in my studio | category

Aug
15
2011

roast chicken with garlic, thyme and lemon

A good’ol roast chicken is a family favourite in our home. So easy and yummy. Literally all you have to do is just clean and season it, then chuck it in the oven. Its so simple that I make this quite often especially when my dad gives us his home grown organic purple carrots!

*The above photo was added on 18th March 2014*

The secret for creating fresh recipes is using fresh ingredients. Thyme from our garden. I just leave them like that.

The best part about roast chicken is, when you have leftovers, you can make a chicken salad sandwich for your lunch the next day! I will blog about this sandwich in my next entry, so stay tune. Here it is. For now, this is the recipe. Nothing fancy, just really simple. But yummy of course.

RECIPE FOR ROAST WHOLE CHICKEN WITH GARLIC, THYME AND LEMON

Serves: 2
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 kg chicken (small-medium size)
8 cloves garlic (for paste), pound in mortar and pestle
5 cloves garlic, whole unpeeled (optional)
3 medium potatoes, quartered
3 carrots, halved longways
1/4 cup olive oil
6 sprigs of thyme (or 3 tsp dried thyme)
1/4 cup vegetable stock paste (I use homemade)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp black pepper
3 tsp salt
10cm long cotton twine string (to tie the legs)

Method

1. Clean and rinse the chicken inside out and pat dry. Do not remove the chicken skin.

2. Marinate the whole chicken with garlic paste, vegetable stock paste thyme, salt and pepper. Rub it thoroughly and put the stuffing in the cavity. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil then tie the legs together with a cotton twine string. Refrigerate overnight or at least 2 hours.

3. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Lightly grease a roasting pan, place a roasting rack and put the chicken on top.

4. Bake for 30minutes then swap the chicken the opposite way. Add in the cut vegetables and unpeeled garlic underneath the chicken rack. Bake for another 30minutes until golden brown (you can see the crunchy skin).

5. Stand chicken for 5 minutes before serving and don’t forget to remove the string.

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Category: chicken, in my kitchen

Feb
03
2011

creamy chicken pasta

I’ve only started to like creamy dishes. Can’t believe I never used to like cream, even in desserts! One night, I was invited over to a friends place for dinner, was the day I turned creamy. Then again, I didn’t used to like a lot of things until much recent, some of which are prawns and sushi but have now fallen in love with, thanks to my husband.

So now, whenever I’m in a hurry or running out of ideas of what to cook or just a little bit lazy…this is what I come up with. Simple, yummy, creamy goodness. If I have leftover sauce, I’ll grill some chicken breast and pour the sauce over for my dinner the next night. My husband loves the taste of the sauce so much he says, “I can drink it all up”.

RECIPE FOR EASY CREAMY CHICKEN MUSHROOM PASTA
Adapted from this recipe

Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, cut into long thin strips
600ml thickened cream
2 cups mushroom, sliced
1/2 onion, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 chicken stock paste (i use homemade)

400g spaghetti

1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (for garnishing)
parsley, chopped (for garnishing)
1/2 lemon (optional)

1tbsp cornstarch (mix with a bit of water)

Method

1. To boil the pasta, fill a pot with water and some salt, bring it to a boil. Then add the pasta.

2. Whilst pasta is cooking,in a medium sauce pan, saute onions and garlic. Do not burn.

3. Add the chicken and stock and stir until just cooked. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add thickened cream and bring to a boil.

5. Lower heat and season with salt and pepper. Add cornstarch and simmer until sauce thickens.

6. Drain cooked pasta and serve in individual plates. Pour creamy mushroom sauce on top and garnish with some parmesan and chopped parsley. For some extra zing, squeeze a little lemon.