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Archive for August, 2007

Rolled Chicken with Jamon Serrano

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts, skinned and flattened
2 oz melted butter
1 clove of garlic, crushed
½ tbsp fresh oregano
8 slices of Jamon Serrano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Flatten each chicken breast between two pieces of cling film

Mix together the butter, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper and divide into two. Spread some over each of the chicken breasts. Lay 4 slices of Jamon Serrano on top and roll up each escalope, ensuring the sides are tucked in - secure with a cocktail stick.

Transfer to a baking dish, brush the remaining flavoured butter over the outside of the rolls and cook in a preheated oven set to 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, turning occasionally

Remove from the dish, cut each piece into rounds and place in a serving dish

Patriotic Pie

This is a fun recipe my mother came up with sometime ago.

Pastry:
9 oz plain flour
1 tsp salt
6 oz unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
4 tbsp ice water, plus more if needed
Zest of 1 unwaxed lime – finely chopped
1 egg

Fruit Filling:
3 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups cherries, quartered
2 cups white currants
¼ cup unrefined caster sugar
¼ cup cornflour
1 tbsp Lime Juice

Method

Sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl, stir in the lime zest, using a round bladed knife, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the iced water until the dough just holds together - without being wet or sticky. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough, if the pastry is still too crumbly add a little more water – a dessertspoon at a time

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface, divide in half, and place each half on a piece of cling film. Shape into disks, wrap in cling film and refrigerate overnight

Roll out the dough between two pieces of cling film into a 12” circle. Take off one piece of cling film and use the second to fit the pastry into an 8” pie plate, pressing around the edges. Trim pastry leaving a ½” overhang. Fold edge of dough over or under, and crimp. Roll out remaining dough to the same size, place on a baking sheet and place both pieces of pastry into a refrigerator to chill – for about 45 minutes
Put the different types of fruit into separate bowls

Place the sugar, cornflour and Lime Juice into a small jug and stir to combine, divide between the three bowls and stir to combine.

Spoon the blueberries around the outside of the pastry case, add the white currants next, place the cherries into the centre, ensuring the mixture is nicely rounded towards the centre of the pie

Remove the second piece of pastry from the refrigerator and cut into ½” strips, lay across the pie making a lattice – cut off any excess and crimp the edges

Break the egg into a small bowl and whisk. Lightly brush with the beaten egg and refrigerate for an hour

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and place a baking tin on a shelf in the lower half of the oven

When the oven is up to temperature, place on the baking sheet and bake until the crust begins to turn a light golden brown, approximately 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180° Celsius, bake for another 45 minutes – turning the pie twice during the cooking time. The crust should be golden brown and juice thickened and bubbling

Transfer the pie dish onto a wire rack to cool completely

Best eaten on the day it is baked, or keep a maximum of 2 days covered with cling film