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Chicken Diane

Ingredients:

• Free range chicken
• Red rascal potatoes
• Green beans
• Red onion (or eschallots I guess)
• Parsley
• Garlic
• Lemon juice
• Chicken stock
• Brandy
• Cream
• Butter
  
• Balsamic vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

Method:

1. Peel and dice potatoes.
2. Spread on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season.
3. Stick in preheated 180 degree oven.
4. Dice onion as small as possible.
5. Break down chicken (save frame to make stock)
6. Chuck about 30g of butter in a pan along with 30ml or so of Olive oil and brown the chicken all over.
7. Put on a baking sheet and put in the oven.
8. Soften onions and garlic in same pan.
9. Add cream, brandy,mustard, balsamic, stock to pan and reduce about half.
10. Having begun to read The French Laundry cookbook, I now strain sauces (when I remember).
    

11. Blanch the beans, boil the corn. Add the lemon juice and parsley just before plating.

Time to cook: 35 minutes
Cost per serve: $9
Inspiration: Feb 2008 issue of delicious magazine.

Turkish chicken with apricots, ginger, lemon, saffron and pistachios.

Ingredients:

• Cumin seeds
• Coriander seeds
• Cinnamon
• Black pepper
  
• Salt
• Turmeric
• Chilli flakes
• Saffron
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Green chilles
• Thyme
• Mint
• Apricots
• Dried apricots
• Lemon
• Brown Onion
• Pistachios
• Honey
• Tomato paste
  
• Vegetable stock powder
• Wine (I used a rose)
• Olive oil
  

Method

1. Toast and grind all the spices to make a coarse rub.
2. Break the chicken down into 8 bits
3. Coat the chicken in the rub (large plastic bag is useful here)
4. Dice the onions, julienne the ginger and chop the apricots.
   
5. Dump 100ml of olive oil into a heavy pot and brown the chicken all over.
6. Fry the onions, the ginger and the split chilli in the oil and fallen off spices.
7. When they are soft, dump in the wine to deglaze then stir in tomato paste, thyme, apricots, saffron, vegetable stock powder and bring to a simmer.
8. Then return chicken to pan and toss in lemon juice and zest and cover with water.
9. Simmer covered for 10 minutes and then uncovered for 15 more until chicken is meltingly tender. If you go a little bit further the apricots will render down and the sauce will become almost jammy (whoops, but yum!)
10. Serve with steamed cous-cous, creme faiche and mint.

Time to prepare: 15 minutes larder, 15 minutes active, 25 mins goofing off.
Cost per serve: $8
Inspiration: Sunday Life Magazine, Jan 27 2008 page 25.