Chicken Gallimaufry

I have long had the view that rules are made to be broken so here's another take on warm salady dishes. This is called a “gallimaufry” - meaning jumble or a medley if you prefer. It's ideal for mopping up delicious juices!

Chicken Gallimaufry

Serves 2

2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced at an angle

(from slow cooking a whole chicken)

250ml chicken stock

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

350g red new potatoes, halved or quartered

should be 2cm ish.

Half a lemon cut in half

135g baby leeks, topped, tailed and cut into 1.5cm pieces

1 tbsp tapenade - 15ml

110g fine asparagus

Salt and pepper

Chopped flat leaf parsley to garnish

Pre-heat oven 200fan/220c/Gas 7.

Put the potatoes and lemon wedges into the foil tray you set aside after the slow cooking (or a medium roasting tin if you prefer) and toss with 1 tbsp of oil, season and roast for 20 minutes.

Turn down the oven to 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Snap the asparagus to remove the woody ends – they should be of a similar size - then blanch, plunge into ice cold water and pat dry. You can prep ahead if you wish, then box and fridge.

Toss the leeks in the remaining tbsp of oil and add to the potatoes. Add the tapenade and fold through. Bake for 10 minutes then add the blanched asparagus for 5 minutes, fold in gently.

Whilst the potatoes et al are baking warm the stock – you should get 250ml from your chicken after straining. (This recipe is based on a slow cooked whole chicken).

To assemble, divide the potatoes, leeks and asparagus between two large bowls – plates will do. Top with the sliced chicken breast – one breast per serving - and add a liberal drizzle of the stock. A sprinkle of parsley to garnish and a wedge of lemon too.

For ease of reference I'm including the recipe … How to Slow Cook a Whole Chicken.

How to ...

Slow Cook a Whole Chicken

1 chicken – between 1.5kg – 1.75kg

1 chicken stock pot

2 tsps of garlic paste or 1 garlic stock pot

generous sprinkle of oregano or garlic

Italian seasoning

OR

Alternatively use two whole star anise in the cavity

and omit the herbs

Place your chicken in the slow cooker and mix the stock pot with the garlic paste and spread over the chicken. Sprinkle with the herbs OR add the whole star anise to the cavity and omit the herbs. Switch your slow cooker to the low setting and leave it for 8 hours.

Strain the stock and freeze the resultant liquid gold if you're not using it, strip the chicken, keeping aside what you need and then bag and freeze the remainder.

You'll get approximately 250ml of stock from the chicken.

Hints and tips coming up …

But first ...

... an insignificant piece of kit you might think – say hello to your new best friend - the julienne peeler - every serious cook should have one!

Here's another thing that gets on my nerves – entirely related to shop bought coleslaw – carrots either sliced so finely they are mush or so chunky and uneven you have to make an unscheduled trip to the dentist – without being ridiculous your slaw should be of a similar size.

Carrots bleed if you grate them – not to mention pebble dashing every nook and cranny in your kitchen – how is it possible that grated carrot can jettison so far?

Ta dah – enter the julienne peeler.

Here it is, along with the uniformly sliced strips of carrot it produces :

A neat piece of kit and inexpensive too.

The result of all your hard work looks like this :

Of course you could, if you prefer, dust off one of the gazillion attachments that belongs to your food processor/mixer for which you paid an exorbitant price and, if you can remember which bit goes where, use the slicer cum grater. Oh and create a washing up mountain the size of Everest … I exaggerate of course!

Next up … my invention called Chicken Gallimaufry!

The sides ...

… a slightly different slaw :

I thought I'd zhuzh the basic slaw, introducing flavours and textures which will definitely enhance the recent dishes and those that will follow.

Coronation Slaw

110g white cabbage, finely sliced – approximately

one third of a medium size cabbage

1 carrot – peeled and sliced with a

julienne peeler

1 spring onion – 15g finely sliced

salt and black pepper

30g ready to eat apricots, finely diced

30g sultanas soaked in mango and apple juice

50g mayo

50g sour cream

1 tsp mild curry powder

squirt of lime juice

1 tbsp mango chutney

If there's one thing I hate it's the huge lumps of woody cabbage you always find in shop bought coleslaw.

If you are of a similar mind and decide to try this recipe, I promise you that attention to detail is worth the effort. Here's what I mean :

First up slice a “cheek” of cabbage – a sharp paring knife is the best piece of kit – smaller and more easy to control – with care!

The recipe given will give you a box of slaw – measuring approximately 11cms x 6.5cms x 5cms. One box lasted me a week, a spoonful here and a spoonful there – you'd be surprised how well it fits as a side to lots of main dishes and particularly as part of a sandwich.

Coming up … hints, tips and photos

Instant alternatives …

For a shop bought wrap, I'd choose Piadina - there are large and small versions and suitable for vegans and vegetarians. I bought them ahead and popped into the freezer – easy and convenient for the freezer bag and transit if required!

Here's what the Piadina looks like and there's a choice :

An aside and a tip - milk is included in the majority of processed bread making so you need to check labels – there are brands that don't – Warburtons is one such. Many of their bakery products do not contain any dairy and are therefore suitable for vegans but are produced in bakeries that use dairy ingredients making milk rolls and milk bread.

How about a slaw for a side?

Roti

The second of my suggestions is a flat bread, roti. Here's my slightly modified roti recipe which originally came from Mildreds in Soho, London – Mildreds is a pioneer in vegan cuisine and has been around since 1988. If you feel like treating yourself to their cookery book, Mildreds is the one! It's full and great ideas and recipes – what I also liked is that it gives you guidance on Gluten Free and Vegan options too.

Here's their recipe for Garlic Rotis :

20g unsalted butter

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or paste)

½ tsp dried chilli flakes (or a pinch of powder)

200g self raising flour (plus extra for dusting)

50g wholemeal self raising flour

80-100ml water

vegetable oil

*Optional: 50g melted butter

Garlic salt

Warm the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat, add the garlic and chilli and cook, stirring, for a minute until the garlic begins to release its flavour but not coloured. Tip into a mixing bowl with the flours and gradually add the water, using a wooden spoon, until you have a moist (not sticky) dough. Knead the dough for a few minutes until smooth and then cover with a clean damp cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes until nearly doubled in size.

Divide into 8 pieces and form into balls. Dust with a little flour and then roll into thin circles of about 5mm (¼ inch) thick. Use a heavy based frying pan - add a drop of vegetable oil to grease. Cook the rotis on a medium heat – one at a time for 2-3 minutes each side until puffed up and brown. Serve immediately or cover with a clean tea towel and reheat in a low oven when needed.

*I made them ahead and then reheated before serving and my only addition was to finish them off with a brush of melted butter and a sprinkle of garlic salt.

Next up … the instant alternatives

The Pide photos

If you want to keep it simple add a sprinkle of celery salt and/or garlic granules and a sprinkle of grated cheese – any cheese that melts will do!

Have a look :

I sprinkled mine with extra semolina and

Nigella seeds

More sprinkles – this time grated cheese

For extra zhuzh serve with bowls of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dunking – a glug of each – a glug = 2 tablespoons.

Make sure you've got serviettes!

Perfect for tearing and sharing …

Next … garlic roti and more ideas for what to cook in the hot weather!

Perfect Pide

I mentioned serving dishes with a flat bread in The Salady Stuff and I've got a couple of suggestions for you. Whilst strictly speaking it's not a flat bread, I include the recipe for Pide simply because it's delicious!

If you're going to push the boat out with summer “salady” sharing plates, be them hot or cold dishes, then it would be rude not to include sides too.

So here goes with the Pide - I think it's actually pronounced pee-day.

You can choose whether you use the salt, oil and sesame seeds as a topping or roll in semolina and then sprinkle over it before baking.

Pide

one sachet of easy-blend yeast – 7g

pinch of salt

700g plain white flour

plus extra

1 egg

100ml olive oil

30g sesame seeds and coarse sea salt

for garnish or 2 tbsp semolina to roll

plus extra to sprinkle

Put the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast and the olive oil reserving a little to brush over the bread prior to proving.

Mix until the dough forms into a firm ball, leaving the sides of the bowl. Cover with a clean damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Lightly oil two baking sheets.

Knock down the dough - divide into two, shape each into a round ball and then roll each in 1 tbsp of semolina . Roll out into two circles and place on the baking sheets. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with sea salt, the reserved oil and sesame seeds. Alternatively you can sprinkle with additional semolina. Leave to prove for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Pre-heat your oven 210c/190fan/Gas 7.

Using your fingertips make dimples all over the surface – as you see in focaccia.

Bake in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and when the base is tapped the bread sounds hollow.

Yum!

Now for a couple of photos ...