Chicken & Mushroom Pie served with Clifton Kitchen Greek Salad

Tags

balsamic, capers, chicken, cream, dairy baking, eggs, feta, food and drink, Greek style salad, green peppers, Kalamata olives, milk, Olive oil, onions, organic, puff pastry, radishes, recipe, red wine vinegar, salad, Seasoning, Thyme, tomatoes

When one manages to find good organic products it is a bit like finding your own gold deposit. Every two weeks I receive a delivery of good organic meat from Simply Wholesome and or Go Go’s; the selection which may range from good strong heavy boned chickens to a leg of young goat, eggs, butter, organic wine and whatever new products they may have managed to source, which I am always keen to try.

The chicken produced a fantastic roast, good flavour, and being so large also provided sufficient meat for a chicken pie, this was served together with the Clifton Kitchen Greek style salad.

If you have some puff pastry in the deep freeze, to make this pie is quick and easy.

Chicken Pie

Serves 6

Ingredients

300g cooked chicken, diced

1 large onion, finely chopped

15ml fresh Thyme finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

200g Portobello mushrooms or button mushrooms, finely sliced

60ml dry sherry

150ml cream

100ml milk

3 large eggs

Olive oil

Seasoning, salt and pepper

Method

Set the oven to 180C. Roll the puff pastry to line a 20cm loose bottom tart or quiche tin. Using a fork, lightly prick the base all over, insert some baking paper and top with baking marbles or beans. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the baking marbles and return to the oven for 5 more minutes, remove and set to one side while you prepare the filling.

In a pan sauté the onions in some olive oil until translucent, add the garlic and Thyme and sauté for a few about 5 more minutes, remove from pan to a dish.

To the same pan add the mushrooms and sauté until the liquid produced by the mushrooms, has evaporated and the mushrooms are golden brown. Add the sherry and cook for a few more minutes. Add mushrooms to onion mix and season, add the diced chicken.

In a bowl mix together the eggs, milk and cream, season lightly then pour mixture over the filling and incorporate well. Pour filling into pre-cooked tart base.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes, by which time the custard should be just set.

Serve with Clifton Kitchen Greek salad

Clifton Kitchen Greek Salad

This is an elegant salad bursting with full flavours of cheese, olives and fresh ingredients.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 English cucumber, diced

5 tomatoes, diced

6 radishes thinly sliced

1 medium onion thinly sliced. Red if possible

1 green pepper, finely diced

300g Kalamata olives, pips removed

30g capers

200g feta, crumbled

10ml dried oregano

120ml olive oil

20ml red wine vinegar

A drop or two of balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a bowl combine the cucumber, tomato, radishes, onion and green pepper. Scatter over the olives, capers, feta and oregano. Drizzle over the olive oil and vinegars; toss well to coat all of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper as needed, serve.

Gingerbread Cake drizzled with orange glaze

Tags

cake, citrus, eggs, Flour, free rangee, gingerbread, glaze, icing, icing sugar, milk, muscovado sugar, orange juice, orange zest, preserved ginger, treacle

Another swathe of rainy and overcast weather has set in for the day here in Cape Town. Downstairs the under floor heating has provided a nice toasty warmth, a good day for making some comfort food. Gingerbread with its warming spices is just the thing and with oranges being in season, I think they will be perfect choice to use in the glaze for the topping of this delicious cake.

Rich and treaclely this gingerbread is addictive and good. I think this recipe could also be a good alternative to a traditional Christmas cake.

Recipe

Ingredients

For the cake

225g/8oz butter, softened

225g/8oz light muscovado sugar

225g/8oz golden syrup

225g/8oz black treacle

225g/8oz self-raising flour, sifted

225g/8oz wholemeal self-raising flour, sifted

4 tsp. ground ginger

2 tablespoon preserved stem ginger, chopped

2 free-range eggs, beaten

300 ml/10½fl oz. milk

For the orange icing

150g/5oz icing sugar

1 orange, juice and zest

Method

Line a 23cm/9in square cake tin at least 4cm/1½in deep with baking parchment.

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.

Place the butter, sugar, golden syrup and black treacle into a pan and heat gently until the mixture has melted evenly. Set aside to cool slightly.

Sift the flours, ground ginger and stem ginger into a large mixing bowl and mix gently. Pour the cooled butter mixture into the flour. Add the eggs and milk and beat with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Pour the cake batter into the tin and level the surface with a palette knife or the back of a spoon. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the cake has risen and is golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Set aside to cool slightly in the tin, transfer the cake to a wire rack and set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, for the orange icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add about two tablespoons of the orange juice and mix to a smooth paste. Add more orange juice, as necessary, until you get a smooth icing of the consistency you desire.

Pour the icing over the cooled cake and spread lightly, allowing it to ooze over the edges. Sprinkle over chopped orange zest and set the cake aside until the icing has set.