When I want something that’s quick and easy, it has to be chicken, and if I’m cooking for picky eaters, I also pick chicken. It’s what I choose if I have guests whose tastes I’m not sure of, and if I’m on one of my periodic economy drives, I usually turn to chicken, so it would be fair to say that it’s my faithful standby.
In fact, I have so many different chicken recipes I could write a book and call it A Hundred Ways with Chicken, but I’m sure that’s been done a dozen times already.
I buy it in one form or another almost every week, either whole or in pieces, but if I have time, I like to cut up a large chicken myself and freeze what I don’t use. That’s not always convenient, so quite often it’s just a couple of breasts or some legs from the butcher’s counter.
There were some beautiful, rosy red pomegranates at the supermarket recently, so I bought a couple, although I didn’t really know what I was going to do with them. But with some chicken legs, a few spices, dried apricots and pomegranate molasses, they made a nice, tasty tajine to serve with couscous. My recipe only uses half the pomegranate seeds, so if you don’t have molasses, or don’t want to buy any, you can press and strain the juice from the remaining seeds and add it with the stock.
Harvest chicken is based on a recipe from an American magazine I’ve had for ages, using both what they call summer and winter squash.
Zucchini is soft-skinned summer squash, and pumpkin is the hard-skinned winter variety.
As pumpkin is inclined to disintegrate during cooking, I sometimes use sweet potatoes instead. Serve it from the dish with a big pile of mashed potatoes.
Chicken breast can be rather bland, and if overcooked it dries out, so it needs moisture and flavour. A whole diced chicken breast with some mushrooms for flavour and béchamel for moisture, stirred into pasta and baked with a crunchy topping, is a dish I’ve found even the pickiest of eaters like, and it makes a good and hearty substantial supper.
My recipe for chicken with tomatoes and olives is one I turn to when I want something cheap and cheerful. I buy bone-in thighs, about the cheapest cut of all, and then debone them myself, but if you don’t want to do that, you can buy them already deboned.
For an economical, fast and tasty supper, put some pasta or rice on while you’re cooking the chicken and hey presto – dinner in under half an hour. Now that can’t be bad!
Chicken and mushroom pasta bake
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large chicken breast, cut into one-centimetre cubes
250g small mushrooms, halved and sliced
300ml béchamel sauce
1 tbsp each chopped parsley and celery leaves
Salt and pepper
300g small pasta tubes or twists
2 small packets plain potato crisps
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
Heat the olive oil and fry the onion until it starts to soften. Add the chicken and cook, stirring until it loses its ‘raw’ colour, then add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to wilt. Stir in the béchamel, parsley and celery leaves and season well with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Cook the pasta, drain and return it to the pan. Tip on the chicken mixture and mix well, then turn it all into a baking dish. Crush the crisps, mix them with the Parmesan, then scatter them on top of the pasta.
Bake for about 30 minutes until it’s crunchy, brown and bubbling.
Chicken with apricots and pomegranate
Serves 4
4 chicken legs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp each ground coriander and cumin
½ tsp ground ginger
Large pinch of cinnamon
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
300ml chicken stock
60g dried apricots, halved
1 tbsp brown sugar
Seeds from half a rosy red pomegranate
2 tbsp chopped parsley
250g instant couscous
25g butter
Handful of raisins, softened in hot water
Cut away the excess backbone from the chicken legs. Heat the oil in a deep skillet and fry the chicken until browned on both sides, then transfer them to a plate.
Add the onion to the pan and cook until it starts to soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute, then add all the spices and cook for two more minutes. Stir in the pomegranate molasses, blend in the stock and add the apricots and sugar. Return the chicken to the pan, bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear when tested with the point of a knife. Scatter over two tablespoons of pomegranate seeds and a tablespoon of the parsley, cover and keep warm.
Cook the couscous according to the packet instructions. Stir in the butter, raisins, the rest of the parsley and remaining pomegranate seeds. Divide the couscous between four warm plates and serve with the chicken.
Chicken with tomatoes and olives
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
Pinch of sugar
200ml chicken stock
2 tbsp each sliced green and black olives
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp shredded basil
Salt and pepper
Heat the olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Cut the chicken thighs in half and fry them until browned on both sides, then transfer to a plate.
Add the onion and fry until starting to soften, then stir in the garlic and fry for a minute more. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and sugar, bring to the boil and let it bubble for a few minutes to thicken.
Stir in the stock, return the chicken to the pan, together with the olives, oregano and basil, then season well with salt and pepper. Lower the heat, partially cover the pan and simmer for about five minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced a little.
Serve over pasta or rice, or with plain boiled potatoes.
Harvest chicken
Serves 4
1 large chicken
Seasoned flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
Slice of pumpkin, about 400g, peeled, deseeded and cubed
4 small round zucchini, cut into wedges
4 plum tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and sliced
1 tbsp chopped parsley, plus extra to serve
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme
A good splash of dry vermouth
200ml chicken stock
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 190˚C. Cut the chicken into eight pieces (or ask your butcher to do it for you), then roll all the pieces in the seasoned flour. Heat the oil in a large skillet and fry the chicken, turning until well-browned. Arrange the pieces in one layer in a large, shallow baking dish.
Add the onion to the pan and fry until it starts to soften, then stir in the garlic and pepper and cook for two minutes. Add the pumpkin, zucchini, tomatoes, parsley and thyme and cook gently, stirring and turning for two minutes more.
Add the vermouth and stock, bring to the boil and season well with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the chicken and bake for about 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with the point of a knife.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.