Roman Chicken with Creamy Mash & Mango Coconut Slice

Main: Roman Chicken with Creamy Mash
Delicious – Love To Eat

Dessert: Mango & Coconut Slice
Delicious – At Our Table

Hi Everyone!

Well another super easy dish this week that won’t break the budget. It’s from the Italian section of Delicious – Love To Eat so as you can imagine it is packed full of flavour. Loads of garlic, passata, herbs, capsicum and chilli make for a fabulous one-pot dinner. The recipe suggests serving it with polenta, however, I chose to serve it with a beautiful creamy mash. So given that the cooking of this is easy and there is really not anything I can tell you other than just cook it, you won’t regret it, I wanted to share an idea I had for this dish after I’d consumed it with the family.

I’m definitely going to cook it again, that’s a given, but next time forget the mash or polenta. I’m going to shred the cooked chicken and put it back in the pot with all that scrumptious tomatoey sauce and then I’m going to cook some spaghetti till it’s al dente, drain it, and add to the sauce. Voila! A different dish altogether which can still carry the name – Roman Chicken (Spaghetti). P.S. Aren’t we lucky we can buy roasted capsicums in the jar….. This little dish scored 9/10.

Dessert, from Delicious – At Our Table, is one you should start the day before. Now, I think it is well established that I have a sweet tooth. This dessert is what you would call mild in flavour. Definitely not super sugary and there doesn’t seem to be any guilt at all when you eat it. Really? Is that a true dessert?

Start this the day before

Well let me tell you, the family loved it and so did all the people that scored the leftovers. I had comments like, healthy, non-fattening, light etc. etc (non-fattening is a bit of a stretch I think). Mangoes are of course always a winner for dessert and combined with a fairly bland base of oats and a layer of coconut milk “jelly” and not cream, ice-cream or custard, I guess it is one reasonably healthy dessert for a change.

Another 9/10 score.

Until next week,

From my table to yours with love x

Roman Chicken

This beautiful Italian dish can be served with polenta or creamy mash

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
8 chicken thigh cutlets
2 onions (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 small red chilli (seeds removed, finely chopped)
100 g pancetta (chopped)
600 ml passata
1½ tbsp chopped thyme (plus extra thyme sprigs to serve)
pinch caster sugar
2 each roasted red and yellow capsicums (cut into strips)
½ c black olives
roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves to serve

Transfer chicken to a plate and cover loosely with foil. Add capsicum to the sauce, then cook, uncovered, for 3-4 mins until sauce is reduced and thickened. Return chicken to the pan with the olives.
Serve chicken with creamy mash or polenta, scattered with parsley and extra time sprigs.

Main Course

Italian

Mango and Coconut Slice

Start this recipe the day before

2 c (180g) rolled oats
1 c (150g) plain flour
100 g unsalted butter (melted)
1 egg
1½ c (330g) caster sugar
8 titanium-strength gelatine leaves
400 ml coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
400 ml coconut cream
5 mangoes (peeled, flesh chopped)

Preheat oven to 160°c. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm x 30cm lamington pan with baking paper.
Combine the oats, flour, butter, egg, ½ cup (110g) caster sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Press into the base of prepared pan in an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes or until pale golden and dry. Set aside to cool completely.
Soak 4 gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to soften. Place coconut mil, vanilla and ½ cup (110g) caster sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to just below boiling point, then remove from heat.
Squeeze excess water from gelatine, then add to coconut mixture, stirring until melted and combined. Add coconut cream to pan and stir well to combine. Transfer to a bowl, then set aside and allow to thicken slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1-2 hours until softly set. Whisk to loosen, then spread over the cooled oat base. Chill slice for a further 2 hours or until set.
Soak remaining 4 gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to soften. Whiz mango, remaining ½ cup (110g) caster sugar and ½ cup (125ml) water in a food processor until smooth. Transfer mango puree to a saucepan over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Squeeze excess water from the gelatine, then add to the mango puree, stirring until melted and combined. Remove from heat and cool mango jelly to room temperature. Once cool, pour over coconut jelly layer. Chill for 2 hours or until firm and set, then cut into 12 bars. Chill until ready to serve.

Dessert

Modern Australian

Roman Chicken with Creamy Mash & Mango Coconut Slice