My all time favourite food bible

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Before & After - no recipe required

Chicken thighs in cherry tomatoes with garlic, chilli and basil, all drizzled with EVOO - just chuck it all in a roasting tin for just under an hour.

Jerk chicken with pomegranate rice

For the jerk chicken

4 part-boned chicken breasts, skin on (substitute boneless chicken breasts if part-boned are not available)
½ large onion, roughly chopped
2 scotch bonnet chillies, roughly chopped
40g/1½oz ginger, peeled and chopped roughly
125ml/4½fl oz malt vinegar
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp cracked black pepper
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
3 tbsp dark soy sauce

For the rice

200g/7oz basmati rice
1 pomegranate, seeds only
1 small bunch chervil leaves
4 tbsp chives, roughly chopped
50g/2oz frisée lettuce, roughly chopped
1 lime, zest and juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
2 limes, cut into wedges

Preparation method
For the jerk chicken, using a sharp knife, make deep cuts into the chicken flesh and place into a bowl.
Place the remaining jerk chicken ingredients into a food processor and blend to a purée. Pour the marinade over the chicken and turn to coat all the pieces. Place into the fridge for at least four hours, but preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Heat a griddle pan until very hot. Add the chicken pieces and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side, then place onto a baking tray.
Spoon the remaining marinade over the chicken and transfer to the oven to cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 2-3 minutes before serving.
For the rice, place the rice into a saucepan with 400ml/14fl oz of cold water. Cover with a lid and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer very gently until all of the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender (about 10-15 minutes). Turn off the heat and leave to steam for 5-6 minutes.
Place the rice into a bowl and add all the remaining rice ingredients and mix well to combine. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To serve, spoon a little of the rice onto each plate and top with a piece of jerk chicken. Garnish with a couple of wedges of lime.

Mrs Nightingale’s Speedy Scooby Snack

Torta al Testo (with Ricotta, Rocket and Parma Ham)

Drained of enthusiasm for all things culinary after Christmas, I spend the first few weeks of January relying on fallback, quick fix suppers and snacks. I don’t know about you, but I ate far too much. I have Post Traumatic Dining Syndrome, and simply cannot face big meals for the first few weeks of the New Year.

My default “Scooby Snack” does not require anything more than a few moments assembly, mere minutes on a red hot griddle, and as quickly as you can say “Roberto’s your Uncle” this snappy little Umbrian supper is ready to eat. Cut into wedges and eat as a finger food; you won’t even need cutlery.

Torta al Testo (which translates as Cake of the Tile) is a tasty savoury Panino, and even quicker to prepare than a shop bought Pizza. In Umbria, this bread is cooked on a terracotta tile over an open fire, but thankfully, a ribbed griddle on the stove is equally effective if a little less authentic.

It’s essentially a stuffed flatbread, and you may use any variety of cheeses and cold meats. I chose Ricotta, Rocket & Parma Ham for my recipe; a flavor combination that is distinctly Italian. For an extra zing, I like to use Lemon Olive Oil if I have it in the larder.

You may wish to consider making your own dough, but in all honesty, this snack will not suffer from using a shop bought flatbread, namely a tortilla (which incidentally are just the best food shop staple; a packet of 20 lasts for ages in the fridge and they are incredibly versatile). As the inspiration behind my recipe is ease, speed and lack of any effort whatsoever, I do not feel at all guilty in suggesting that you cheat with a pre-made ingredient.

Ingredients:

Tortilla flatbreads
Parma Ham
Rocket
Ricotta
Olive oil

Optional – Pecorino (grated)

Method:

1. Heat a heavy frying pan or griddle over medium low heat until very hot.

2. Smear Ricotta Cheese generously over a flatbread, and top with Parma Ham, and a mound of rocket leaves (a little grated Pecorino on top of the rocket is wonderful, if you have it).

3. Season with salt & pepper, and lightly dress with olive oil.

4. Gently fold the flatbread in half, drizzle one side with a touch of olive oil and pop into the hot pan, oiled side down. After a few minutes, add a little more oil on top of the uncooked side, and flip over for a few minutes until crisped and lightly browned.

5. Remove, cut into wedges and for a light supper, serve alongside a big salad. Alternatively, eat as a finger food snack.


Tip:

Alternative flavor combinations: Do you enjoy the classic Pizza flavours ? Use mozzarella, tomato and basil leaves drizzled with olive oil as your ingredients. Try Camembert, Baby Spinach & Crispy Bacon, or perhaps Goat’s Cheese & Chorizo.