Colcannon Chicken and Apple Pie
I was looking for something a bit different to add to the potato topped pies that I like and keep for suppers by myself in the freezer and I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com. Note that this website marks all recipes as to gluten-free, vegetarian etc.
The ingredients I used for the pie were.
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 450 gram chicken breast fillets cut into chunks
- 2 carrots, thickly sliced
- 250 ml. pf chicken stock
- 250 ml. of dry cider – Aspalls of course!
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tsp dried tarragon
- 2 Cox’s apples, thickly sliced
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- salt and pepper
And for the Colcannon topping I used.
- 700 grams of potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 200 grams of Savoy cabbage, shredded
- 4 tbsp of semi-skimmed goats milk
- 25 gramsbutter
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped.
These quantities make enough for four, so I froze some of it for later.
The method was as follows.
- Heat the oil in a large, deep, non-stick frying pan. Add the onion and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes or until softened.
- Add the chicken to the pan and cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink. Stir in the carrots.
- Combine the stock, cider, mustard and tarragon, and pour into the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. Stir in the apples and cook, covered, for a further 10 minutes or until the chicken and carrots are tender, and the apples have softened but are still holding their shape.
- Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water for about 15 minutes or until tender. Cook the cabbage in a separate pan of boiling water for 4–5 minutes or until just tender but not soft; drain well.
- Drain the potatoes and return them to the pan. Add the milk and butter, and mash until smooth. Stir in the cabbage and spring onions, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover to keep warm.
- Using a draining spoon, transfer the chicken, apples and vegetables to a 1.7 litre (3 pint) ovenproof dish. Set aside.
- Mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp cold water, stir into the cooking liquid in the frying pan and bring to the boil, stirring until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then pour over the chicken mixture.
- Pile the potato and cabbage topping over the chicken mixture, spreading it evenly to cover. Place in the top oven of the AGA and bake until golden brown.
I made a couple of mistakes in that I didn’t make enough topping and the sauce could have done with more thickening. But it was well worth the ewffort.
Chicken, Bacon and Potato Pie
This is effectively a version of Shepherds Pie, that uses pieces of chicken breast and bacon, rather than mince. I made it to clear some chicken breasts out of my freezer and also make my left hand do some work by peeling potatoes.
This simple meal used the following ingredients to make three, two of which I froze after cooking.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 4 chicken breasts
- 4 rashers of bacon
- 1 jar Bay Tree Cracked Black Pepper and Mustard Cooking Sauce
- 1 kilo of King Edward or similar potatoes
- Milk and fat to mash the potatoes with
The method was as follows.
- Chop the chicken and bacon into small pieces and fry in the olive oil in a large saucepan.
- When the chicken is brown and the bacon is cooked through, add the shallots and the carrots and continue cooking for perhaps ten minutes, after which you stir in the sauce and simmer for perhaps 10-15 minutes.
- Whilst the chicken and vegetables are cooking, boil and mash the potatoes.
- Pour meat and sauce into an 11-inch by 7-inch baking dish or individual foils for freezing and allow to cool slightly. Top with potato.
- Bake in the bottom of the top oven of the AGA.
For something I made up with what I had available it worked out quite well.
It will be interesting to see how the ones I have frozen turn out, when I eat them in a couple of weeks!
Spring Onion Chicken
The basis for this recipe comes from Group Recipes, although I’ve modified it slightly to make it gluten-free.
The ingredients were.
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons of gluten-free soy sauce – I used Life from MH Foods.
- 3 stalks of spring onion
- some root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- a clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon of dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons of Demerara sugar
- 1/4 cup of chicken stock
The original used rice wine, but I substituted dry sherry as I had a bottle to get rid of. Does anybody drink sherry these days?
The method was as follows.
- Cut the chicken into pieces. Marinate with dark soy sauce and set aside for about 15 minutes.
- Heat up 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a wok. I used a large flat frying pan, as AGAs don’t do woks well. While doing so, cut spring onion in the bias into one and a half inch pieces. Finely chop the ginger.
- Stir fry the garlic and chicken until chicken changes colour. Set aside on a hot plate.
- Stir fry the ginger and spring onions until fragrant. Add chicken, sherry, sugar and chicken stock. Mix well, cover and allow to braise over low heat for about 10 minutes.
I served it with rice.
Chicken Goujons
This is a recipe I used for my party. Everybody liked them.
I used the following.
- A pack of four boneless and skinless chicken breasts. I don’t know how to bone and skin!
- Half a pot of natural yogurt.
- A good teaspoonful of curry powder.
- Zest of a lime.
The method is simple.
- Slice the chicken into long, thin strips. I found it best to slice slightly across the chicken. These are then places in a baking tray. As it was a party I used disposable ones.
- Mix the yogurt, curry powder and zest of the lime in a bowl and then spoon it all over the chicken. I also turned the chicken, so that everything was well covered. It was then left to marinate for about twenty minutes.
- I then cooked it in the bottom of the top oven of the AGA for about twenty minutes, turning them in the sauce every five minutes or so,
Everybody liked them. They also seemed to keep well for a couple of days in the fridge.
Moroccan Chicken Casserole
This is something I wouldn’t have cooked, as if asked I would have said that I didn’t like apricots. But it was very nice. As I cooked it late at night, I actually froze it in four small pots and have only ate it after defrosting in the AGA.
The great advantage for me about this recipe is that it only uses one saucepan.
I got it from Crazy Squirrel.
You will need the following for four.
- 8 Chicken thighs – I used 4 breasts cut in half
- 2 Onions, chopped
- 2cm piece Root ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 180g Dried apricots
- 500ml Chicken stock – I made a gluten-free stock from a Marigold bouillon powder
- Salt and freshly ground Black pepper
And this is how you make it.
- In a large saucepan fry the chicken thighs over a high heat until brown all over (approximately 10 minutes).
- Add the onion and spices and fry for a further 5 minutes until the onion has softened.
- Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
It is very simple.
The Anonymous Widower 