It's certainly been a while since I've put fingers to keyboard, and there have certainly been some culinary developments chez moi, but alas no Jamie recipes have been cooked. The main reason for that is this particular foodie has embarked on a period of delayed gratification and is opting for a healthier menu for a little while. That's not to say there haven't been some very interesting recipes, and there will definitely be more to come, and Jamie should be back in about November/December time. No doubt he'll have a new book out by then we can sink our teeth into as well!
The chef has traded in his cream and butter for healthier alternatives with great success. So much flavour can come from things as simple as fresh herbs, garlic, lemons and chillies, without piling on the additional calories. We have been developing some really healthy and tasty recipes that I would love to share with you, and I certainly will, but firstly I have to tell you about my delicious Chicken, Corn and Celery Soup. It was a collaborative effort, with Marty adding his 2 cents worth of handy hints and me making it up as I went along. I developed a very vague recipe and used a little intuition that I've picked up since I've been blogging along! As it is winter and the weather is getting decidedly chilly, a good chicken soup is always a comfort. This one is not only tasty, but also very healthy and pretty simple to do. I'd say the recipe could comfortably feed 4, and if you're partaking in smaller portions, more like 5!
The ingredients:
2 free range chicken breasts.
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 onion
couple of garlic cloves, peeled
3 bay leaves (dried is fine)
1 can corn kernels
1lt veggie stock
The method:
1. The first thing you want to do is poach the chicken. When questioned about the difference between poaching and boiling, Marty explained that poaching is a slower simmer as opposed to a full boil. I popped the chicken in a pot with the garlic cloves and the bay leaves, and enough stock to cover it all and a little extra water on top of that.
2. Meanwhile, in my large pot I made up my mirepoix. Remember that from last post? If you don't, you dice the carrots, celery and onion and slowly saute that. That's going to create a lot of the flavour base. To keep the calorie count down I used a little olive oil spray on the bottom of the pot so that it didn't stick.
3. When the chicken has poached, remove it from the stock and let it cool a little. Keep the stock as you will add that to the veggies. Once that chicken has cooled enough to touch shred it.
4. Add your can or corn kernels to the large pot - I added liquid and all - followed by the chicken and give it all a good stir around.
5. Finally add the stock from the chicken pot and whatever's left of the litre and then more water if you want. I add about 500ml - 1lt extra water because I wanted a bit more broth.
6. The neither pop it into an over on 170 or leave on the stove top at a medium heat to simmer and cook away. I think it took about 30-40min.
And serve as is, or with some bread. This was a great filling meal all on it's own, and once it had cooled I portioned off 3 serves to be frozen for a lunch and a couple of dinners, and had a bowl left for Marty when he got home. If like me you're only cooking for 1 or 2 people, don't halve the recipe, just freeze some for easy dinners when you can't be bothered cooking.
I hope you enjoy it!
Ciao,
xoxo
