When Paella rice isn't an option......{Wild Rice Paella}

Because paella rice really isn't an option for me. Complex carbs only which is fine I like sweet potato and brown rice. I went for another run yesterday night which was the fourth day of exercise in a row (probably a record for me) and my body was in need of some serious carbs. Now I'm not saying this is the healthiest dish in town - the chorizo sees to that (and paella without chorizo makes me sad) BUT the use of brown and red wild rice, soya beans and extra veg makes it that bit better for you. I'm sorry I'm a bit scatty with my measurements I do tend to just throw things in a pan!

Wild Rice Paella

1 cup red and brown wild rice, uncooked

2 banana shallots, diced 

100g chorizo, sliced into £1 coin thickness

1/2 red chilli, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 TSP dried red chillies

5 mushrooms, cubed 

1 TSP paprika

pinch saffron

splash white wine or brandy

chicken stock, fresh is best or from a stock pot

couple of handfuls of  frozen soya beans 

handful frozen peas

10 raw prawns 

1 tomato, cubed

put the chorizo in a heavy based shallow pan, and cook for 5 minutes until the oils are released and they start to crisp up slightly. add in the chilli, garlic and shallots and stir until softened. add in the dried chilli, paprika, mushrooms, and saffron. stir for a few minutes then add in the rice and coat it in the pan oils. splash in some wine and cook it off and the add in a good amount of stock, i covered the rice and a good 2 1/2 inches more. leave on a moderate and keep an eye on it but don't stir. when the stock is almost all absorbed check the rice - if it's still hard add some more stock if not then add in the soya beans, peas, prawns and tomato and cover the pan. cook on low for another 5-10 minutes or so and then everything should be cooked nicely. serve.

Basking in Dry January....... {Chicken Basque}

One of my plans to own my 2015 is to loose some weight and to kick it off H and I have been partaking in Dry January. Its a great way to get cracking on healthy eating and lifestyle and lets face it a rest from the booze is never a bad thing. So Saturday night came around and as we weren't drinking and we were still quite tired from the Christmas and New Years holidays we decided to have a night in and I decided to cook us a nice but relatively well balanced meal. It also gave me a chance to try my new cookware - a present to myself , I couldn't resist as it was half price in Sainsburys. This recipe is one I have loved for years - Delia Smith to thank for that and I'm giving you my version of it here, it's rustic cooking at it's best. Enjoy!

Chicken Basque

(Original recipe by Delia Smith and can be found here)

6 small chicken fillets

1 large red pepper, sliced 

1 Spanish onion, thickly sliced 

4 tbsp olive oil

150g Chorizo, cut into slices thickness of £1 piece

100g sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped 

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp smoked paprika 

1 tbsp tomato puree 

125g brown basmatic rice

125g wild rice 

300ml chicken stock

200ml dry white wine 

1/2 orange cut into wedges 

50g pitted olives (I used black and green)

put 2tbsp of the olive oil into the pan and brown off the chicken. Remove from pan. Add the rest of the oil and the onions and peppers, cook for 5 minutes or so until they have softened and browned off slightly. Add in the chorizo, tomatoes and garlic and cook for couple of miutes, stirring constantly. stir in the rice and make sure the grains are coated in the oil. Add the tomato puree, stock and wine and seasn. bring to a simmer. place the chicken on the top of the rice with orange and olives dotteded in between (my photos show how it should look. Cover and put in oven at 180oC for and hour, until rice has cooked through. 

When One Raids the Contents of Ones Fridge......... {Spanish Wild Rice}

The other day was one of those days when I hadn't planned what we were going to eat, I had no idea what I wanted us to eat and I hadn't gone to the shop to buy anything to eat so I just opened the fridge and cupboard and cobbled something together. I like cooking like that as I'm a firm believer that if you trust your experience of flavours, textures and ingredients there's always something that can be made from not much at all and as a budding cook its the best way to learn. This was a sort of combination of a basque and a paella and it tasted wonderful; the oil for the chorizo and the peppers delicately flavouring the nutty rice. I had to blog it as H loved it so much and I need to remember the recipe....

Spanish Wild Rice  

150g Chorizo, sliced in to circles size of pound coin 
one chicken breast cut into chunks 
one large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
1/2 orange pepper, sliced
approx 200g cooked wild rice 
200ml chicken stock
100ml white wine 
1 TBSP tomato puree 
couple handfuls frozen peas
S&P

cook the chorizo in the pan, remove with slotted spoon. add chicken and cook in the chorizo oil, one cooked through and golden brown remove, add onion garlic and pepper to pan and cook until soften. add in the chorizo and chicken with tomato puree, stock and wine cook off for a couple of minutes before adding rice and frozen peas, season and transfer to oven proof dish and place in oven 200oC for approx 30-40minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the dish is piping hot. 

All in one ....... {Roasted Spanish Chicken}

Autumn is the time of year when you want lovely filling, comforting food - sticky ribs, stews, roasts but with both H an I working long hours at our jobs we don't really have a lot of time to prepare that sort of thing. Autumn really does become the season of food that can be cooked in one pot or on one tray and if I'm honest that's the kind of cooking I like best.

My old housemate Paul taught me how to make this dish and I think he got it from the lovely Nigella, I've just tweaked it a bit. We always tend to have chorizo in the fridge and chicken in the freezer so its a go to dish of mine. It's very easy to prepare and it tastes sensational - the chicken and chorizo juices blending together with the orange zest and garlic. Perfect with a large glass of red and the sound of rain.

Spanish Chicken 

5 chicken thighs

150g chorizo, cut into rounds the thickness of a pound coin

8 shallots, peeled and cut in half

250g new potatoes, I used apache as I love the colour and they are perfect for roasting

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled 

zest of one orange 

bay leaf

olive oil

S&P

take the chorizo, shallots, potatoes and garlic and tumble into a roasting dish. add a TBSP of olive oil and mix together until coated. Place the chicken on top and drizzle with oil and season with S&P. Sprinkle half the zest over the chicken and other ingredients. Cook on high for 20 minutes. Take the dish out and add rest of the zest and then put the dish back in the oven at a lower heat and cook for a remaining 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.  

Linking up with Honest Mum 

And with Delcious Dish Tuesday with Eat Drink and Be Mary and Full Time Mama