Basil Chicken Cannelloni For My Suzy Poo

This one is for my dear friend Suzy. She is moving away and asked for me to keep posting things on here for her to make for her man. Lol. I have made this for the suzmeister before and she liked it so... here you are my love.

Basil Chicken Cannelloni on Wilted Spinach

Preparation Time 10 minutes Cooking Time 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1 3/4 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1 small white onion, cut into quarters

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 1/4 tbs plain flour

365ml milk

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

450g lean chicken breast mince

1 120g pkt instant dried cannelloni tubes

30g (1/4 cup) shredded light mozzarella

1 bunch English spinach, stems trimmed, washed

Method Position an oven shelf in top rack of oven. Preheat oven to 230°C. Brush a 17 x 23cm shallow (base measurement) baking dish with 1/2 tsp of oil. Place 1 1/2 cups of basil leaves, onion, garlic, flour, 85ml milk, remaining oil, 1/2 tsp salt in bowl of a food processor. Process until basil is chopped. Combine mince, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper and 1 tbs of basil mixture in bowl. Fill each cannelloni tube. Place in a single layer in the baking dish. Place remaining milk and basil mixture in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Pour sauce over the cannelloni and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes or until cannelloni are tender when pierced with a knife. Meanwhile, place the spinach with water clinging to the leaves in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, covered, shaking pan occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Place spinach on plates, top with 3 cannelloni tubes and remaining basil.

Recipe by Jane Charlton Australian Good Taste - July 2002

• Try using fresh lasagne sheets (you can buy them in packets in the dairy case at the supermarket) instead of the crusty old dried cannelloni tubes. You just put the filling in the centre of one sheet of lasagne pasta and roll 'em up! Easy as and they taste SO much better and don't go crusty and dry out when cooked.
• I found that adding a can of chopped tomatoes over the top of the dish along with the basil sauce makes it more of a 'meal'.
• I like serving this dish as an entree at dinner parties, as it is simple and tasty and gets the taste buds tingling. Mwah ha ha!!!!

The Best Spaghetti Carbonara EVER!

Ok, maybe it is just because I don't normally like your typical spaghetti carbonara as found in the local Italian restaurant, that I found this recipe scrumdiddlyumptious, because this vesion is so different. When I think of carbonara sauce I think rich, creamy and bacon. This sauce is not overly creamy nor rich and it uses Pancetta instead of bacon and lemon zest which gives it a fresh taste.

Chicken & Lemon Spaghetti Carbonara

Serves 4

• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 chicken breast fillets
• 450g dried spaghetti
• 175g piece smoked flat pancetta, cut into thin strips
• 4 sage leaves, chopped
• 2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks
• 100ml thickened cream
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 50g unsalted butter
• 100g aged parmesan, finely grated (please use the fresh stuff from your deli!!!!)

Heat half the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Season the chicken and cook for 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil.

Cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan of boiling water according to the packet directions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat remaining oil in the frypan over medium-high heat, then cook the pancetta for 3-4 minutes until lightly golden. Stir in the sage, then remove from the heat. Cut the chicken into small pieces.

Lightly beat the eggs, egg yolks, cream and lemon zest in a small bowl.

Drain the pasta, then return to the saucepan (off the heat). Immediately add the pancetta mixture, chicken, egg mixture, butter, two-thirds of the parmesan and some freshly ground black pepper. Toss together well - the residual heat from the spaghetti will cook the sauce to a smooth, creamy sauce. Serve immediatly, sprinkled with the remaining parmesan.

This recipe is from delicious. magazine.

Hints and Tips...

• I found i had to turn the stovetop back onto a very low heat at the end when mixting the sauce in with the cooked spaghetti - as the heat from the spaghetti wasn't quite doing the job.
• You can use speck or just streaky bacon instead of the pancetta.

Curry in a Hurry!

Feel like a curry that the whole family can enjoy and one that won't take all afternoon to cook?

Here is the answer... an oven baked curry with mango to sweeten it up so that kids will be asking for seconds.

Baked Curried Chicken and Mango

Serves 6

• 30g ghee or 1 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tbs Indian curry paste
• 1 large mango, flesh sliced
• 1 tsp chicken stock powder
• 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup thickened cream
• 6 chicken thigh fillets or cutlets (with bone), skin removed
• 1/2 cup coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 tbs slivered almonds, toasted
• couscous or rice to serve

Preheat the oven to 200oC. Heat ghee or oil in a pan. Add onion and cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring, until browned. Add curry, mango, stock powder, tomato and cream. Season, then bring to the boil.

Place the chicken in a greased baking dish. Pour the mango mixture over the chicken, cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for a further 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Garnish with coriander and slivered almonds and serve with cous cous or rice.

TIPS:

• ghee is clarified butter, used in Indian cooking and is available from supermarkets.
• If mangoes are out of season, use canned mango cheeks.
• I have used a can of chopped tomatoes before instead of fresh tomatoes.
• Use whatever Indian curry paste you prefer , depending on how spicy you want your curry to be.

This recipe was from Curry Magic - they sell spice mixes from their website. Check it out! currymagic.com.au

Cooking For Your Man...

It's experiment time! I cooked this one night for my friend Suzy. She loved it and told her boyfriend, who is living interstate, all about it. He said it sounded delicious so Suzy, who is visiting her man next week, has decided to try making it for him as a surprise. It is a wonderful example of Modern Asian Cuisine. An impressive dinner party dish. Enjoy! This recipe is from the cookbook, The Spirit House. If you enjoy this recipe I seriously suggest buying yourself a copy of this fantastic Thai cookbook. It is unbelievable!

Coriander, Sesame and Coconut-crusted Chicken with Kaffir Lime Sauce

Serves 4

• SAUCE
• 200ml coconut cream
• 1/2 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 6 double kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons chilli jam
• CHICKEN
• 1 teaspoon light palm sugar
• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves and stems
• 4x150g pieces chicken breast, skin removed
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 250g sugar snap peas

To make the sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. To prepare the chicken, dissolve the palm sugar in the oyster sauce. Stir in egg and the sesame seeds, shredded coconut, garlic and coriander. Spread the crust over the top of the chicken breasts and refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 200oC. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Carefully place the chicken breasts in the pan, crust side down, and cook over a moderate heat until crust is golden, about 5 minutes. Turn breasts and transfer to a baking tray, crust side up. Bake for approx 10 minutes. While chicken is cooking, bring a pot of water to the boil and lightly steam or blanch the sugar snap peas for 1 minute. Drain and divide between individual serving plates. Place chicken breast, crust side up, on peas and spoon sauce around.

You should find all of these ingredients in your supermarket. The Asian Food section is full of wonderous goodies! It can be very daunting for someone who hasn't cooked much Asian food before, so here is a very basic glossary...

• MIRIN - is an essential condiment used in Japanese cuisine, with a slightly sweet taste. It is a kind of rice wine similar to sake, but with a lower alcohol content.
• RICE WINE VINEGAR - Rice wine vinegar is made from rice and creates a less acidic product than other types of vinegar.
• KAFFIR LIME LEAVES - A small lime whose aromatic leaves are used fresh and dried in Asian cooking. You can buy these fresh leaves in packets in the produce section of the supermarket most of the time. The dried variety will be in jars in the Asian section. I have my own Kaffir Lime tree growing in a large pot in the backyard. I have been surprised as to how frequently I use the leaves. Only this particular variety of lime will give you the desired flavour.
• CHILLI JAM - You should be able to find this in the Asian section of your supermarket. It is great for using in stir fries and all kinds of dishes. The chilli jam I have at the moment is labeled as 'Chilli Paste" but the ingredients are the same. If you have trouble, here is a recipe for Chilli Jam.