Roasted Squash & Chicken Laksa Bake

Image Leave a comment 11/07/2019 the wee caledonian cook

Oh yummy, I was going through all my cookbooks and found this dish from Jamie Olivers Superfood Book. Was easy to make, very filling and very delicious. Fresh flavours and so nutritious. Squash is packed with Vitamin A which helps us see in the dark. Laksa originates from Southeast Asia, it is usually a noodle based soup with coconut.

Serves 2

2 sticks of lemongrass

2 cloves garlic

10cm piece of ginger

2 fresh chillies

3 spring onions

1 bunch of fresh coriander

80ml coconut cream

Splash white wine vinegar

Splash of Fish Sauce

Chicken Stock Cube with 700ml water

150g brown rice or wild rice

1 butternut squash

2 chicken breasts (or thighs)

1 tbsp Sesame oil

1 tbsp unsalted peanuts

1 lime.

Preheat your oven to 180 deg.
Bash the lemongrass and remove outer layers, peel the garlic and ginger and chop the spring onions and chillies roughly. Place all in a blender. Add the coriander, (reserving a few leaves for garnish) coconut cream, vinegar and fish sauce, blitz the mixture until smooth. This is your Laksa paste.
Crumble the chicken stock cube into your oven dish and add 700ml boiling water to dissolve. Add in the rice.
Cut up the butternut squash into 4 rounds off the bulbous part, removing the seeds.
Cut the chicken breasts into large bite size pieces. Cover the chicken and butternut squash pieces with the Laksa paste. Place them into the oven dish with the rice & water. Drizzle 1 tbsp sesame oil over the top.
Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Before serving, toast the peanuts and chop into small bits, sprinkle on top with the coriander leaves and squeeze the juice from lime over the top. Serve.

Spicy Peanut Slaw

Image Leave a comment 24/06/2019 the wee caledonian cook

This little dish is so refreshing. It was a lovely sunny day here this weekend so decided I wanted something cool and refreshing & this done just that job. I served with my pulled peanut butter chicken and was delish.

Makes enough for about 4 people or 8 smaller side portions.

1/2 large white cabbage – sliced finely

100g or more of peanuts – chopped

5 spring onions – chopped

3-4 sweet peppers sliced – various colours

1 large handful of coriander – finely chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

For the dressing:–

2 tbsp Rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp sweetener (I used a low calorie option)

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp Hot Sauce (less or more if you like it spicy or not)

3 tbsp toasted peanut oil

In a bowl mix up the dressing thoroughly until combined.
Place all the slaw vegetables in a bowl and season
Pour over the dressing and mix to combine.
Serve immediately or keep in fridge for up to 1 day.

Steamed Chicken Meatballs with Peanuts on Spinach

Image Leave a comment 11/03/2018 the wee caledonian cook

So delicious! If you love peanut butter, you will love this.

With my new Hotpoint oven came a Steam pot so I’ve been trying to experiment with steam cooking, not only is it more nutritious but also so much more healthier. First, since food is cooked by direct contact between steam as well as the movement of the hot vapor through the food, no fat is needed to conduct the heat. This makes steaming a lower-calorie, low fat cooking method. Food stays moist, too, since it is being bathed in water vapor. Also, since water soluble nutrients (namely Vitamins C and B) don’t leach out into vapor, steaming preserves up to 50% more nutrients than other moist heat cooking methods.

Just because steaming is a healthy way to cook doesn’t mean it has to be bland. There are many ways of adding extra flavor to steamed food during the cooking process. You can bring extra flavor to your food by adding all sorts of complementary herbs and spices to your cooking liquid. Further up the flavor by substituting stock, fruit juice or wine for water. The additional flavors will permeate the food as the steam cooks them.

Makes 9

2 Chicken Breasts

1 shallot

1 tsp garlic granules or 1 garlic clove

1 leek

40g whole peanuts

1 tsp salt & pepper

350ml chicken stock

1 tbsp peanut butter

spinach

1 tsp peanut oil

Slice the Leek, using a bit with the green on
Peel and slice the shallots
Shell and peel peanuts (if not predone), blitz in a blender until fine
Cut the chicken into small pieces and season
Add chicken, leek, shallots, garlic and seasoning to the peanuts in blender and blitz together.
With your hands roll into meatballs and place on a greased baking tray, then refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Pour the chicken stock into the steam pot and then place the meatballs onto the grid and place in pot, cover with lid. Set steam time to 10 minutes.
2 minutes before ready place the spinach in the pot also.
When ready remove the chicken stock from the pot and place in a pan on hob. Reduce by half and then emulsify 1 tbsp peanut butter and 1 tsp peanut oil until sauce thickens. (about 1-2 minutes)
Serve meatballs on the bed a spinach and pour sauce over. Yummy!