Lime and ginger chicken

The Netherton freezer is accumulating pack ice faster than the Arctic is losing it and is in serious need of a de-frost.  We have been waiting for a cold spell, so we can store the contents outside the back door while the freezer sheds more tears than a love struck teenager.

But that seems unlikely, so we are eating our way through the contents.

This can lead to surprises, when unlabelled packages are unearthed and "oh I'd forgotten all about that" boxes resurface.

The latest plundering gave us a pack of chicken thighs and drumsticks, which were enlivened with one of our favourite cocktail combinations  - ginger and lime....... a Dark and Stormy, anyone?

Check out our recipe for lime and ginger in cake form too 

1 kg chicken pieces

2 tblsp lime marmalade

1 tblsp soy sauce

2½cm root ginger, peeled and grated

1 tsp crushed fennel seed

Salt and pepper

Mix all of the marinade ingredients and place in a dish.  Add the chicken pieces and ensure they are all well coated.  Leave to marinade for about an hour, turning from time to time.

Heat the oven to 190ºC.

Tip the chicken and the marinade into a prospector pan ( I used a 10" one) and place in the oven.

Cook for 30 minutes, checking to ensure that the juices run clear.

Serve with rice, to soak up all the lovely sauce and a forest of greens.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire © 2020

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Chicken dinner sausage rolls

Hands up if you love a roast chicken dinner.  Keep them up if you love a sausage roll or two.
Okay, I can see enough hands (in my mind's eye) to think that a chicken and stuffing sausage roll could be a popular choice, especially when served up with a tsunami of umami in the form of mushroom and wild garlic gravy.
Chuck in some chips and peas and there you have it; winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Start by soaking 10g dried mushrooms in 250ml hot water - we'll come back to these later, but you will need an intensely flavoured, brown stock.

150g breadcrumbs
Grated rind of a lemon
2 banana shallots, finely chopped
2 heaped teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
A handful of chopped parsley
2 eggs
250g cooked chicken, chopped into small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a little rapeseed oil in a frying pan.  As usual we used Bennett and Dunn's oil. Locally grown and pressed.
Gently fry shallots over a low heat until soft.
And before you come over all "it's alright for you but where I am I supposed to get banana shallots?" I got mine from Lidl and if you can't find just use a small onion instead.

Combine with all the other ingredients and set aside while you make the pastry.  
But first, turn on the oven to heat it to 200ºC
I've got a bit creative here, but you could just as well make your favourite pastry recipe or use a ready made short crust or flaky pastry.

100g plain flour
100g rye flour
100g cold butter
1 tblsp poppy seeds
125ml buttermilk
Pinch of salt

Combine the flours in a bowl and add the salt.
Chop the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flours until the whole lot looks like fine breadcrumbs. Is there any other way in which this stage of pastry making is ever described?
Add the poppy seeds and stir to distribute them evenly.
Pour in the buttermilk and bring the mixture together to form a stiff dough.
Turn out on to a floured surface and roll into a rough rectangle, approximately 25cm wide by 50 cm long 

Brush one long edge with water to form a seal.
Place chicken mix in a long sausage shape along the pastry

and carefully roll up along the long edge, bringing the dry side down onto the moistened edge.

Cut into even pieces - I made 16, but you can make fewer, bigger rolls if you prefer.
Place the rolls on a heavy duty baking plate and put into the oven

Bake at 200ºC for 20 minutes.

While they cook, prepare the gravy.

Melt 50g butter in a saucepan and add 1 finely chopped field mushroom or a couple of button mushrooms.
Cook until the mushrooms are soft.
Add 20g plain flour and cook, stirring continuously for 2 minutes.
Add the mushroom stock that you prepared, Blue peter fashion, earlier and stir well to incorporate it and remove any limps.
You can add a good splash of sherry or vermouth at this stage if you wish and, if it's in season, a handful of chopped wild garlic.
Cook over a low heat for at least 5 minutes.

Serve alongside the chicken and stuffing rolls, with a big bowl of home made chips and a mountain of peas.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2018 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk