Satay Chicken

Having purchased a lot of different Asian sauces and spices at the weekend, I decided it was about time to try something new and found this amazing recipe for Satay Chicken.

Satay or sate, is a dish of marinated, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. It usually consists of diced or sliced chicken, goat, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu; the more authentic version uses skewers made from coconut palm fronds.

Satay originated in Java, Indonesia where it has now become a national dish. It is also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries, such as: Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand as well as in the Netherlands, as Indonesia is a former Dutch colony.

‘Satay sauce’, often referred to as peanut sauce, is widely used in Indonesian cuisine, Thai cuisine, Malaysian cuisine, and Chinese cuisine (under different names). It is also used in some European cuisine. Initially the sauce was meant as a sauce for Satay when being grilled, as well as for dipping.

This recipe from ‘Yeo’s’ is easily adaptable to being done on skewers or in the pan, as I tried.

Ingredients:
400g Chicken, Beef or other meat or tofu
3 tbsp Satay Sauce
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Pure Seasame Oil
2 tsp Malaysian Curry Powder
3 tbsp White Sugar
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Small Onion and Garlic Clove, chopped

1. Mix the ingredients above in a bowl and marinate the meat or tofu for around 1 hour.

2. If you are cooking in the marinade, then cook it through in the pan, on a medium heat, so that the sauce does not burn, until it is thoroughly cooked.

3. If you are cooking on skewers, grill them until cooked.

Serve with rice and/or stir fried vegetables and warmed Satay sauce for dipping.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Curry, Mains, Sauces, Vegetarian, Curry, curry recipe, garlic, lemon juice, malaysian curry powder, onion, satay chicken, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar

Chicken Breast with Langoustines

After making the Tomato Sauce, I got all the other ingredients ready to make this Floyd dish. I had no idea how this was going to turn out, so was definitely looking forward to the eating stage and trying it out!

The recipe said that it serves 4, due to it being a chicken breast per person. As there were only 2 of us we only used 2 breasts but kept the rest of the recipe the same, so there was lots of sauce left over. Next time I make this recipe, I will halve the sauce ingredients too.

You can tell there is a real French heritage behind this dish, using the Langoustines and Cognac and the final results were typically French too – flavours that I wouldnt normally put together to create a fancy and very rich tasting Floyd dish. This is not a recipe you want to make if you are on a diet. Having said that, we both polished the meal off and wished there had been a bit more chicken and a few more langoustines too. Floyd says to serve with boiled rice, which we did, but next time I think I will serve it with green vegetables and french green beans.

(Printable Recipe)

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 Chicken Breasts
4 Langoustines per person - Large Crevettes or Whole King Prawns can be used
1 tbsp Onion, finely chopped
1 Clove Garlic, chopped
1 tbsp Parsely, chopped
1 cup of Tomato Sauce
½-1 cup of Double Cream (I used ½ cup and this was very creamy)
2 oz Butter
1 large glass White Wine
1 measure Cognac or Brandy
Pinch Thyme
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp jellified Chicken Gravy
1 tsp Dry Sherry

1 Season the chicken and fry in the butter for 10 minutes.

2 Add the onions, garlic, thyme and langoustines (I removed the shells but the recipe didn’t say what to do).

3 Flame with the Cognac and add the white wine. Allow to simmer for a few moments.

4 Add the tomato sauce and the cream and if possible a tablespoon or two of jellified gravy. Taste the sauce, it should not be too creamy.

5 Season with salt and pepper. At this stage a teaspoon of sherry could be added to sharpen the sauce a little.

Serve with plenty of boiled rice and a green salad.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Mains, basil, chicken breast, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, cognac, floyd's tomato sauce, garlic, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, keith floyd, langoustines, olive oil, tomato sauce, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Floyd’s Tomato Sauce

I thought it was about time to try something from ‘Floyd’s Food’ so I decided to cook up something I would never normally choose, in this case “Chicken Breast with Langoustines” (recipe to come) and one of the ingredients was a coffee cup of his own “Tomato Sauce”. So I found the recipe and set about cooking this sauce that reminded me of a very fragrant mediterranean pasta sauce. I’m going to make this again to use with other dishes in future!

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:
14 oz/400g Tin Tomatoes
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh or dried Basil
1 tbsp chopped Parsley
1 tbsp White Sugar
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Black Pepper

1 Fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil until soft.

2 When soft, add all the other ingredients and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes.

3 Then liquidize the lot. This sauce can be served either hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Sauces, Vegetarian, basil, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, floyd's tomato sauce, garlic, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, keith floyd, olive oil, tomato sauce, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Halloumi Bites

The idea for this delicious party starter came from a “Nigella Express” recipe. I adapted the ingredients to make a modified dressing for the Holloumi which turned out to be enjoyed by everyone who had it.

As Nigella mentions in her book, they are messy to eat and are probably best as part of a table, rather than as a tray-bound snack.

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:
80ml Garlic Oil or 80ml Oil with a glove of small crushed clove of garlic added.
2 tbsp Lime Juice (roughly the juice of one small lime)
3 tbsp Chopped Parsley
3 250g Blocks of Halloumi Cheese, drained
Good grinding of Pepper

1 Combine the oil, (garlic if needed), lime juice, pepper and parsley in a bowl and blend together with a hand-blender.

2 Slice the drained halloumi into 5mm wide pieces and then cut each slice in half again.

3 In a heavy based frying pan, dry fry the slices of cheese in batches until golden on both sides.

4 Put the pieces of the fried halloumi onto small plates and drizzle the dressing over the pieces.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Starters, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, garlic, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, halloumi, halloumi bites, lime, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes

Garlic Croutons (Gluten Free)

I had to learn how to make these gluten free garlic croutons for my entry to the Farewell Floyd Food Blogging Event but you can use ordinary bread too.

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:
1oz (25g) Butter
1 Garlic Clove crushed
1 Slice of Bread (any kind) cut into cubes

1 Melt the butter in a pan and add the crushed garlic clove on a very low heat, allowing time for the garlic to infuse the butter.

2 Remove the garlic clove, turn up the heat and add the bread cubes and cooke until lightly golden and crisp.

3 Drain on some kitchen paper.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Gluten Free, Others, coeliac diet, coeliac recipes, croutons, garlic, gluten free, gluten free food, gluten free meals, gluten free recipes, what is gluten, wheat free diet, wheat free foods, wheat free recipes