Jerk Chicken on the Barbecue

Loathe to let the unforgiving British weather dictate my weekend plans, I went ahead with my barbecue last Sunday, despite the heavy rain and harsh wind. After all, there is no better way to cook jerk chicken than over hot charcoal. Fortunately, having a balcony off the dining room means we can cook outside and eat inside!

A jerk marinade can elevate the humble chicken to something wonderful. It's important to marinade overnight so that the flavours can penetrate the flesh as much as possible. Spatchcocking a chicken can seem like a daunting task, but a pair of good kitchen scissors and a cleaver make it easier.  Just cut through the parson's nose, all the way down the spine (which you should remove along with the ribcage and cartilage). Here's a demonstration: Spatchcock a chicken.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 large chicken, spatchcocked 

For the jerk marinade

1 bunch spring onions, chopped

4 red chillies, seeds removed and chopped

2 tbsp thyme leaves

2 tbsp allspice berries

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp black peppercorns

2 tbsp agave nectar

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Juice of 1 lime

Method

In a food processor, blitz the allspice and peppercorns to a fine powder. Add the rest of the ingredients and blitz until you have a thick paste.

Place the spatchcocked chicken into a large, shallow dish and massage in the marinade, making sure to distribute some underneath the skin. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge overnight, to allow the flavours to permeate. 

Technically this could be cooked in the oven (at 180°C for around an hour) but you would be missing out on the tasty chargrilled skin, so it's worth breaking out the barbecue. On mine, this takes around an hour. We cook it with the lid on to get lots of lovely smokiness in the flavour. For cooking time, as all barbecues are different, what you should be looking for is for the juices to run clear when probed.

All this needs is some buttery baked potatoes and a large napkin. Enjoy!

Banana Nut Loaf

As much as I love bananas I can't bear to eat one that has gone even slightly black. I think this is a hangover of often finding a long forgotten one mushed up in amongst the books in my schoolbag... *shudders*. Instead of confining these tasty treats to the compost box, I made a loaf cake out of them. In baking, the riper the banana the better. At this stage their natural sweetness is at its peak, making them ideal for cakes. I add nuts to my batter, as I love how their woody notes compliment the sweetness of the banana. A warm slice of this with a cup of freshly ground coffee is like a little bit of everyday heaven.

Ingredients 

3 ripe bananas, mashed up

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature

200g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

120g caster sugar

100g nuts (I used Brazils, almonds and walnuts) roughly chopped.

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp mixed spice

Pinch of salt

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C and grease a 1lb loaf tin.

Using a wooden spoon, or an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until well combined.

Sift the flour with the salt, baking powder and spice and add this to the egg mixture gradually, until a batter forms.

Using a spoon, stir in the bananas, honey and nuts until evenly distributed.

Place the batter in the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 1hr- 1hr 15 mins, until the cake is golden and feels springy to the touch.

Allow to cool slightly before serving. This keeps well for up to three days in an airtight container.

  

Nuts about Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has soared in popularity lately, and rightly so. It is infinitely useful - I use it to condition my hair, cleanse my face, as a mouthwash and in the bath when my skin needs some extra TLC. Not all coconut oils are equal though - here are my thoughts on the ones I've tried so far.

Superdrug Coconut Oil £2.29 125ml

This was the first coconut oil that I tried and I bought it without paying much attention to the ingredients. I assumed that all coconut oil was the same, but further research told me that hydrogenated oils (like this one) block pores, making them unsuitable for facial cleansing. The instructions also say that it isn't for "internal consumption" so unfortunately it can't be used for oil swilling either. It's not all bad though - this oil is fine to use as an intensive hair mask. As with all coconut oils, a little goes a long way, so it is good value and an effective conditioner. I'll keep using this until it runs out, but most likely won't repurchase as I'm not fond of the artificial coconut scent it contains.

2/5

Biona Organic Coconut Virgin Oil (Raw) £4.49 200g

This is my favourite oil as it ticks ALL the boxes. It is carefully produced, with no pasteurisation or bleaching and it is cold pressed, meaning the oil is as natural as possible. It has a beautiful, naturally occurring coconut fragrance and it really is a pleasure to use. After over a month of having this oil and using it in so many ways every day, I've yet to make a dent in the jar. It is a wonderful cleanser and leaves skin feeling soft and supple. It's nonhydrogenated so it won't block pores like some other coconut oils. I'll definitely repurchase this if the jar ever runs out - it's my coconut oil holy grail

5/5

Cocofresh Coconut Oil £1.59 250ml

I picked this up on impulse at my local green grocers. The packaging is pretty coy about the processing of the product - it simply claims to be "100% Pure Coconut Oil". As I don't know whether it's hydrogenated or not I avoid cleansing with it, but have found it really good to use on hair and for shaving my legs. It is an absolute bargain, so I would recommend it for everywhere but the face. 

3/5

Clarified Butter

Frying foods in butter gives a wonderful richness, but if the temperature is too high whatever is being cooked can often end up with unappetising black flecks. There is an easy way to avoid this and it's by clarifying the butter before use.

Clarified butter is basically butter with the impurities removed. The impurities are milk solids and water, so the key is making the butter anhydrous so it has a higher smoke point and can withstand longer cooking periods. Removing the water and milk solids from butter increases the smoke point by a whopping 150°C.

It is incredibly easy to clarity butter. Simply take a block of unsalted butter, place in a pan and gently bring to the boil. Milk protein in the form of a white scum will form on top and this is what we want to discard. Simply skim this off with a spoon until you are left with the luscious, yellow butter underneath. Decant this into a sterilised jar and store in the fridge, where it will solidify. Clarified butter keeps a lot longer than regular butter - up to three months -  leaving you plenty of time to get through it. It works well in curries, shallow frying, and garnishes.

Blood Orange Fizz

Blood oranges are my favorite fruit and are in season for a while longer, so I've been trying to think of imaginative ways to use them. 

As it was Valentine's Day last weekend, I thought I would juice them to add to champagne in order to create an alcoholic drink that is acceptable before noon.

The result was so delicious that I didn't even mind cleaning my juicer for once! It went really well with my luxurious Valentine's Day brunch and I'm desperately trying to invent another special occasion so I can have it again soon.

Brioche French Toast

My motto is that brunch should be easy to make, even after a glass or three of Buck's Fizz. Thankfully, french toast fulfils this requirement and is also luxurious and delicious to boot. I use brioche for mine, as it lends a sweetness that goes wonderfully well with whatever you serve it with, whether that be salty bacon or fresh fruit. It's best to slice the brioche and leave it out for a couple of hours before cooking, so that it hardens slightly, allowing it to absorb more of the egg mixture. 

Ingredients 

Serves 2

4 slices of brioche 

3 eggs

50ml milk 

1 tsp cognac (optional)

Pinch of nutmeg

Few grinds of black pepper

3 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tbsp clarified butter

I served mine with some crispy streaky bacon, but it's also delicious with red berries or maple syrup.

Method

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, cognac, nutmeg and pepper until well combined. Press the bread into the egg mixture, giving it a few minutes to soak it.

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan over a medium temperature until the butter has melted and the fat is hot.

Add the egg soaked bread and fry for two minutes on each side, until golden brown. Serve immediately. 

5:2 Fast Day Recipes: Chicken Jalfrezi with Cauliflower Rice

Before embarking on the 5:2, Tuesday night was Curry Night in this household. I wanted to recreate that occasion, but knew the pilau rice, naan bread and popadoms would have to go. Curries in themselves are quite healthy meals- packed with fresh vegetables, tasty spices and lean meat, it only takes a bit of tweaking in order to make them suitable for a fast night. My biggest concern was what to replace the rice with in order to make the dish both taste and look like the treat we were used to.

Having recently discovered courgette spaghetti, I'm already a big fan of substituting carbs for vegetables. So for this dish, grated cauliflower replaces rice. This brings down the calorie count substantially, but also tastes great. Cauliflower is already a popular side accompaniment to curries (Aloo Gobi, anyone?) and once fried, it has a wonderfully nutty flavour and even looks like rice.

For obvious reasons, I've omitted the ghee in this recipe and replaced it with some crème fraîche to add a bit of richness. 

Ingredients 

Serves 2

For the curry

2 medium chicken breasts, diced 340 calories

2 medium onions, 1 grated and 1 chopped 92 calories

Medium green pepper, sliced 16 calories 

Medium red pepper, sliced 19 calories 

1 red chilli, chopped 20 calories

400g chopped tomatoes 82 calories 

1 tbsp cumin 15 calories 

1 tbsp ground coriander 10 calories 

1 tsp garam masala 12 calories 

1 tsp turmeric 12 calories 

1 tsp salt 0 calories 

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, to garnish 5 calories 

1 tbsp low fat crème fraîche 12 calories

For the cauliflower rice

1 medium cauliflower, stems removed and grated.144 calories 

Salt and pepper, to taste 0 calories 

Total calories: 779

Calories per serving: 390

Method

In a large, heavy-bottomed casserole dish, sear the chicken breasts over a medium heat until they are browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Place the grated onion and all of the powdered spices into the dish and fry gently until the onion has softened. Stir often to prevent the spices from burning. Add the chopped onion and fry for a further 5 minutes. 

Add the chopped tomatoes, sliced peppers and browned chicken pieces to the pan along with 300ml of water. Stir until well combined, season with the salt and allow to simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add more water if nessescary.

To cook the rice, place the grated cauliflower in a frying pan and season with salt and pepper. Gently fry until it has browned slightly. This should take around five minutes. 

Just before serving, stir the crème fraîche into the curry and scatter over the chopped coriander. Eat immediately.