Chicken parcels

The basic idea behind this recipe is that the chicken cooks in its own steam so is very tender and juicy, and the flavourings both infuse the chicken itself and mix with the juices to make a small amount of sauce. The photo shows Thai green curry chicken but the flavour combinations are endless - see the notes below. Great for serving up everyone's favourites while catering to different tastes!

Makes: As many servings as you wish, just use a chicken breast per person
Takes: 5 minutes + 30 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

1 chicken breast
Any flavourings you wish, see below

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200oC/fan oven 180oC.
2. Cut a piece of foil about 12" square and lightly oil or butter the centre of it. Place the chicken breast onto the foil and add the other ingredients.
3. Bring the edges of the foil together and scrunch to seal, trapping air inside the parcel to allow the chicken to steam. Place the parcel into a roasting tin and cook for 30 minutes.
4. Transfer the parcel to a plate, add potatoes or rice and vegetables, and allow each diner to open his or her own parcel - being careful of the steam! The juices that collect can be poured over the chicken and rice or potatoes as a sauce.

There are so many variations on this theme. A really simple flavour would be lemon juice and fresh herbs - sprinkle a tablespoon or so of lemon juice over the chicken then add some chopped parsley, for example. The photo above shows Thai green curry chicken, which I made by spreading the chicken breast with Thai green curry paste then adding 2 tablespoons of coconut milk and some chopped coriander. You can use a little tomato puree and some grated cheese for 'pizza' chicken, or try butter, finely chopped garlic and sliced mushrooms. Or keep it very simple by adding a little chicken stock to each parcel.

Just one word of warning - you may need to allow longer if cooking several of these at once. Check by carefully opening one of the parcels and sticking a sharp knife into the thickest part of the breast to check that the inside is no longer pink and the juices are clear.

You can also cook fillets of fish this way, though they would only need about 20 minutes in the oven.

Pesto chicken

I use my nut-free pesto for this but you can of course use the usual kind, bought or homemade.

Makes: 2 servings

Takes: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 boneless chicken breasts, skin on

2 tbsp pesto

salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp milk

Method

1. 
   
   Loosen the skin of the chicken with your fingers, making sure it stays attached along one side. Spread 1/2 tablespoon pesto over each chicken breast, pull the skin back over to cover, then season.
2. 
   
   Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat then place the chicken into the pan skin side down. Fry for about 3 minutes until the skin is crisp.
3. 
   
   Turn the chicken over, reduce the heat, then cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
4. 
   
   Add the other tablespoon of pesto to the pan with the milk, mix with the juices and heat till bubbling. Season to taste. Serve the chicken with the pesto sauce poured over.

Notes: Great served with new potatoes roasted with sprigs of rosemary, and with a green vegetable such as spinach, green beans or broccoli.

You could get away with using a bit less oil if you have a good non-stick pan, but you do need to use a little to get the skin to crisp.

Aromatic Chicken Curry

This is a full-flavoured curry with a rich sauce, delicious with rice and naan bread :-) (Chipped plate optional!)

Makes: 2 servings
Takes: 15 minutes preparation + 30 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 garlic clove
3cm piece of fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 ripe tomatoes
2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
150ml (1/4 pint) chicken stock
2 tbsp half-fat creme fraiche
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic, add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
2. Finely grate the ginger and add to the pan with the spices, cooking for a further minute.
3. Chop the tomatoes and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add tomatoes and chicken to the pan with the chicken stock and bring to the boil.
4. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is thick and rich.
5. Turn off the heat and stir in the creme fraiche, adding salt and pepper to taste.

The sauce can be frozen at the end of step 4. Reheat then add the creme fraiche to serve.
It's easy to increase the quantities (especially if wanting to freeze part of the sauce) but allow extra cooking time.
You can use garlic puree, ginger puree and a couple of tinned tomatoes if preferred.

Chinese Steamed Chicken

The chicken is so moist and tender and succulent cooked this way! (Sorry about the poor photo - I'll update it when I make this again. And I will make this again!)

Makes: 2 servings
Takes: 10 minutes + 10 minutes cooking time

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tsp dry sherry
2 pak choi (Chinese cabbage) or 100g Chinese leaf
a couple of generous pinches of Chinese five spice powder
1 tsp sesame oil
2 spring onions
salt and black pepper

Method

1. Using a sharp knife, cut into the chicken breasts twice on each side. Put into a polythene bag with the soy sauce and sherry, seal the top, shake well and set aside for at least 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, set some water to boil in a saucepan and place a steamer basket on top.
3. Halve the pak choi or shred the Chinese leaf. Place into a shallow heatproof bowl that is small ennough to fit into the steamer. Season lightly.
4. Place the chicken breasts on top and pour over the marinade. Sprinkle over the five spice powder and sesame oil. Top with long, thin strips of spring onion.
5. Put the plate into the steamer and cover. Steam for 10 minutes, till the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with rice and steamed or lightly boiled vegetables.

Notes:

We didn't have any light soy sauce, so I used dark. It didn't seem to matter too much.
We didn't have any dry sherry, so I used cream sherry. It didn't seem to matter too much.
We didn't have any pak choi or Chinese leaf, so I used Choi Sum. I found it very bitter but The Doctor liked it.
I didn't feel the need to add extra salt, as the soy sauce is quite salty in itself. It didn't seem to matter too much.
I don't like spring onion, so I missed it out. It didn't seem to matter too much.
We didn't have a bowl that would fit into the steamer, so I lined it with the Choi Sum and was very careful how I poured on the marinade. We lost some of the juices in dishing up but it didn't seem to matter too much.
This appears to be a very forgiving recipe :-)