Paella with seafood and chicken

Preparation - 20 minutes
Cooking - about an hour
Serves 4 to 6

	This is not meant to be a true Spanish Paella but just my version of a delicious one.  It’s not as complicated as it looks!!!
Instructions	Ingredients
Mix together in a large bowl	2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tsp Basil 1 tsp paprika salt black pepper
Then stir in, cover and refridgerate	Cut chicken pieces
Heat in a large frying pan /casserole	2 tblsp olive oil
Then add and cook for about 3 minutes	3 cloves garlic 1 choppped sweet pepper (red) 1 large chopped onion 2 cups short grain rice
Stir the rice mixture to ensure rice is coated with oil, then stir in	1 tsp Turmeric 1 fresh Bay leaf handful of peas fish stock zest of one lemon
Chop and add to mixture	small handful flat leaf parsley
Bring to boil, cover and simmer on a gentle heat for  20 minutes
Meanwhile, In another frying pan, heat	Another 2 tblspns Olive oil
Then stir in the contents of marinade (chicken etc),  and cook for about 15 mins before stirring in	chorizo sausage cut into about 15 thin slices
Cook for 5 mins then add	1lb cooked shrimp smoked salmon cut into bite sized pieces ½ lb mussels a few shell on large shrimp
Cook for a further five minutes until mussels are open
Finally add the contents of both pans together and cook for the last few minutes
Arrange on a serving dish  and serve garnished with	Lemon Quarters

Leftovers pie

I had a friend from Luxembourg drop in on Sunday and I decided to cook a roast chicken dinner.  It was a pretty traditional thing with a lovely free range chicken and a mixture of roast vegetables.  I decided not to stuff the bird with my seasoning so I just put an onion in the cavity and let the juices blend with those of the onion, cooking the stuffing in a separate dish

In the same dish I put a couple of chipolata sausages and potatoes, pumpkin, courgette(zucchini), onion and carrots to roast, then popped the whole lot into a medium hot oven (180C) for about an hour

I also served a selection of nibbles as aperitifs and then a delicious pork pate de campagne with homemade multicereal bread made with a few nuts added. We followed the main course with a lovely selection of French cheeses, except, purely selfishly, I added a good English farmhouse cheddar. My guest brought dessert!  A glorious apple pie with an extravagant flaky pastry top and delicious shortcrust base.  The pie stands about 150mm (6") tall!! and we ate it without adding anything. 

Of course, there was quite a bit left over, particularly from the chicken and vegetables, so tonight I made a recipe I learned about from a relation just the other day.  Leftovers Pie.  I really wasn't sure about it but thought it was worth a try.  It turned out to be delicious

In a pie dish I spread out all the left over meat and vegetables, cutting everything into bite sized pieces.  I included all the leftovers, potatoes, roast vegetables, a few peas I had added to the dinner, the chicken and even one of the chipolatas and the left over stuffing until the dish was almost full.

Then I poured over the left over gravy and covered the dish with a puff pastry top.  As I always do, I used a ready made puff pastry.  I love making shortcrust pastry but have never managed to successfully make puff pastry and with such great ready mades available, I gave up trying many years ago.  The other thing about recipes for leftovers is, I believe, they should be extremely simple.  You've already cooked the meal so the ready made pastry makes it very simple and quick.

I popped the pie into a preheated oven at 190C and left it to cook for about an hour. 

The picture has been cropped so that you can't see just how much of the pie got eaten!!!

Baked Chicken

I have a friend who eats chicken.....lots of chicken.    When I say she eats lots of chicken I mean she eats chicken, at lots of times, breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night supper......  you get the idea.  I remember, recently, she was staying with me and, as with all our guests, off we went to Villereal for the Saturday morning market.   She hadn't had any breakfast before we left, settling just for a cup of coffee so when we arrived, the first task was to organise breakfast.   Now, I often have breakfast at the market...  I go to my favourite boulanger/pattissier  and buy croissant or apple turnovers or whatever takes my fancy.  Sometimes they have something seasonal, like last week, when they had a  "Poisson d'Avril" which was like a huge apple turnover but filled, not with apple but with a delicious almond paste......

 

But I digress, on the particular visit in question, I went off to my bakery to buy "Chausson au Pomme", an apple turnover and my friend went off in search of her breakfast....  Imagine my surprise when she returned to the bar, where I had ordered us a couple of noisettes, holding a large piece of spit roasted chicken.   The owner of the bar was completely unphased though, and when he brought our coffees simply wished us both "Bon Appetit" and announced he would bring a warm cloth so she could clean her fingers when she finished.

All this sprang into my mind the other day when I was searching through the freezer looking for something simple to cook for dinner and came across a couple of portions of chicken.

I decided to bake them with my herb and cheese crust.  It's very easy to make, smells gorgeous when you are preparing it and doesn't let you down when you come to eat it.

Baked Chicken in a Cheese and Herb crust

Serves 4

4 portions of chicken,
100gms (4oz) bread, (I use a stale crusty baguette),
100gms Strong hard cheese (I used Mature English Cheddar)
1 medium egg
Handful of Parsley
Sprig of fresh Mint
Sprig of fresh Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash the chicken and dry gently

In a food processor blend the bread, cheese and herbs.

Beat the egg and dip chicken in egg then coat generously with breadcrumb mix

Cook in the middle of preheated oven (180C) for 45 minutes

 

Note.  I subsequently made this with a selection of cheeses.....I used all the bits in the cheese box at the end of the week and, I'm not sure, but I thought it tasted  even better.   the breadcrumb/herb/cheese mixture also freezes really well.

 

It's a pity the boffins in Silicone Valley haven't come up with a way to send smells, as this really did smell so gorgeous, even before you cooked it.