Monday, June 22, 2020

Chicken and dill balls in tomato sauce



This is for you, Maria Ganotis Brent, as I try to stop hitting the carbs during COVID lockdown. Sadly we didn’t get to meet this year in Greece or the Lake District but there will always be του χρόνου. But I often think of you as I gobble down bread (albeit multigrain sourdough) and know that I should be reducing my carb intake, particularly the refined products and sugar.  Yes, I know I served this with rice but you don’t have to.

As readers of this blog know, I love meatballs in any shape or form. These happened because I found chicken mince in Piedimonte’s and looked to see what I had in the fridge and pantry. The other evening I watched a cookery show of Jamie Oliver and was in awe about how he used up all his dying vegetables to make sachets of tomato sauce to freeze. Yes, I do use whatever is around to make sauces but not usually in volumes enough to store.  I find there are good ready made sauces in the supermarket and I always have some of those ready at hand in the pantry whether I am in Melbourne or Athens. This time I used a Melbourne favourite, the Five Brothers tomato and basil pasta sauce.



Ingredients 

500 gr tomato sauce
250 gr water
500 gr chicken mince
3 teaspoons crushed garlic
3 teaspoons crushed ginger root
2 tablespoons chopped dill
2 spring onions
Olive oil
Shaved Parmesan 
Wholemeal brown basmati rice



Mode

Place the tomato sauce in a pan to heat
Add the water to sauce jar, shake and add to sauce
Stir to combine
Bring to simmer and reduce heat
Place chicken mince in bowl
Crush garlic and ginger and add
Chop dill and add
Chop spring onions and add
Stir to combine thoroughly using hands if needed
With a tablespoon sized mixture form balls
Meanwhile heat olive oil in frying pan
In batches seal the chicken balls in the oil and add to the tomato sauce
Simmer in sauce until cooked through and imbued with tomato sauce flavours
Serve with multigrain basmati rice and sprinkle with shaved Parmesan. 


Sunday, June 14, 2020

Lemon and pomegranate chicken



I always love cooking Alba’s chicken wings in garlic and as well as the constant variants on it I decide about when I look in my pantry while cooking. The focus in this one includes the normal salt, garlic and lemon but with the addition of ginger and pomegranate molasses. Yummy! 



Ingredients

16 chicken drumettes
2 dessertspoon rock salt
3 lemons
1.5 tbs of minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger root
4 tsp pomegranate molasses



Mode

Preheat oven to 210c.
Arrange the chicken drumettes in a baking dish
Sprinkle with rock salt 
Roast for 30 minutes
Meanwhile juice the lemons
Add minced garlic, minced ginger and pomegranate molasses to juice (about 350 ml in total)
Stir thoroughly
Remove the chicken from the oven and pour the  mixture over chicken
Return to oven and roast for another 25-35 minutes.