Kale and marscapone-stuffed chicken on a bed of roast vegetables

So this was nice...

The vegetable quantities are for about 4 people, but the chicken is only for about 2. Increase the stuffing and wrapping proportionally based on the number of people, and add a breast for each person eating. It's more or less the same as this recipe, but some small tweaks have been made.

Chicken and stuffing (quantities for 2 breasts):
2 skinless chicken breasts (these should be relatively thick, so that you can cut them open and stuff them)
50-60 g kale, roughly chopped and well washed (about 25 g per breast)
2 tbsp mascarpone (about 1 tbsp per breast)
1-2 garlic cloves
zest of about 1/4 to 1/2 a lemon, plus juice if desired
Provencal herbs
a dash of olive oil
seasoning
6-8 rashers of smoked bacon, depending on breast size and how much bacon you might want

Vegetables:
250 g parsnips, peeled and sliced
250 g sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into thinnish discs
2 onions, peeled chopped into quarters
100 g mushrooms, washed and halved or quartered if needed
1 red pepper, sliced up into strips

Preheat the oven to 200-220 degrees, depending on your oven. Boil the kale for about 4 minutes to soften it up, then drain it, squeeze out the remaining water, and blitz it in a food processor with the mascarpone, garlic, lemon olive oil and seasoning. Cut along the chicken lengthways and stuff the kale and mascarpone into the cavity. Wrap the bacon tightly around the chicken and season. Topelt ei kärise.

Add some oil to a baking tray or dish, then put the vegetables in and toss to cover with the oil, and season, then put in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes are up, mix the vegetables, put the chicken on top of the vegetables and cook for another 20 to 25 minutes, turning the chicken and mixing the vegetables halfway through. Once the chicken is cooked, cover with foil and leave for a bit, then serve with extras in waiting.

This is really good. Enjoy.

Ragne's courgette, bacon and cream pasta

This one comes from a popular Estonian cooking blog, Kokkama Ragnega. If you do read Estonian, check out her blog. It's very good, very simple, with a bunch of stuff that justifies her publishing deal. Of course, the problem for some is that it's in Estonian, which can be slightly problematic.

Here's where I come in.

My wife found this, and since we had a few extraneous semi-packs of pasta left lying around the (new) flat that needed eating, we gave it a go, with some minor changes to the recipe. It's all based on what we had. It was lovely. Very recommend.

Should serve about 4.

Ingredients:

200 g wild garlic Spätzle
100 g regular egg Spätzle
(or 300 g penne, per original recipe)
Around 600g courgette
200 g smoked bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
Thyme, to taste
Provencal herb mix, to taste
250ml cream (rõõsk koor)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
Grated Comté cheese, to taste

Cook the pasta as per indications on the packaging. Top, tail, core and  roughly grate the courgette. Fry the bacon for about a minute, then add the onion, cook for another minute or 3, then add the courgette and herbs and season. Cook until the courgette is starting to get crisp (and the bacon is cooked), then add the cream, heat again, season to taste and cook for a few more minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about half a cup of the water. Add the sauce to the pasta, plus a bit of water, and the olive oil, and mix it all up together. Once ready, serve in bowls, with bread if so desired, plus cheese on top.

Coq au vin

I've been wanting to try coq au vin for a while now. I finally got round to making it tonight. It was lovely. It's remarkably easy too, for something so tasty.


Coq au vin - serves about 3-4 people

750g chicken legs and thighs
150g bacon, sliced
4-5 medium-sized onions in quarters, or 10-15 shallots, peeled and sliced in half
4 cloves of garlic (mine were minced, but you can also just peel the cloves)
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup red wine (the drier the better)
Bay leaves
Thyme (fresh is better, but dry will do)
Salt and pepper to taste
250g mushrooms

Brown the bacon in a big pot. Remove, but leave the fat behind. Add the onions and chicken, and brown well over a medium heat for about 10 min or so. Halfway through, add the garlic. Add the stock, wine and herbs, and put the bacon back in. Cover and simmer for about 20-30 min, until the chicken is cooked through. It will probably look pink or crimson. THIS IS NORMAL. When done, remove the chicken and onions from the liquid, and add the mushrooms to the sauce. Reduce the sauce over a high temperature by about 75 percent. When done, put the chicken and onions back in the pot, heat up, and mix in. Serve over something - we had mashed potatoes, but some pasta would probably work too. I also recommend some bread on the side.

Enjoy.