Risotto Vegetariana topped With Parmesan Chicken. Italian Food is My utmost Favourite. Delizioso!

On Monday we celebrated Eid with the family. We all decided to go La Favorita, an Italian restaurant based in Birmingham. Personally, I love there food, from there risotto to there pastas, not to forget there delicious freshly made pizzas. This dish is inspired by there vegetarian risotto without the mushrooms & peas. My dad's not keen on those so had to cook without them. This beautifully creamy risotto has fresh tomatoes, spinach, garlic & finished of with Parmesan cheese & Basil. I'm salivating at the thought. 

I need some sort of protein so I served up the dish with Parmesan, rosemary,  lemon & garlic chicken. To die for. You seriously need to give this dish a try, its full of flavor & deliciously creamy. Enjoy!

Ingredients for the risotto

300g arborio risotto rice

2 litres of chicken stock

2 small onions finely chopped

4 big garlic cloves chopped finely

2tbsp butter 

Splash of olive oil

Zest & juice of one lemon

Handfull of fresh spinach chopped

2 medium tomatoes cubed 

1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes 

1 tbsp pepper

Salt to taste 

1 tbsp red chilly flakes 

Handfull chopped fresh basil leaves 

1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped 

150g parmesan cheese grated finely 

50g crumbled goats cheese 

150ml double cream

Method

In a heavy based saucepan add the chicken stock & let it boil, meanwhile in a separate heavy based pan, add 2 tbsp butter & a splash of olive oil. Let that heat up then add the chopped onion. Braise them until they are translucent then add in the chopped garlic. Once you have cooked the garlic add the risotto rice and coat well with the onions and garlic. 

Add the stock a ladle at a time, making sure you cook off the water before you add the next ladle. Let it simmer & keep adding water, this may take as long as 20 minutes, make sure you stir continuously. Once the rice is cooked & slightly al dente add the lemon juice, zest, pepper, chilly flakes, basil, rosemary, sun dried tomatoes & spinach. Cook until the tomatoes are softened & spinach is wilted. Add the Parmesan cheese & the goats cheese, combining everything together then lastly stir in the double cream. Taste to check seasoning, if you think you need more salt then feel free to add some. Serve immediately. 

Risotto is best at it's freshest so make sure to marinade the chicken in advance because all it needs is a quick fry on the pan.

Ingredients for the Chicken

1 pound of chicken strips

2 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped

4 garlic cloves chopped

Zest & juice of half a large lemon

2 tsp black pepper

3/4 tbsp salt 

1 tbsp red chilly flakes 

3 tbsp melted butter

50g Parmesan cheese 

Olive oil for pan frying the chicken

Method  

In a large bowl, place the chicken & add all the marinade ingredients excluding the Parmesan cheese & olive oil. Let it marinade for a few hours. 

Heat up a non stick pan, add a splash of olive oil. Once the oil is heated add the chicken, once browned on one side, before turning over grate over Parmesan cheese & turn the chicken over & cook till its nice & crisp on the other side. Slice up & serve with risotto, garnish with a bit more Parmesan cheese & enjoy!

How do you turn your bread into Restaurant Quality Garlic bread? I'll Tell you How With this Easy & Simple Concoction I Made up. Delicious!

My aunt owns her own bakery & cafe, every now & then she drops down & hands us freshly baked bread. How lucky am I? Well on this occasion she gave us two large bread sticks which contained all the goodness of omega 3, what could be better than that? 

Pizza night always needs some sort of garlic bread right? Instead of buying Dominos garlic bread I decided to turn these beautifully fresh bread sticks into my ultimate garlic bread with the addition of goats cheese & Spring onions, sounds lush I Know.

It's easy simple but absolutely delicious. What could possibly be better than home made garlic bread? Add a bit of this & bit of that & you're done!

Ingredients 

2 bread sticks

1 bunch of spring onions chopped finely

50g crumbled goats cheese

Salt & pepper

Chilly flakes

Rosemary

Lemon zest grated

3 tbsp melted butter

4 garlic cloves chopped extremely finely (or just grate them)

Method

Melt the butter & add the garlic, 1 tbsp pepper, 2 tsp salt & 1 tbsp chopped rosemary. Get the 2 bread sticks and slit them length ways as you would see on any shop bought garlic bread, in between the slits spread the melted seasoned butter, make sure you coat the bread inside properly. Stuff each section with goats cheese & spring onions. Lastly sprinkle over some red chilly flakes & lemon zest then place in the oven for about 15 minutes just till the bread is heated up through out. Serve immediately. 

Bon Apetit!

I Like Peanuts, But I Love Pistachios Even More. Pistachio Crusted Chicken Served With Baked Potatoes, Crispy Onion Rings & My Home Made Jus.

I don't even need to mention it, but yes you guessed it, I made it up as i went along, you probably knew that already. I love experimenting in the kitchen & trying out different things. My family love it, they're always like, "So Chef what's on the menu today" Just before going to bed I make sure I plan out in my head what im going to cook, I didn't do that this time round but luckily I remember what goes into this dish.

P.s my easy baked potato salad & onion rings have already been posted previously, make sure to check them out.

Ingredients for the herb pistachio crust

100g pistachio nuts 

50g melted butter 

60g fresh chives chopped 

30g chopped rosemary

Small bunch of fresh parsely 

100g breadcrumbs 

Zest & juice of 1 whole lemon

4 small garlic clovss chopped roughly 

Salt & pepper to taste 

Ingredients for the chicken 

1 chicken breast 

Olive oil Salt & pepper 

1 tsp rosemary

Chilly flakes

Lemon zest 

Garlic powder 

Ingredients for the roasted chicken jus

Chicken bones & left over bits (neck, carcass, wings, bones, fat etc)

2 onions roughly chopped

2 carrots roughly chopped

2 celery stalks roughly chopped 

5 sprigs of rosemary

1 head of garlic cut in half

Salt & pepper to taste

Olive oil

2 lemons roughly chopped

500ml chicken broth

3 tbsp butter cut into cubes

Method for herb pistachio crust

In a food processor add the pistachio nuts, butter & the herbs & blitz them until it forms a green colour. Add in the breadcrumbs, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic & seasoning to your preference. Blitz again for a few seconds & set aside.

Method for the chicken

Place the single chicken breast in between two sheets of climg film & slightly bash it Using a meat hammer. Put slitz in the chicken & Season the chicken with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, chilly flakes, lemon zest & garlic powder. Set aside & let Iit marinade upto 3 hours so all the flavors infuse in the chicken properly. When its time to place the herb crust on all you have to do is mould the crust over the chicken tightly & drizzle over some olive oil ready to be baked after the jus is made. Place the rest of the herb crust in the fridge to be used again throughout the week.

Method for the chicken jus

Switch the oven on to 350 degrees. Get a roasting dish & add all the chicken bones & fat & anything else you can get hold of. Add in all the vegetables, rosemary sprigs and the garlic. Add in the lemons & make sure to season well with salt & pepper, drizzle with olive oil & roast in the oven for around 40 minutes until everything including the bones are nicely browned.

Once the bones & vegetables are browned take out the oven & place the roasting dish on the stove top on medium heat. Add 1/3 cup of apple juice to deglaze. Scrape the bottom of the pan to scrape the brown bits, make sure to use a wooden spoon. Add in the chicken broth/stock & let it simmer for around 6 minutes, let the liquid reduce down. Take the roasting dish of the heat & strain everything make sure to press down using pressure on the vegetables, this will give the most flavor possible & also as you push the pulp out from the vegetables it will help thicken the jus slightly. 

Add in the cold butter cubes to the sauce & mix it in until it has melted, lastly season with salt & pepper & serve with the chicken alongside some vegetables or even a mash, whatever you prefer really.

Bon Apetite!

It's a Moroccan Feast. Moroccan Chicken With Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables. The Marinade Is By Far The Most Tastiest!

The flavors in this dish will absolutely blow your mind. No lie. The heat from the chilies to the tartness from the lemons, the flavors explode in your mouth. This is probably one of my favorite marinades so far. I came across the recipe whilst instgramming but adjusted it & added a few bits & bobs just to give it that extra quick. Hope you like it, & let me know how you get on.

Happy Cooking!

Ingredients for the chicken

1 1/2 chickens (legs, breasts, thighs and wings etc)

Marinade - 1/2 cup hot red pepper & garlic paste

1/2 cup olive oil

Zest & juice of 3 large lemons (keep the rind & add that in the marinade in chunks)

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp turmeric powder

3 tbsp paprika 

1 1/2 flat tbsp chilly powder

2 1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

6 garlic cloves peeled & crushed

1/2 cup fresh coriander chopped

Extras - Handful of cherry tomatoes

Handful of spring onions for garnish

Ingredients for the vegetables 

1 butternut squash, skin cut off and sliced evenly into medium chunks

2 large red onions sliced

1 courgette chopped into circles

2 red peppers chopped up

Handful of cherry tomatoes

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 1/2 tbsp salt & pepper

1 tbsp chilly powder

2 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped

2 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 cup olive oil 

1 tbsp honey

Method for the Moroccan chicken

To prepare your chicken, get the chicken breasts, put them in between two sheets of cling film and slightly bash them out, then put slits across the top to allow the chicken to fully marinade. Put slits in all your chicken pieces, this will give you the best results regarding flavor. Place your chicken in a large bowl & add all your marinade ingredients into the bowl & coat everything properly. Set aside & allow to marinade up to 4 hours.

Method for the Mediterranean vegetables

Place all your vegetables in a roasting dish & season with all the ingredients mentioned. Combine everything properly & place them in the oven for 40-50 minutes until softened. Just before serving place under the grill to slightly char them, this brings out so much more flavor.

Place the chicken in a roasting dish and add in the cherry tomatoes whole. Put the chicken in the oven until fully cooked through & browned on the top. Just before serving the chicken, garnish it with spring onions & enjoy.