Chicken casserole

Posted: March 27, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Chicken | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

chicken casserole cider mushrooms

I have promised not to complaint about the weather on Facebook and extended the ban to all other social media outlets I normally hang out. In here, I shall just carry on posting Winter-appropriate dishes until the weather gets finally better, as a sign of protest. It is a good thing I have plenty of unpublished dishes, as it might be a while before we can move to lighter food… This casserole dish says comfort food all over – it is delicious, filling and feels like something my Mother could have done for Sunday lunch. What else would you want to eat while the snow is slowly pilling outside?

Chicken casserole  (adapted from Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)

Ingredients 

  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • 4 chicken thighs, skinned and cut in half
  • 2 tsp of olive oil
  • 4 smoked bacon stripes, fat cut off and cut cut into 1cm-wide bits
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
  • 150g of button mushrooms sliced
  • 500mL dry cider
  • 300mL low fat chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 large carrots, cut into 2cm slices
  • 1 large leek, cut into 2cm slices
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180c/Fan 160c/Gas 4

Mix the flour and the thyme with a good pinch of salt and pepper into a large freezer bag or bowl. Place chicken into the  bag, a few pieces at a time  and shake until evenly coated. Reserve the left over flour.

Heat oil in a non stick frying pan until is piping hot. Add the chicken a few pieces at a time and let it fry until golden brown (saving any remaining flour in bag). Transfer to heat proof casserole, like a le creuset or equivalent.

In the same frying pan you used for the chicken, put the  bacon, onions and celery . Sauté for 4-5 mins until lightly browned, stirring often. Add the mushrooms to the frying pan and cook for 2 more min. Tip everything into the casserole with the chicken pieces. Sprinkle with the reserved flour.

Pour half the cider to frying pan and stir well to deglaze and remove all the sediments. Simmer for a few seconds, and add to the casserole. Finally, drop in the remaining cider, the stock, carrots and bay leaves.
Cover with the lid and place in the center of the  oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and add in the leeks.

Return to the stove and let it cook for about half hour, until the leeks are soft.

Rich beef and ale casserole with leeks and potato mash

Posted: March 13, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Beef, Vegetables | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

guiness beef stew and mash potatoes ok

The calendar claims Spring will be here in a few days, but the weather man (and the knees) say otherwise.  As snow starts falling again, it seems Winter will be here forever.  It is definitely time for another comforting stew…. Believe it or not, each portion has less than 500 calories.

Rich beef and ale casserole with mash potato (adapted from Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)

Ingredients 

Beef stew 

  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 2 medium onions chopped
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons mixed herbs
  • 1 kg lean braising beef, trimmed from hard fat and cut in 3cm chunks
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 500 mL of dark ale or stout
  • 250 mL of beef stock
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puréee
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 5 carrots (about 275g), peeled and thickly sliced
  • 2 parsnips (about 300g) peeled, halved lengthways and sliced
  • freshly ground black pepper

Leeky potato mash

  • 750g floury potato, peeled and cut in 4cm chunks
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 leeks thinly sliced
  • 100 mL low fat milk
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Beef stew 

Preheat the oven to 180oC

Put the flour and dried herbs in a large bowl. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. Fold in the beef chunks and toss in until they evenly coated.

Heat the oil in a oven- and flame- proof casserole dish.When the oil is pipping hot, drop in the onions and season then with salt and pepper. Fry them over medium heat until they are lightly browned (about 5min).

Tip in the beef and mix until coated.

Add the bay leaf, ale, stock, tomato purée and sugar. Stir well and bring to boil. Cover with the lid.

Transfer the casserole from to the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours. At the end of this time,  take the casserole out of the oven and stir in the parsnips and carrots. Put the lid again, and return to the over for about 45min until the vegetables are tender.

Leeky potato mash

Put the potato chunks in  a large sauce pan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let boil for about 20min, until the potatoes are very tender.

In the meanwhile, put the oil in a frying pan and heat. When is hot, drop in the sliced leeks and sautée until soft and tender, stirring often.

Drain the potatoes, and put them back in the sauce pan. Season with salt and pepper and mash with the milk until smooth.

Stir in the sautéeed leeks. Mix until they are well incorporated.

Beef stew with sweet carrots, peas and mushrooms

Posted: October 31, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Beef, Vegetables | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

No use to fight Autumn anymore – it is arrived and is here to stay until Winter shows up. It is now time to start cooking food that makes you forget the cold outside and puts a note of color in your day.

Beef stew with sweet carrots, peas and mushrooms

Ingredients

  • 450g of beef, cut in cubes
  • 50g of flour (or maizena)
  • 250g of button mushrooms
  • 3 onions, cut in half moons
  • 5 carrots, cut in 2cm slices
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 100ml of red wine
  • 1 spring of rosemary
  • 200ml of stock
  • 250g of peas (I used frozen peas)
  • olive oil as required
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until it shimmer. Toss the mushrooms. Let them fry until soft and fragrant. Reserve.

Place the beef cubes and flour in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Shake off the excess of flour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat until it shimmer. Add half the floured meat and fry until sealed and meat has begun to brown. Be careful not too put too many pieces in the frying pan. Instead of frying, the meat will boil to death, with rather unpleasant results. Reserve the meat.

To the same frying pan, add the onion and the carrots.  Pan fry until the onions are caramelised and the carrots are soft, stirring occasionally  (It will take about 15minutes). Add the grounded garlic and let it combine with the vegetables, stirring for about 1 minute. Take all out of the frying pan and reserve. Pour in the pan approximately 100 mL of red wine stir well to combine and deglaze the frying pan. When the sauce starts to thicken, toss in the meat and reserved vegetables. Mix well to combine, and then add the vegetable stock. Add the bay leave and the rosemary spring.

When it comes to boil, toss the peas in and let simmer for about 15min, until the stock reduces to half and the sauce is a bit thick. Take out from the stove and let it rest for a bit.

Beef stew with mushrooms and vegetables

Posted: August 30, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Beef, Vegetables | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

A dish with no history and minimal verbiage. I happened to have all these veggies in the fridge and Mr Caramelised brought home a cut of beef that screamed for stew. Forty-five minutes later, dinner was served.

Beef stew with mushrooms and vegetables 

Ingredients

  • 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 yellow onions, cut in half-moon slices.
  • 1 garlic clove, grounded
  • 250g of button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus), sliced
  • 2 red peppers deseeded and sliced in fine strips
  • 3 zucchini (=courgette) cut in slices
  • 500g of stew beef cut in cubes
  • 50g of flour or Maizena
  • 100ml red wine
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 thyme springs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 250ml of vegetable stock

Method

In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until it shimmer. Toss the mushrooms. Let them fry until soft and fragrant. Reserve.

Clean the frying pan with a kitchen paper, put more olive oil and heat it until it shimer. Put the red pepper in, and let it fry until soft. Finally, add the courgette in the pan, and let it fry for a few minutes until soft . Reserve  courgette and red peppers, together with the mushrooms.

In the meanwhile, place beef cubes and flour in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Shake off excess flour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat until it shimmer.  Add half the floured meat and fry until sealed and meat has begun to brown. Be careful not too put too many pieces in the frying pan. Instead of frying, the meat will boil to death, with rather unpleasant results. Reserve the meat.

In the same frying pan, put the onion and fry until caramelised, stirring occasionally (it must be soft and translucent. It will take about 15minutes). Add the grounded garlic and the reserved flour and panfry, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in approximately 100mL of red wine stir well to combine and deglaze the frying pan. When the sauce starts to thicken, toss in the meat and reserved vegetables. Mix well to combine, and then add the vegetable stock. Add the bay leave and the thyme.

Let simmer for about 15min, until the stock reduces to half and the sauce is a bit thick. Take out from the stove and let it rest for a bit.