Chicken and butternut squash stew

I fell in love with butternut squash while preparing potato and squash chicken curry. This is a curcuma-free recipe for a stew that uses this wonderful vegetable that is pefect for cold autumn days. Although the base ingredients (chicken and squash) are similar, the the flavours are completely different.

You'll need:

one chicken breast

around 500g of butternut squash (half a medium squash)

1 medium sized onion

100ml white wine

2 spoons of flour

1 garlic clove

75ml cream

a glass of bouillion

hot smoked paprika (pimenton) 

fresh thyme

salt and pepper 

rice to serve with

1. Start off by cutting the squash longways into quarters. Then put it on a tray and slide into the oven set to 180 degrees for around 15 minutes. This way you can avoid peeling the skin, which in case of a butternut squash is rather hard.

2. In the meantime cut the chicken into small cubes, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and then cover in flour before frying it on a pan. Add a few branches of thyme for the aroma.

3. Transfer the chicken into a casserole dish and use the same pan to fry previously sliced onion.

4. Finely chop the garlic and add it to the onion once it softens. Add smoked paprika, and then white wine. Cook for a few more minutes, until the liquid reduces itself. Transfer the contents of the pan into the casserole dish.

5. Remove the squash from the oven, remove the skin (it should come off easily now) and cut into cubes. Add to the cassserole dish.

6. Add the bouillion to the casserole dish. 

7. Add some more fresh thyme, mix the ingredients and transfer the casserole dish (covered) into the oven. Leave in there for around 15 minutes (or until the squash is completely soft).

8. Towards the end of the cooking add cream, et voila! 

9. Serve with rice (I recommend basmati).

  

Buon appetito!

Quick lentils curry

This mild lentils curry can be ready within 15 minutes and can be eaten as a dish on its own (preferably with naans or chapatis) or it can be served as a side dish. Perfect if you don't have too much time to cook.

You'll need:
a can of green lentils (400g)
1/2 medium onion
1 garlic clove
madras curry
cardamon powder
cumin powdered
1/2 glass of broth
1 spoon of tomato concentrate
3 spoons of sour cream

1. Chop the onion and fry it.

2. Add chopped garlic and the spices and stir.

3. Add the lentils, tomato concentrate and broth. Allow to simmer for around 10 minutes.

4. Add cream, et voila!

Buon appetito!

Lemon chicken with a frittata

Sunny flavours of the summer and the holidays at the beach closed up in a dish that is deemed to bring to mind some very good memories. Each of the elements could be a dish of its own, but the trick is in the combination of the flavours and in how well they go together. Perhaps slightly unusually, the frittata is prepared extra thin to keep it light and to be eaten within one seating.

You'll need (a portion for two):

For the lemon chicken:

one chicken breast

juice from 1/2 lemon

half a glass white wine

30gr butter 

a spoon of flour

salt & pepper 

oil

For the frittata:

one potato, evenly sliced

one onion, sliced

two eggs

30gr butter

one clove of garlic

fennel seeds

chili flakes

salt&pepper

tangy semi-soft cheese (I used Lombardian Bel Paese; Lancanshire or Cheshire cheese should go well too, although they are more crumbly)

oil

1. Warm up some oil on a pan and add the sliced onion. Allow to fry for a few minutes before adding sliced potato, evenly distributing it over the pan. Add some butter and fennel. The potatoes will take some 10 minutes to fry, depending on the thickness of the slices. Turn them to the other side when they start to brown.

2. In the meantime, warm up oil on a second pan, add the chicken breast, cut into smaller, thinner pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper.

3. A minute after turning the chicken to the other side add lemon juice, wine and butter and continue to simmer the chicken over medium heat.

4. Once the potato slices are almost ready, add finely chopped garlic.

5. Beat up the eggs, seasoning them with salt, pepper and chilli flakes.

6. Chop (or grate) the cheese into fine cubes.

7. Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and onions and turn the heat to minimum.

8. Add the cheese on top and allow to settle. Since this version of the frittata is very thin, it is not necessary to turn it upside down, just cover it with a lid if necessary.

9. Remove the chicken from the pan, add flour to the remaining sauce and stir vigourously making sure that all the flavours from frying of the meat go into the sauce.

10. Once your frittata settles, serve it cut into half together with chicken with the lemon wine sauce poured over the top.

Buon appetito!

Vellutata di ceci

...or chickpeas cream. With this recipe you can enjoy Tuscan flavours within minutes. It really needs a generous dose of fresh rosemary to do the trick, do not replace it with a dried version. Luckily, I can pick up mine straight from the garden.

You'll need:
one can of chickpeas (400g)
one medium onion
one garlic clove (optional)
fresh rosemary
1 spoon of tomato concentrate
300ml broth (or half a stock cube and water for a student version)
grated grana padano (optional)
freshly grated black pepper
bread to make croutons with
herb salt

1. Chop the onion and fry it in a pot.
2. Finely chop the garlic and rosemary and add them to the onion.
3. Add chickpeas and fry everything together for a moment before adding broth.
4. Add tomato concentrate and stir.
5. Allow the soup to simmer while you prepare the croutons. Cut the bread and fry it on hot oil (do not add too much or they will become oily) seasoning it with herb salt.
6. Let the soup cool down a bit before blending it into a velvety cream.
7. Warm it up again before pouring into a bowl.
8. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top, grate some black pepper over it, add the croutons, e voila!

Bon appétit!