Recipe: Embezzlers Chicken (w/ Honey 'n' Mustard)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I was rather pleased when I was introduced to this recipe. The chicken is portioned, which means it cooks quickly and has more surface area for the honey glaze to coat! It’s such a simple recipe and really very tasty! It goes rather, well with cardamom rice or roast potatoes depends on your mood! If you interested knowing how this recipe got it’s name why not come along to the supper club and ask me : )

In the mean time here’s the recipe. . .

ingredients (serves 2 - 4)

for the chicken

1 chicken (portioned)

2 onions (peeled, cut into eighths)

1 large bulb garlic (halved)

2 sprigs rosemary (bruised)

1 lemon (zest, pith cut off, sliced)

for the glaze

200g clear runny honey

100g english mustard

150g soy sauce

method

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Portion the chicken into quarters, then each quarter in half to give you eight pieces.

Use a high sided baking tray as it needs to hold the juices in! 

Prep the rest of the ingredients and place them all into the baking tray. 

Mix all the glaze ingredients together and pour over the chicken pieces.

Place into the oven, after 20 minutes toss the ingredients to re-coat them and return to the oven.

Repeat this process after another 20 minutes. 

After another 20 minutes the chicken should be cooked an the coating sticky, repeat once more if it needs it.

Finally add a little white wine and water (250ml) to the baking tray and mix it in to loosen the sticky sauce on the edges.

Mix them into the sauce.

Place the tray onto the table and let folk help themselves!

variations

This is also quite a nice way to do pork loin. Cut the loin into 4 inch pieces, sear it to brown and follow the above recipe turning it every 15minutes and removing it after 45minutes. Any longer and it will be very dry.

Recipe: Zero Fat Red Pepper and Spinach Soup - 10 minutes!

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I was after making myself something light for my lunch the other day - as in zero fat!

That’s a tricky business if you want something to taste even half decent. I think this one met the brief! Even better, it takes almost no time to make!! Less if you already have some cooked peppers in the fridge!

I had some enoki mushrooms and tobiko left over from some Japanese I’d made a few days prior, I was surprised how mush they brought to the party!! The tobiko is optional, the sesame seeds bring a similar texture and the fish sauce overpowers their subtle fishiness, I added them any way, quite nice!

ingredients (serves 1)

for the soup

1/2 pepper (cooked until soft and slightly charred)

100g spinach

1 chicken stock cube

600ml boiling water

dash soy sauce

dash fish sauce

1/2 lime (juiced)

30g enoki mushrooms (chopped)

for the garnish

1/2 tsp tobiko (optional)

sesame seeds (garnish)

chives (garnish)

method

Cook the pepper with a tiny amount of extra virgin olive oil, add water and put a lid on, cook until soft.

If the red pepper was already cooked, heat them through before adding them.

Once the peppers are ready dissolve the stock cube in boiling water in a jug

Add the red pepper & spinach straight away let it wilt a little.

Add a dash of soy sauce and a dash of fish sauce and season with lime.

Pour the soup into you favourite bowl and make a mushroom island in the middle and sprinkle with tobiko.

to serve

Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped chives. Serve immediately

It’s a big soup, fast to make, and fill you up!