PERSIAN CHICKEN WITH HAZELNUTS AND ORANGE BLOSSOM

I’m a little late with this post because I’ve been busy with all of my daughter’s first birthday baking. So I will have lots of cake pictures to upload in the coming weeks! Having a baby is such a fleeting time to be cherished, I never expected that I would enjoy the last year as much as I have and I look forward to the year ahead. 

Before we start all of the sugar posts I thought I’d share my favourite chicken dish from Karen Martini. It really is a special meal and the perfect solution for guests. The orange blossom, saffron and hazelnuts make sure it’s no ordinary roast chicken.

INGREDIENTS

8 free-range chicken thighs, skin off and flesh slashed

150g toasted hazelnuts with skin on, roughly chopped

1 onion, finely sliced

2 pinches saffron threads steaped in 1 tablespoon of boiling water

100ml verjuice

60 ml extra virgin olive oil

6 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

2½ tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Zest of ½ lemon

5 cloves garlic pealed

2 tablespoons salt flakes

½ tablespoon black peppercorns

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (356 Fahrenheit). Combine garlic, peppercorns and salt in mortar and pestle and pound to a coarse paste.

Massage the paste, onion, saffron, verjuice, oil and herbs into the chicken. I normally put it in the fridge, covered for half an hour to marinate. Put chicken mixture in a roasting pan and then into the oven to cook for for 35 minutes.

In a small saucepan warm the honey, zest and orange blossom water over a low heat. Remove the chicken from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 220 degrees Celsius (428 Fahrenheit). With a pastry brush glaze the thighs of the chicken with the honey mixture, sprinkle with the hazelnuts and cook in the oven for a further ten minutes.

Serve with a bitter green salad. Enjoy

STRAWBERRY, RASPBERRY, BALSAMIC AND BASIL PAV ROLL

  


Pavlova is a quintessential Australia dessert, it’s a very large meringue with a crisp shell and very light soft centre normally topped with sweet cream and fruit. The Pav Roll is as the name suggest is a rolled version and a classic in my family. My mother mastered the art of the pav roll and my brother has carried on the tradition trying to convert Englishmen wherever he goes.

The strawberry and balsamic combination is inspired by Karen Martini’s recipe but the pavlova is from my mum’s secret recipe (not so secret now). I love Karen Martini and try very hard not to reference her recipes too much in this blog, which is a difficult task as I use them so regularly. I’ve made the pav roll dairy free by using coconut yoghurt for the filling which worked well, but if you’re keen to supplement with cream or mascarpone go for it.

Suitable alternative toppings include passion fruit, any berries and stone fruit. I’ve also paired it with a lemon curd before.

PAVLOVA

4 Egg whites at room temperature

1 cup of caster sugar

1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Icing sugar for dusting

1 ½ Teaspoons of vinegar

BERRY MIXTURE
1 1/2 punnets ripe strawberries, sliced
1 punnet raspberries halved
10 basil leaves, shredded
3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
1 vanilla bean, splintered and chopped in quarters
3 tablespoon of caster sugar

FILLING

1 Teaspoon of Rose water

Coyo Natural Coconut Yoghurt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. For baking I use a roasting pan and turn it upside down, size should be approximately 21cm w x 31cm h. I line the base with foil, but first to avoid the pav sticking run the foil under water ensuring that all the water runs off. Beat egg whites until stiff and then add the sugar gradually. Add vinegar and vanilla.

Spread mixture onto the foil using a spatula and create a flat rectangle. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Rest on tin for 5 minutes. Lay out some clean tea towels and dust with icing sugar, turn out the pav onto icing sugar.

In a bowl mix the berries, vanilla pod, basil and balsamic. Let stand for five minutes.

Combine the yoghurt and rose water and spread over pav. Roll the pavlova up using the tea towel to keep it firm. Place on serving dish.  Spoon over the berry mixture when ready to serve. Dust with icing sugar. Enjoy