SEAT OF MY SOUL

I once believed Pumpkins only came out on a Halloween night and with a glowing candle shimmering through the holes of its scary cut out face. Now I couldn’t imagine life without it, I love Pumpkin…..it is so easy to cook with, it cooks quickly, and has to be the most versatile vegetable of all!!  This recipe’s easy to make, absolutely juicy and tender and goes perfect on a bed of pumpkin.  Try it, you’ll love it!!

INGREDIENTS

Finely grated rind of 1 orange
1 bunch tarragon, finely chopped
30g unsalted butter, softened
1 chicken breast, skin on
2 tablespoons olive oil
400g butternut pumpkin, diced
30g tablespoons butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
Juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoons honey
100g green beans, steamed to serve

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 220’C.

2 Combine orange rind, tarragon and butter in a small bowl until well combined. Gently pull skin away from the chicken breast and stuff with 2 tablespoons of orange butter, reserving the remaining mix. Place in a baking paper-lined roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Remove chicken from pan and allow to rest. Reserve pan juices.

3. Cook pumpkin in a medium saucepan half filled with boiling water for 7-10 minutes or until tender. Drain well, return to saucepan and mash. Add butter, season with salt and pepper and mix to combine.

4. Heat a medium frying pan over a medium heat, add pan juices and onion and panfry until golden. Add orange juice and honey and reduce by a quarter. Add remaining orange butter and stir until butter has melted.

5. To serve, arrange a spoonful of pumpkin mash in the centre of a serving plate, top with chicken and drizzle with orange sauce. Serve with green beans on the side.

A middle of the week dish…does not take long to prepare at all… approximately 10 minutes to get everything ready and 20 minutes later, you’ll have this juicy chicken drumsticks ready….I serve it on a bed of couscous to soak up those lovely juices but you can use mashed potatoes or whatever your preference.  The lemon juice makes this really succulent and gives it a different flavour. This is another one of the Masterchef recipe’s that I’m totally obsessed with.  Most probably the best investment I made in buying their latest cookbook…I am yet to come across a recipe that failed!!  Big Kudo’s to them I say!!!!

INGREDIENTS

1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 large lemon
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 
8 chicken drumsticks (from deli)
2 truss tomatoes, diced
1 Sheppard avocado, diced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

METHOD

1. In a medium bowl combine the garlic, parsley, lemon rind, 3/4 juice of 1 lemon and olive oil. (Alternatively, the marinade can
be made by pulsing ingredients together in a food processor until just combined). Score the drumsticks by making 2 slits about 2 cm
apart on both sides of the drumstick with a sharp knife. Place the drumsticks in a large bowl and pour half of the parsley mixture over
the chicken, reserve other half of marinade. Mix well then cover and refrigerate for 10 mins.

2. Preheat a barbecue grill to medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook the drumsticks on the hot grill for
15-20 mins or until the chicken is cooked through to the bone, or to an internal temperature of 75°C.

3. In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, avocado, 1/4 juice of lemon and olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Spoon the tomato and avocado salad onto the centre of 4 serving plates and place 2 chicken drumsticks next to the salad on each plate. Drizzle the reserved parsley sauce over and around the chicken and serve.

JUST TO MAKE YOUR MOUTH WATER, I DID THE FOLLOWING NOT SO LONG AGO AT OUR WOMAN’S EMPOWERING MEETING AND IT WAS A SURE WINNER.

CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY COCONUT BALLS (sorry Charles)

INGREDIENTS

1 x 85g packet  Original Raspberry Jelly

500g Marie biscuits, finely crushed

1 x 400g can sweetened condensed milk

3 cups desiccated coconut

1 tbsp cocoa powder

METHOD

1.  Prepare the  Original Raspberry Jelly according to pack instructions and allow to cool, but do not set.
2.  Place the crushed Marie biscuits into a large mixing bowl and mix in the condensed milk, cooled Aeroplane Original Raspberry Jelly liquid, 1/2 cup of coconut and cocoa powder.
3.  Once combined, roll mixture into golf sized balls and then coat into the remaining coconut. Place rum balls into the fridge and set for 4 hours and serve.

INGREDIENTS

1 x 1 Litre pack  Real Stock -Chicken
1 leek, finely sliced
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1kg green king prawns, peeled, cleaned, tails removed*                       
3 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup white wine
200g punnet cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, shredded
½ cup cream

METHOD

1. Heat stock in a saucepan on medium heat until almost simmering. Reduce heat to low. 

2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large heavy based pan over medium heat. Add leek and cook for about 2 minutes or until soft. Add the rice and stir until well coated with oil. 

3. Add a ladleful of the heated stock, stirring until the liquid is almost absorbed. Continue the process, adding a ladleful of stock at a time until all the stock has been added and the rice is just cooked.  This should take about 15-20 minutes.  Place lid on risotto, and set aside. 

4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add the prawns and cook for about 2 minutes, turning once until just cooked.  Add wine and cook for 1 minute or until wine has reduced by 1/2.   Add cherry tomatoes, basil and cream and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the cream has thickened slightly.

5. Gently stir the prawn mixture into the risotto.   Garnish with extra basil leaves if desired.