Healthy Winter Warmer

This winter is particularly cold in Britain, and the reflex is to go for stodgy foods, and hibernation.

Photo credit: Bradlee Mauer - Fotolia.com

But it is worth making some lighter albeit satisfying food. This recipe is nor time consuming nor difficult, and is well worth it. It is light, but filling without gluten type ingredients.

Ingredients for 3:
- 3 chicken breasts
- 3 leeks cut in thick slices
- 3 sweet potatoes cut in thick chips
- 6 parsnips cut in thick chips
- 1 tin chicken soup
(or for the ones bothered by using a tin:
- 2 shallots chopped,
- chicken stock,
- 3 tblspn cream,
- salt, pepper, nutmeg)

In an oven dish:
- place the leeks at the bottom,
- dispose on top the chicken breast cut in two in their width
- (then place above the ingredients for the chicken soup alternative), and,
- as a last layer place the parsnips and sweet potato chips.
Pour on top the chicken soup
Then place in the oven covered at 180degC for 30 min.
After 30 min, uncover the dish and cook for another 30 min.

The chips should be cooked to the core and crispy, and underneath, the chicken should be moist and tasty, in the juices.
Serve hot and have a glass of white wine!

Bon apetit!

Source: Bob

Haggis, neeps and tatties

....Or translate Haggis, turnips and potatoes!

Recently, in fact just a day before the Chinese New Year and Australia Day - too many celebrations in two days this year!- it was Burns night. This Scottish celebration involves haggis which you can't get so easily in England the rest of the year. .

I absolutely love haggis and last time I went to Scotland, I ate it every day (I know it's extreme..!). It is made with oats and offals, and is full of goodness, recommended to anybody lacking iron. Vegetarian variants exist, I am not a huge fan, but if you can't have the real McCoy, go for this one!

Anyway, I bought three at once at the farmers market, providing me with three easy and gorgeous meals. These haggis were cased in a proper sheep's stomach, as oppowed to the now more common plastic tube.
Its flavour was amazing, and I served it the traditionnal way: Steamed (for 40 minutes) with three different types of mash:- sweet potato mash,
- parsnips mash (steamed parsnips with a bit of salt and a bit of nutmeg), and
- potato mash (steamed potatoes mashed with single cream, butter, salt and ahint of mustard)
So remember, place in the steamer the haggis and the segregated vegetables (potatoes, parsnips and sweet potatoes) for 40 minutes, then prepare the mashes and serve, it's fast, tasty, and nutritious!

Enjoy!

Source: My own recipes

Fluffy sweet potato mash

Yesterday evening I had to prepare my lunch for today, and I wanted something warm, comforting, light, tasty and minimum effort... Looked in the cupboards.. Ah!!
So there you are, I ended up with the idea of mash, but not tatties because it's too heavy.
Here's how I made the mash, fluffy, ligt healthy and flavoursome (have I sold it yet? - yes you gather, I loved it!)

For 1 person:
- 2 big sweet potatoes, cut in small bits
- 1 big shallot chopped
- 1 heaped tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 1tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- a little bit of saffron
- salt to taste (sea salt is best!)

Cook the sweet potatoes and the shallots in a steamer for 20 minutes.

Use a hand masher and mash roughly to keep the fluffy texture, add the spices, sprinkle a bit of paprika for the deco.

The hardest is probably to cut the potato in bits, all in all I'd say 10 minutes of preparation if you are really really slow at peeling the potatoes and cutting them. The steamer will do the rest for you...
This mash is very happy to be reheated - not like potato or carrot mash whose texture is changing.
And you'll notice: not one ounce of fat: it's super healthy!

Bon apetit!

Source: I was hungry, it decuples the thinking power to create food!!