Wednesday 28 December 2011

Perked up Hummus with Tomato and Olive garnish


Sometimes, you just want something quick - and this ain't exactly cooking but if you need lunch and you don't want to wait then this is a great idea.

The beauty of this dish is that you simply take a pot of ordinary (preferably organic) Hummus from the fridge, scoop half of it out on a plate and then, holding the spoon centrally in the Hummus, rotate the plate so that it forms a little "cup" of Hummus in the middle.

Once that's done, slice a Tomato into wedges, sprinkle with a little Paprika and Chilli flakes, drizzle with a little (or a lot!) Olive oil and garnish with Olives and Feta cheese. If you want, Jamie Oliver also squeezes a bit of Lemon juice over the whole lot to perk it up a bit - good idea - I just haven't done it here. Now that's lunch!

Normally, I'd have this with toasted, crispy Food Doctor Pitta breads - the ones with the seeds in. This time I decided to branch out and try eating it with original Ryvita bread thingys. It was nice - but I think I prefer the hot crispy Pitta breads....

Until next time....

Saturday 24 December 2011

Warming Chicken, Onion & Potato

This is such a simple and tasty recipe - I often forget that it's on the menu. Believe it or not given the fact I'm writing this entry - I thought to myself tonight "I can't really be bothered cooking" - and this I suppose is a testament to just how honestly simple and yet mouthwateringly tasty this dish is!

I knew I had some chicken thighs, skin on, bone in, in the fridge and I've always got onions and garlic and spices to hand (except when out and about - people are always suspicious of folk carrying onions and Garlic i.e. the French) so I wondered what I could make that was easy and tasty (although not especially quick.) Then I remembered I had some juicy potatoes in the fridge too (best place to keep them - stay tuned for some top cooking tips!).

That was that, I decided to make this very literally named dish which is a staple of mine and probably some sort of variation of a Palestinian recipe (this is the kind of food my dad used to make and he always had a knack of making incredibly tasty food).

Note: I HIGHLY recommend preparing the ingredients first before starting the recipe. This will save a lot of stress or confusion, especially in recipes where timing is important. Ramekins and bowls are great for putting your ingredients into once prepared - in exactly the same way that you see on TV shows. They do it for a reason, as do professional Chefs who call it "prep" and it's a great way to both stay organised and in control while cooking so you can enjoy the process!

So let's get to it!

Ingredients:

  • Chicken thighs - skin off, bone in - preferably free-range or if you can splash out, organic.
  • 2 Medium Potatoes - peeled and sliced (see photos).
  • 2 Small Onions - peeled and sliced.
  • 4 Large Garlic cloves - peeled and sliced (noticing a theme here!?).

  • Fresh Thyme (dried is ok but fresh is better) - 3-4 "sprigs"(?)
  • Allspice - 1 and half tsp
  • Black Pepper - 1tsp
  • Salt - half tsp
  • Ground Cumin - 1tsp
  • White Pepper - half tsp
  • Cinnamon - quarter tsp
  • Paprika - half tsp
  • Chilli flakes/seed - As much as you can handle!
  • Small ramekin of water
  • Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil


Preheat Oven to 200c


The Recpe (short):

Throw the whole lot in a foil lined baking tray, cover tightly with foil and cook at 200c for 1hr.


The Recipe (full - better results):

If you've bought chicken thighs with the skin on and bone in, peel the skin off the chicken and trim as much fat off as you can be bothered to - then set aside.

Peel and slice the Potatoes, Onions and Garlic.

Line a baking dish with foil as shown in the pictures so that you can wrap over the foil and seal it all in when ready to pop your masterpiece in the oven.

First sprinkle/spread the sliced Onion on the bottom of the foil lined dish. This will soften and caramelise while cooking and give great flavour.

Next add the Garlic, roughly spreading it out amongst the Onion.


Now add the Potato slices as a layer covering the Onion and Garlic. This doesn't need to be exacting, just neat enough to form a roughly even base.


The Chicken then goes on top of this



Sprinkle the spices all over the top of the chicken, starting with the Allspice and ending with the Salt (and the others on between). The spice measurements are not set in stone - experiment with more of some or less of others and get it to suit your taste.

Once all the spices are sprinkled over the tantalising trio of Chicken, Onion & Potato, it's time to pour a bit of water (not too much) around the edges where the potato is so that the steam helps the whole lot cook. Next, drizzle a bit of the Olive Oil over everything - again - not too much - as the Chicken has its own juices and fats to help with the flavour.

Place the Thyme sprigs in and amongst the Chicken pieces and then wrap over the foil making as tight a seal as you can by folding the edges of the foil together. This is important because if too much steam escapes during cooking, the dish won't cook well and will end up being a bit dry. Use more foil if necessary to close any gaps - it will be worth it!:



Pop the baking dish into the Oven and wait for 1hr - 1hr but no longer than that or it will overcook and the Chicken could become rubbery.

When it's done it should look like this:



Serve with an Arabic Salad (which I shall be posting a recipe to soon!) - lashings of plain, natural Yoghurt (Yeo Valley Highly recommended) and if you're not currently Carb-phobic (I am unfortunately) - some plain steamed basmati rice - just a bit and soaked in the juices from the dish!

Make sure the lot is plenty salted to bring out the flavour (will post on that too soon!) and you may just find that while it's not exactly gourmet cooking - it turns out to be one of the simplest, tastiest and darned loveliest meals you've never had!

Good luck if you're trying this recipe - let me know how you get on in the comments and if you have any questions/suggestions I'd love to hear back :-)





Intro & Hello

Hello - I'm Ali Shaded and I cook fairly regularly, whizzing up old favourites and experimenting with new ideas and love the process and (mostly!) the end result!

I think cooking can be extremely relaxing - the chopping, preparing, mixing, stirring. Not to mention measuring out the herbs, spices and ingredients and enjoying the process of getting it "just right".

When a cooking expedition comes to fruition and the end result is on the plate - it's very satisfying to tuck into some delicious food that you've made from scratch yourself. It's especially great to share it with others and there's undeniably a feel good factor from knowing that it's being enjoyed.

So The Cooking Well is of course a double-entendre - It's about cooking well i.e. churning out great tasting, wholesome food and also includes the idea that cooking can be a source of relaxation, retreat, calm, happiness and sometimes in the eating - joy - although you're best advised to keep that to yourself unless you're feeling particularly exuberant!

I hope anyone who happens to find this blog will find it useful and it's also in a way just a - well - blog for myself also to serve as a record of what I've cooked, what I've found, what works, what doesn't and generally something I and others can refer back to if needed.

So now..... what shall my first food related post be about......? Haha!