Parma Ham Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Goats Cheese

Parma Ham Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Goats Cheese – Serves 2

This is a recipe I use again and again when I have friends coming around. It is really easy to make and gives off the impression that you have been slaving away for hours, where as in reality once the food is prepared you can just stick it all in the oven and join your guests!

It’s quite a versatile dish too – I’ve used goat’s cheese here, but just about any soft cheese will work, and I personally think blue cheese would work excellently too.  You can also experiment with which vegetables you roast, or how you wish to present them (I’ve used cubes but you can serve carrots whole).

You might remember a similar recipe that I posted that was similar (Chicken Stuffed with Goats Cheese on a Bed of Tomatoes), but I feel the addition of vegetables gives the dish a wintry feel to it.

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato. chopped into inch cubes
• 1 red onion, quartered 
• 1 carrot, cut lengthways
• 1 potato, chopped into inch cubes
• 2 shallots, halved
• 2 red peppers, sliced
• 1 handful of mixed herbs (I use Herbes de Provence)
• 50g goats cheese
• 2 chicken breasts
• 6 slices parma ham
• 1 large sprig of thyme
• 1 glass of white wine
• 1 splash of balsamic vinegar
• 1 glug of olive oil

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to around 200C. Next you need to prepare all the vegetables – make sure you try and keep everything roughly the same size so that vegetables cook equally. Once prepared, place the vegetables into an oiled baking tray then sprinkle with mixed herbs and season. Add more oil and blend together with your hands so that all the vegetables are covered. Set aside

Step 2
Now you can prepare the chicken. To do this, make a slit into the middle of chicken breasts so that you create a pocket. Stuff slices of the goats cheese inside the pocket along with some picked thyme. Once stuffed, wrap the parma ham around the chicken and place into another oiled baking tray. Pour over the wine with a little oil, and add a splash of balsamic vinegar too, along with any herbs that are remaining. The wine and oil stop the chicken drying out, and juices left after cooking can be used as a sauce in itself, or used as a base for a creamy sauce.

Step 3
It will probably take a little longer for the vegetables to cook, so allow for up to 40 minutes depending on your oven and size of the chunks. The chicken needs around 30 minutes until it is cooked through.  I would advise checking both the vegetables and the chicken after around 20 minutes.

Chicken a la King

Chicken a la King – Serves 4

Ingredients

• 250g roasted chicken, shredded
• 8 mushrooms, sliced
• 50g peas, frozen will do
• 295ml can of Cambell’s condensed mushroom soup
• 50ml milk
• 50ml water

Method

Step 1
Heat a little oil in a pan and gently fry the mushrooms for 3 minutes until softened.

Step 2
Pour in the mushroom soup, water and milk and simmer for a minute. Now add in the shredded chicken and peas (I usually defrost them first) and heat through.

There you go – as quick and easy as that. Serve either with pasta or boiled rice.

Chicken Stuffed with Goat's Cheese on a Bed of Tomatoes

Chicken Stuffed with Goat’s Cheese on a Bed of Tomatoes – Serves 2

I’m trying to be as healthy as possible at the moment, and although the chicken is stuffed with goat’s cheese, it’s a healthy meal in my book – and what’s more it tastes great. Recently I have been adding a splash of balsamic vinegar to the tomatoes and I feel it really enhances the flavour.

If your making this for a special occasion, why not wrap the chicken in a couple of slices of Parma ham or streaky bacon.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts (with skin on)
• 200g plum tomatoes on the vine, (some halved, some whole)
• 50g firm goats cheese, cut into slices
• 1 handfull of thyme sprigs
• 1 handfull of basil leaves
• 1 glass of white wine, preferably dry
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt & pepper
• Slices of Parma ham (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C. Peel back the skin of the chicken and stuff inside slices of goats cheese & a couple of sprigs of thyme. Season the chicken and place into a roasting dish.

Place the tomatoes around the chicken then pour in the oil, wine and balsamic vinegar. Check the seasoning again, scatter a couple more thyme sprigs over the chicken and tear a handful of basil leaves over the tomatoes. Place in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Wagamamas Warm Chicken Salad

Wagamama’s Warm Chicken Salad – Serves 2

This is possibly my new favourite salad! It’s dead simple to make but absolutely jam packed full of flavour. I’ve chosed to use pork in this recipe, again due to having a gorgeous piece of fillet in the fridge, but the salad works with pork and chicken equally well. You need to mare sure that you get the quantities exactly right for the dressing otherwise it wont taste right – practise makes perfect.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced (see picture)
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Ingredients for marinade

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 red chilli, finely sliced
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Ingredients for salad

• 2 handfuls mixed salad leaves
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 lime, halved
• 2 tbsp Wagamamas salad dressing (see below)

Ingredients for Wagamamas salad dressing

• 2 tsp shallot, finely chopped
• 2.5 piece of ginger, grated
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1.5 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp water
• 70ml vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce

Method

Right. Quite a long list of ingredients, but it really isn’t as difficult as it looks. First step is to make the Wagamamas salad dressing and put to one side – literally just whisk all the ingredients together.

For the marinade, put all the ingredients into a blender, with the exception of the sesame seeds and blend until smooth – then stir in the sesame seeds. Place the chicken in a dish and cover with the marinade, leaving for at least 2 hours or overnight if possible.

When ready to cook the salad add the chicken to a steaming hot pan with the vegetable oil and cook until a little caramelised at the edges. This will probably take around 5 minutes or so on a high heat. Mix the salad leaves together with the dressing and scatter with the sesame seeds then top with the chicken and your done! Garnish with some lime.

Authentic Thai Green Curry

Thai Green Curry – Serves 2

If I have a signature dish then this is definately it. Just ask pretty much any of my friends who have been round for dinner; they’ve all had this cooked for them at some point, and there’s a running joke that it’s the only thing I can cook! I first learnt how to make this on a cooking course in Thailand (Koh Phi Phi) back in 2006 and it’s been my favourite dish to make ever since. In fact it’s probably down to this cooking course that I became interested in cooking, and in particular fuelled my fascination for international food. 

The great thing about Thai curries is that you can make them as spicy or as mild as you like – in Thailand they have them hot, and I do mean HOT! Nearly all of the ingredients used should be fairly accessible – if your struggling, you can replace the galagal with ginger and use normal basil leaves instead of the Thai sweet basil although it will give the curry a slightly different taste. If you live near a specialist oriental store then get yourself down there and see what you can find!

 

 Ingredients for the Paste

• 3 large green chillies (to taste), seeds removed & finely chopped 
• 1 tsp grated galangal (ginger is a good substitute)
• 2 tsp lemongrass, finely chopped
• 3 kaffir limeleaves, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp shallot, finely chopped
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 handfulls of Thai sweet basil, roughly chopped

 Ingredients for the Curry

• 2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 400ml can of coconut milk
• 1 green curry paste recipe (see above)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (for frying)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 handful green beans, cut in half
• 1 small tin of bamboo shoots
• 1 small handful basil leaves, for garnishing
• Red chilli flakes or finely chopped fresh red chilli to garnish (optional)

Method

Step 1
First make the paste. Take all the ingredients for the paste (except the oil) and put them into a pestle and mortar and give them a good bashing. Add the oil and continue to pound the ingredients until you have a smooth paste consistency. You can use a food processor if you like but I just love using my pestle and mortar. I usually use all of the paste in one go, but if you want to make extra, you can stick the paste into a container, cover with oil and it should last for a week or so in the fridge.

Step 2
Now for the curry itself. On a low heat, add the oil and all of the green curry paste into a pan and mix well – this will ensure that the flavour of the paste will really come out in the chicken. Add the chicken and fry on a low / medium heat until the chicken is starting to cook through.

Step 3
Give the can of coconut milk a good shake and add to the pan, along with the fish sauce and the sugar and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Just before the chicken has cooked, add in the bamboo shoots and green beans, and simmer until the green beans are cooked but still retain their ‘bite’.

Serving Suggestion
I usually serve this curry with rice, although it works just as well with noodles or some type of roti / flatbread. Garnish the curry with a few basil leaves, a wedge of lime and a sprinkle of red chilli flakes.

Note: It actually doesn’t matter if you use only red chillies as it is the basil that gives the colour, not the chilli – in fact I think a mixture gives a great colour to the dish.