What next with the chicken?

First and foremost – strain the stock, bag it and freeze, ready to use on another day. The strength of the stock has intensified and just gets better.

Back to the chicken and my memory is serving me well. In 2018 I shipped the original slow cooked version (stripped) up North when visiting the kids, that chicken was used to make what became known as “a sandwich for the soul”.

You now have a fast version of that chicken using the roasting bag method and who doesn't love a sandwich. The only task you have is to shred the chicken, hardly exhausting!

Here's a list of other ingredients you'll need.

At the top is good fresh bread, the sort that can be sliced into doorsteps – in other words thick slices of bread!

Then there's the “who likes what” list :

Who likes what?

It wouldn't be a sandwich without the extras, here are my

suggestions and it is not an exhaustive list!

Avocado, sliced or mashed to suit, with lemon

juice

Crispy bacon – and bits are better!

Good quality mayo

Beef tomatoes, sliced thinly

Beetroot relish or slices if you prefer

Any salad item you love – spring onions, shredded

iceberg lettuce

capers, cornichons

A slaw of your choice – up next is an Asian

recipe that will compliment your anise infused

shredded chicken

There's an old saying, Jewish in origin I'm sure, that chicken soup is good for the soul. We now have a sandwich for the soul – back then I'd never seen food disappear so quickly and, more to the point, my other benchmark, silently!

Tender, moist chicken - full of flavour – what's not to love.

… the slaw

The final catch up with the “back burner” bits

One of the most versatile of proteins is chicken – fillet in particular. If you are a regular to the blog then you'll know I'm a huge fan of slow cooking a whole chicken, particularly using star anise in the cavity.

However, sometimes you don't want the whole chicken but want the “slow cooked” tenderness and all those flavours but faster. Hold that thought … I give you, the roasting bag! Not a new invention I know but recently I tried an experiment to see whether I could replicate those slow cooked chicken anise flavours.

Have a look at the bags :

 

the cover speaks for itself!

£1.25 for 10

Here's my recipe – if you can call it that, more of an assembly!

Roasting bag chicken fillet

225g chicken stock

3 chicken breast fillets (570g)

2 roasted garlic cloves

2 tsps of star anise powder or 3 whole star anise

Pre-heat the oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

I found that if you place your roasting bag in a deep sided roasting tin and then follow the instructions below it keeps all the ingredients together, safely and conveniently.

Mix the star anise powder and roasted garlic together to form a paste and add to the stock. (If you're not using powdered star anise then just drop the whole spice into the bag with the garlic and the chicken). Place your chicken fillets in the roasting bag and pour in the stock, gently! Tie the end of the bag with the strip provided. Ensure that there is plenty of air in the bag and snip one end to allow the steam to escape. Bake for 40 minutes.

Have a look :

before roasting

after roasting – the stock is deep and rich

and infused with star anise

What next with the chicken?

Sally's favourite Homity Pie – the leftover pastry

I don't like wasting food and I never waste pastry.

In my kitchen I've got tart tins of all sizes – perfect for my leftovers.

Here's the tart tin I used :

the tin measures 10cms in diameter x 2.5cms deep

I had enough leftover pastry to line three

tart tins

bagged and ready for the freezer, for another day!

I had leftover filling too and yep, boxed and into the freezer.

A very satisfying use of all the ingredients and the best bit – Sally loved it!

Now for the next piece of kitchen kit ...

Sally's favourite Homity Pie – the dish

I wouldn't normally use a foil pie dish, in the interests of recycling and climate change et al but when I do I re-use them. However in this case the “pie dish” needs to be easy for Sally – easy to place on a baking sheet in and out of the oven – there's nothing more frustrating in recovery when you can't handle a container because it's too heavy – as light as possible and practical is the key.

With that in mind I sourced this dish :

a dish fit for purpose!

with the pastry lining

and then the filling

cooked and ready to eat!

Then there's the leftover pastry ...

Sally's favourite … Homity Pie

I normally make Homity Pie for special occasions – my recipe serves 12-16 depending on the size of slice! I decided to make the same amount of pastry but scale down the filling – here goes :

Sally's Homity Pie – makes 2

Pastry

200g plain wholemeal flour

100g unsalted butter

pinch of baking powder

ice cold water to bind

Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs, then gradually add a glug of water and use and round bladed knife to bring the pastry together.

You can use a processor if you prefer – I'd then tip the pastry directly onto clingfilm and bring it together to form a ball, then wrap and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Ahead of the game

Bake 3 large jacket potatoes, then cool, peel and dice finely

and place in a large mixing bowl

250g onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic – finely chopped or roasted

paste

1.5 tbsp rapeseed oil

salt and black pepper

2.5 tbsp of freshly chopped parsley – 1.5 tbsp for the

filling and 1 for the topping – use less if you are

using dried

150g of grated cheese – I use a mixture of mature

Cheddar, Gruyere and Red Leicester – 100g for the

filling and 50g for the topping

Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil, add to the potatoes and season with salt and black pepper. Add the cheese and parsley, mix thoroughly.

Roll out your pastry and line a greased pie dish measuring 18x14x4 cms (7x5½x1½”) .

Tip your potato mixture into the pastry case and pack it down tightly and flat – it will look as if you'll never get all the filling into the case – persevere – you will succeed.

Top with the remaining cheese and parsley.

Bake in a pre-heated oven – 190fan/170c/Gas 7 for 40 minutes – check after 20 minutes.

Next up … the pie dishes

A catch up with the “back burner” bits and pieces

To recap, before the Christmas in June and New Year in July ideas I'd given you a trio of treats – Sweet white miso ice cream, Miso Caramel Sauce and Banana Cake.

I left it that I was sending out the trio of treats to my taste testers - off went my goodie bags and I waited with baited breath! My testers love ice cream so it was hopefully going to receive a good review.

My friend Morag invented the Lip Smackingly Good category and I'm delighted to say the trio achieved that rating! Morag had never tasted sweet white miso delights which is all the more reason for me to ask her to give her opinion. “... a sweet hit followed by a salt hit – delicious - the combination of warmed cake and the miso caramel sauce with cold sweet white miso ice cream was so good, a huge tick”.

Thank you Morag!

On the strength of Morag's rating I've included the miso caramel sauce and the ice cream in a menu for an upcoming birthday gift, serving them with fresh seasonal raspberries and a side option of rocky road, just for the fun of it – I'll report back.

Next up, I've mentioned more than once our dear friend Sally who has been poorly, having suffered a stroke, I'm happy to report she is now at home recovering and doing very well. We've both been dropping off food treats to cheer her up each week. We all know that home cooked favourites are what we crave when we're not feeling 100% and it's wonderful to be tempted with goodies, especially when you're adding a huge dollop of love!

Morag, Sally and another friend Anita are regular visitors to the MiamMiam Cookery School and so we all know our respective likes and dislikes.

Here's one of Sally's favourites ...

New Year in July – shop-bought bread ideas …

Stating the obvious, there are a wide variety of naan breads available. For those of us who like a lighter alternative, flatbreads like the roti or chapati are a great choice, warmed, you can also use them as a scoop or a wrap. Check out Piadina – shop-bought small flatbreads, they are ideal to hold in one hand, fill, fold and enjoy for a fast fix. They are perfect for smaller appetites and for those with little fingers too!

You don't have to stick to Indian style breads, for example, Aldi sell a black olive ciabatta which is fab – 300g for 89p so doesn't break the bank, in fact an absolute bargain.

My other thoughts :

Sourdough

Focaccia with Rosemary

Baguette

You could even make some garlic butter and

make a retro garlic baguette

Mix and match!

I think that just about covers it for your New Year in July bash – three mains with roast potatoes, sides, rice and breads – all that remains is for me to wish you Happy New Year in July!

Now it's time to catch up on all those bits and pieces that have been on the back burner – remember the “sweet treats trio” I was sending out to my taste testers? Verdict up next …