Simple meals for lazy weekends - roast chicken with sweet potato and ginger purée, buttermilk fried chook, and beef on rice.
Roast chicken with sweet potato and ginger purée
If you start with a really good tasting bird and look after it, roast chicken is a dish fit for a king.whole free-range chicken (organic if possible) 2 kg
sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
lemons 1½
flat leaf parsley a few sprigs
extra virgin olive oil 80ml plus extra for drizzling
green salad to serveFor the sweet potato and ginger purée
sweet potato 500g, peeled and cut into 2-3cm dice
chopped ginger 2 tbsp
sea salt 2 tbsp
unsalted butter 100g, diced, plus extra to finish
freshly ground white pepperTake the chicken out of the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking.Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 2-3. Season the chicken inside and out with sea salt. Cut one lemon in half, squeeze a little juice into the cavity of the bird, then place the two lemon halves and the parsley sprigs in the cavity. Truss the chicken and rub it all over with the olive oil.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Buttermilk fried chook
Who doesn't like crispy chicken? There are always several recipes for it in every culture. Some of my favourite Asian dishes have fried chicken as their centrepiece.Serves 4free-range chicken thighs (organic if possible), bone in, skin on 8
vegetable oil for deep-frying
buttermillk 600ml
lemon wedges, potato salad and coleslaw to serveFor the coating
plain (all-purpose) flour 600g
garlic powder 2 tbsp
onion powder 3 tbsp
paprika 1 tsp
chilli powder ½ tsp
sea salt 1 tsp
freshly ground white pepper to taste
Advertisement
Advertisement
Beef on rice
This is a simple lesson in a perfect balance of Japanese flavours and makes for great one-bowl dining. Short-grain rice, which is used in Japanese and Korean cookery, is starchier than long- and medium-grain rice, and makes a very comforting base for one-bowl meals like this one. If your budget doesn't stretch to beef fillet, use thinly cut chuck steak. Just boil it in water for 5 minutes, rinse and add it to the broth, simmering gently for about 10 minutes before you add the vegetables.Serves 4beef fillet 600g, thinly sliced
rice wine 250ml
soy sauce 125ml
mirin 250ml
white onions 2, peeled, halved and sliced into 1cm slices
red pepper 1, quartered, seeds removed and flesh cut into 1cm batons
celery stalks 2, cut on the diagonal into 1cm slicesTo serve
sushi rice, cooked and kept warm 210g
pickled ginger and coriander leaves (optional)Place the rice wine and 125ml water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the soy and mirin and simmer for a few more minutes. Add the onion, red pepper and celery and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened. Add the beef and simmer for 1 minute, stirring (fillet will cook quickly).Place the warm rice into four bowls. With a slotted spoon, place the beef and vegetables on top, then spoon as much broth over as you like. I like it quite soupy. Top the beef with a little pickled ginger and coriander, if using, and serve.Extracted from Easy Weekends by Neil Perry (Murdoch Books, £20). To order for £14, with free UK p&p, click here
Roast chicken with sweet potato and ginger purée. Photograph: Earl Carter/Easy Weekend
For the latest food news, health tips and recipes, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and YouTube.
Advertisement
Tags: