Recipe 18: Maple-glazed chicken

I am so gutted I gave the Donna Hay recipe book to my mates husband for Christmas, there were so many awesome recipes to try out! I am starting to feel bad as when I am over there I end up just sitting in the kitchen going through their recipe books! This serves two as well, so there is no waste- something that is now become so important as finances are getting tighter.

Maple-Glazed Chicken

1/4 cup Maple syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/2 tsp seasalt flakes
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 x 200g skinless chicken breast fillets
roasted parsnips and steamed sugar-snap peas, to serve.

METHOD

1. Place the maple syrup, water, chilli, salt and pepper in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
2. Bring to a simmer and add the chicken.
3. Cook for 4-5 minutes each side or until chicken is cooked through. 
4. Serve the chicken with the pan sauce, roasted parsnips and sugar snap peas.

Recipe 17: Rustic Summer Crumb Pasta

I love this recipe, all the ingredients are general stock standard items in our cupboards and after creating my vegetable patch, I have tonnes of herbs available. The only thing we don't have is buffalo mozzarella, so I generally replace this with either, grated mozzarella or parmesan. Even better, (as we tend not to eat leftovers very often) the recipe serves 2.

Rustic Summer Crumb Pasta

200g Spaghetti
100g sourdough or crusty bread
8 sun-dried tomato halves
2 tsps of crushed garlic
salt and pepper
11/2 tblsp Olive Oil
1/3 cup small basil leaves
1 small buffalo mozzarella, halved
2 tblsp balsamic vinegar
extra olive oil and grated parmesan to serve.

METHOD

1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes
2. Drain and return to pan to keep warm. While the pasta is cooking, place the bread, tomato, garlic, salt and pepper and oil in a bowl of a food processer (I used the stick blender again) and process in short bursts until the mixture resembles small crumbs.
3. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the crumb mixture and cook, stirring for 4-5 minutes or until the crumbs are golden. Toss the crumbs and basil with the pasta.
4. Divide between serving bowls and top with the mozzarella. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and extra olive oil.

Recipe 15: Greek inspired meatballs

My best friend and her husband are huge cooking fanatics. Her husband especially makes the most divine dinners and love cookbooks, so whilst over there a couple of weeks ago I went rummaging through his books and found this recipe by Donna Hay, a well known Australian cook.

Greek inspired Meatballs

1/3 cup couscous
2/3 cup chicken stock
300g mince
1 tblsp honey
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1 tsp chopped rosemary
salt and pepper
80g feta chopped coarsely
Flatbread, hummus, baby spinach leaves,mint leaves and halved cherry tomatoes to serve.

METHOD

1. Place the couscous in a bowl and pour over the hot stock. Cover with plastic wrap and stand until the stock has been absorbed. 
2. Combine the couscous, mince, honey, lemon rind, rosemary, salt and pepper and mix well. Stir in the feta.
3. Shape the mixture into 1/3 cup flat patties
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the pattie and cook for 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through
5. to serve, place flat-bread on serving plates and spread with hummus. Top with spinach leaves, mint, tomato and the meatballs.