken and sauté for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

2. Add carrots, peppers, peperoncino if using, and tomatoes. Rinse the can and add the water on top. Bring to a boil and let simmer. Add salt and pepper.

3. After 15 minutes add drained beans and mushrooms and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add baby spinach and basil (and/or parsley)for the last few minutes.

5. Serve hot adding the grain of your choice.

6. Keeps well in the fridge up to 2 days.

BUON APPETITO!

Posted on

Chicken strips with broccoli rabe

I love this for a quick and healthy lunch. Broccoli rabe might not be everyone’s choice since it is a little bit bitter but I like it a lot. You can replace it with chicory greens, also somewhat bitter or spinach.

Prep time  5 min + blanching time      Cook time  15-20 min
INGREDIENTS FOR 2
  • 300 g of chicken breast
  • 400-500g of broccoli rabe
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 4-5 tbls extra virgin olive oil
  • salt
  • peperoncino or crushed red pepper

1. Trim and rinse the broccoli rabe and blanche it max 5 min in boiling salted water. This can be done in advance. Also if the broccoli is very young and tender, there’s no need to blanche it.

2. Cut the chicken breast into strips. Heat 2 tbls of oil in a large skillet and fry the strips on high heat for a few minutes on both sides. Put them on a plate.

3. Heat 2 tbls of olive oil in the same skillet, add the garlic cloves whole or cut in halves, add a few peperoncino seeds and some skin and let cook until the garlic starts to brown.

4. Add the blanched greens in two or three handfuls tossing to coat. Cook for 8-10 minutes, add the strips with their juices from the plate and cook for another 5 minutes. Check that the meat is cooked through.

BUON APPETITO!