Bistro bacon & tarragon chicken
Simple, creamy delish-ness – this chicken dish never fails to have me in raptures.
Serves 4 / Prep time: approx 20 minutes / Cooking time: 35 mins
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 whole chicken leg quarters
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 rashers streaky bacon, diced
- 4-6 brown mushrooms, sliced thinly
- 2 tsp dried tarragon
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- ¼ cup white wine
- ½ cup vegetable or chicken stock
- ½ cup crème fraîche
- ½ tsp sea salt
- a grind of black pepper
- chopped parsley to serve
Heat the oil in a medium pan and fry the chicken until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan. Fry the onion and bacon for 7-10 minutes, until the onion has softened and the bacon has given up its fat.
Pop the chicken back into the pan. Add the mushrooms, tarragon, mustard and wine and simmer for 2 minutes. Pour in the stock, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche and seasoning and simmer for 5 minutes until it’s lovely and creamy. Taste to see if it needs more salt or pepper. Sprinkle over some chopped parsley and serve with roasted pumpkin or a green salad.
NOTE
- Sour cream will work in place of crème fraîche, just use a little less as its flavour is stronger. Use bone-in thighs or drums if you can’t find chicken leg quarters.
Sticky eggplant
Sweet and salty, exciting and comforting, this dish has it all and I can’t get enough of it.
Serves 2 / Prep time: approx 30 minutes
- 1 large eggplant
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 red capsicum, sliced
- ¼ cup light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- a pinch of chilli flakes
- a handful of green beans
- a small handful of fresh coriander
- 1 tsp black or white sesame seeds
- cooked rice to serve
Cut eggplant in half lengthwise then slice into 1cm-thick half-moons.
Heat half the oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat and brown the eggplant on one side then flip and cook until golden. Push eggplant to the side.
Reduce heat to medium, add remaining oil and fry onion until soft then add garlic and capsicum, frying until cooked and softened. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, black pepper and chilli flakes. Pour into pan and add green beans. Stir everything together and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until beans are bright green and just tender.
Sprinkle over coriander and sesame seeds and serve with rice.
NOTE
- For a different dish, brown pork or chicken mince and add it in with the green beans. Yum!
Chowder for comfort
Just before going to the final farewell of the father of a dear friend, I took myself off to the seaside eatery where we’d all enjoyed dinner together some months before. He loved the chowder there and his recommendation was a solid one. I let the tears flow as I sipped my way through a steaming bowl of it in his honour.
Serves 2 / Prep time: approx 30 minutes / Cooking time: 35 mins
- 8-10 mussels
- 1∕3 cup white wine
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 cups fish or vegetable stock
- 1 large potato, peeled and 2cm diced
- 100ml cream
- zest of ½ lemon
- 2 fish fillets, cut into chunks – I use gurnard
- sea salt and a decent grind of black pepper
- a small handful of fresh parsley to garnish
- crusty bread to serve
Give the mussels a quick scrub then pile them into a large pot with the wine. Bring to a simmer, cover and steam for 2-3 minutes or until mussel shells spring open. Remove from heat and tip mussels and liquor into a large bowl to cool.
When cool enough to handle, remove the mussel meat, discarding the beard. Reserve the liquor. Roughly chop the mussel meat or blend in a food processor for a smoother chowder. Leave one or two in the shell if you want to be fancy and use it to garnish.
Heat the oil and butter in pot and sauté the onion over medium heat until beginning to soften. Add the celery and carrot and cook, covered, until softened – about 10 minutes. Pour in the reserved liquor and stock and add the diced potato. Simmer until the potato is soft.
Just before serving, pour in the cream and add the lemon zest, fish and cooked mussels. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes only or until fish is just cooked. Season to taste. Garnish with parsley and serve with buttered bread.
NOTE
- Try cockles or pipi and add calamari instead of fish, if you prefer.
Gorgeous blackberry & apple galette
Galette for one? Why not! Small quantities of homemade pastry are quick to make and so gratifying.
Makes one 12-15cm tart / Prep time: approx 50 minutes / Cooking time: 40 minutes at 200°C
PASTRY
- 2 tbsp chilled butter
- 2 heaped tbsp plain flour
- ½ tbsp sugar
- 3-4 tbsp ice-cold water
FILLING
- 1 cup peeled and chopped apple
- ¼ cup frozen or fresh blackberries or other berries
- 1 tbsp sugar + extra for sprinkling
- 1 tbsp flour
- zest of ½ lemon
- 1 tbsp butter
- milk for brushing
- whipped cream to serve
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a tray with baking paper.
To make the pastry, whizz the butter, flour and sugar in a food processor, pulsing until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the water and pulse again, adding more water as you need for it to come together and stay together when pinched between your fingers. Turn out, roll into a ball then flatten to a disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
To assemble, toss fruit with sugar, flour and zest. Roll out chilled pastry to a 22-24cm circle. Transfer to the lined tray.
Pile the fruit in the centre leaving a 4-5cm rim free of fruit. Carefully fold up the sides, pleating and pinching them as you go. Dot the fruit with the butter. Brush the edges with a little milk and sprinkle over some extra sugar.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit is soft and bubbling. Serve with whipped cream.
NOTE
- Feel free to use other seasonal fruit like peaches, nectarines, apricots or rhubarb.
An edited extract from More From a Quiet Kitchen, by Nici Wickes (Bateman Books, RRP $49.99).
