Addictive chicken salad

I first ate this salad on my summer holidays. It was delightfully cooked for me and my family by my sister and her man. So, the fact that I find myself craving it and craving people I can serve it to is really their fault, or Jamie Oliver’s for inventing it. It’s my summer 2013 most used recipe slightly adapted from Jamie's below but you can find the original elsewhere online or in his 15 minute meal book. A quick search of Jamie's website hasn't revealed the recipe but has thrown up this gorgeous Greek chicken salad which sounds similarly addictive and will make a change when you're bored of eating this.

For four, you will need:

3-4 chicken breasts

Patak’s madras (or other preferred) paste, 1 heaped dessert spoon per breast

8 chestnut mushrooms or more if you like mushrooms

1 bunch spring onions


1 fresh red chilli


1 heaped tsp mustard seeds


1/2 tsp cumin seeds

olive oil


1x 250g pack of ready to eat Puy lentils
, you can of course cook your own, it just takes longer

1 ripe tomato


a splash of red wine vinegar


1 bunch of fresh coriander


170g natural or Greek yoghurt 


1 heaped tbsp cashew nuts


2 heaped tbsp mango chutney


2 tsp turmeric


1 lemon (not crucial)

2 naan breads


200g baby spinach


1 mango

1/2 a cucumber


2 small carrots
/ 1 large carrot

100g feta cheese.

What to do: 

Season the chicken and smear generously with Patak’s paste. It doesn’t really matter how you cook the chicken, I have tried it griddled which is delicious but messy, on the BBQ which is amazing you’re in the mood or baked in foil in the oven if you want the least messy, no effort option. Whatever you decide, do the same with the mushrooms (and later the naan).

  

Trim and chop the spring onions and the chilli.

Toast the mustard seeds and cumin in a dash of hot oil in a frying pan until they are jumping. Add the spring onion and half of the chilli followed by the lentils and a good glug of red wine vinegar. Warm this for a couple of minutes.

Separate the coriander leaves and stalks.

Add the stalks, juice and zest of lemon, yoghurt, cashews, tumeric and mango chutney to a food processor and whizz. I've tried this as a finely blitzed pretty runny dressing and as a coarsely blitzed more dollopy delight, both work, go with whatever appeals or how it turns out.

Griddle, BBQ or bake the naan and as this cooks arrange the salad as follows on a large platter or dish. Just throw it together, it's not a precise thing and if you're trying to do it in anywhere close to 30 minutes, never mind 15 you will have to throw things. 

 

Layer the baby spinach at the base, scatter with lentil mix, speed peel (with a vegetable peeler) the carrots and cucumber. Sprinkle the mushrooms and mango chunks. Slice the chicken, cut the naan into strips and arrange haphazardly. Finally top with chunks of feta, remaining half of chopped chilli, pour or dollop yoghurt dressing and toss remaining coriander leaves over the top. Serve with additional mango chutney or dressing. You are advised to make double quantities for this purpose. You will eat it.

Blueberry, lemon and elderflower drizzle cake.

Baking with my favourite toddler last week, we ended up inventing our own cake as we didn't have the ingredients to follow the recipe planned. So here it is The Rowley Girls' Blueberry, Lemon and Elderflower Drizzle Cake.

It was an unexpected success. Enjoyable and a great way to take a break from the midday sunshine, with a summery flavour combination inside. Thankfully, Baby A slept peacefully until the cake was in the oven so it was a quick cake to hold a toddler's short attention and complete in a nap time for added satisfaction. It couldn't have been planned this way.

Makes 10 large rectangles of surprisingly light cake.

You will need:

300g self raising flour

250g unsalted butter, soft, or very soft in this heat

250g caster sugar

150g blueberries, washed 

4 medium eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Juice and zest of one lemon  

A glug of semi skimmed milk. 

What to do.

Combine all ingredients except the blueberries thoroughly by hand (E took this very literally) or in a mixer. 

Zest of one lemon.

Juice of one lemon.

Two eggs

and then another two.

Pour it in.

Have a sneaky taste test when you think no one's looking.

A helping hand.

Hide 150g blueberries in the mixture by poking or stirring.

Pour into a greased and lined brownie tin and bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C.

For the drizzle, mix 75ml elderflower cordial, 75g granulated sugar and the zest and juice of two lemons. Prick the cake gently all over and pour over syrup. Then cool thoroughly in the tin before slicing. 

Make a hot mug of tea and enjoy at the kitchen table; ignore the washing up while your toddler watching another episode of Postman Pat.

Fast tuna salad, with love.

The only blog posts I’ve written recently have been in my head or at best a couple of scrappy notes on my phone. Today, I received a text from a dear friend, a new mum, wondering if I had any suggestions for quick suppers as she has been “living on pasta and pizza at ten o’clock”.

As the silence here has been mainly because we have also been adjusting to life with a new member of our family, it seemed apt that my first post in months would relate to that. It also struck me that of all the advice I was offered as a pregnant lady and new mum and of all the advice I have offered to others about parenthood, I have never handed anyone a quick, tasty recipe which might just save the day.  It won’t stop your baby from crying or magically help them sleep through the night but it will make you feel better even if you only eat half of it one handed.

Of course, this type of recipe is not just perfect for new mums or busy families, it’s great for busy people or new inspiration which hopefully covers everyone reading.

Fast Tuna Salad

This is so simple it’s hardly a recipe. We first ate it during a brief introduction to the 5:2 diet. That's another story. I was pretty scathing but it tastes delicious, is seriously quick to make and goes well with a side of soy-dressed or stir-fried noodles. Also great al fresco during this current Summer we’re experiencing. Edinburgh was 28 degrees C today.

Serves 2.

You will need:

2 tuna steaks

4 tablespoons soy sauce (light or dark, both work)

1 lime, juice and zest

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (if you have it, not essential)

1-2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon wasabi, chopped red chilli or peeled, grated ginger

Salad leaves

Half a cucumber, in strips or ribbons

100g cherry tomatoes, halved

4 spring onions, finely chopped

What to do:

Make the dressing by mixing or shaking the soy sauce, lime, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar and chosen hot stuff together.

If you have time, marinade the tuna for up to half an hour, ten minutes is good enough.

Wash, chop and arrange the salad leaves, cucumber, tomatoes and spring onions on the plates.

Sear the tuna in a frying pan. Cooking time depends on size of steaks and whether you decide to serve as a whole steak or in strips. As a rough guide, if you like it rare, a couple of minutes each side or 20 seconds for strips.

Top the salad with the tuna and eat, with one hand or two.

And, as I’m easing myself back to blogging maybe you can help. If you have a simple, delicious recipe that you make on evenings when you’re low on energy and time but need to eat well and would like to share it here please email us rachelandchrisrowley@gmail.com and watch this space for a some simple suppers guest posts.

Perfectly cooked.

Baby Anna came into the world one week ago. She is wonderful and very much loved and we are so grateful for her healthy and safe arrival, for her darling big sister, for the warm welcomes she has received and to our family and friends who have laughed with us, cooked for us and shared the magic of a new arrival. Forgive our blog neglect, we'll be back as soon as we settle in.

2012, part two.

Finally a chance to complete our 2012 reflections.

July

Back when the nights were long and light and there were delicious strawberries, sweetness and tennis.

August

 

 

 

We returned to hosting refreshed and inspired by our holiday in Provence, loving London 2012 and dishing up palate cleansing, fruity flavours to new and familiar guests.

September

 

A change of season brought new ingredients to exploit. We remembered a special anniversary and celebrated a couple of brilliant birthdays. We wore sunglasses and a scarf and welcomed friends from near (ish) and far.

October

 

 There was room for more birthday cake and celebrations, warm hearts and harvest. 

 November

 

 

  

A belated Halloween party for little people and their Mums, holidays coming, Thanksgiving and a very exciting feature.

December

Mince pies and traditions, fairy lights and magic, a special end to our 2012 suppers with friends at our table. There was also time for family, feasting, gifts given and received and a very thoughtful Father Christmas who brought our wee apprentice a kitchen of her own for the next stage of her training!