Chicken and Courgettes with a Tarragon Sauce

Last year we had a fantastic meal at The Lamb Inn, Chinley and I was bowled over by the Tarragon sauce that I had served with my Ham Hock.  For a while now we have had taragon growing in the garden but for some reason it has gone unused, until now.  Tarragon is a fantastic herb that tastes quite different from how it smells.  This pleased Fran as when it is picked and chopped it has an aroma similar to aniseed which she does not like, however, added at the end of a dish and cooked down for a few minutes, the aniseed edge is lifted a little and you are left with a wonderful warm and savoury taste that is perfect with all meats and sits particularly well in a creamy sauce.

So this time while looking through the fridge to see what could be made for tea we decided on Chicken and Courgettes with a Tarragon Sauce.  Fran had some inspiration in a dish she had at Cafe Rouge called Poulet Breton, however we couldn't find a decent recipe for this so we trusted a little instict, kept it simple and did it alone!

Chicken and Courgettes with a Tarragon Sauce

What you will need (serves 2):

2 chicken breast fillets
1 medium leek (chopped)
1 medium courgette (thinly chopped)
30g butter
1 glass white wine
handful tarragon (leaves loosely picked and chopped)
double cream
salt and pepper

First soften the leeks in the butter over a medium heat
Then add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes
Then add the chopped courgettes and cook till softened (add a splash of water if dry)
Next add the wine and allow to bubble for a couple of minutes
Finally add the cream and Tarragon and stir through, allow to warm slowly infusing the dish with the Tarragon and add a little seasoning to taste.

We had it with home grown beans and mash and managed to make it stretch to 4 servings! It would work well with rice too.

The Tarragon flavour took me right back to the meal we had at The Lamb Inn and will definitely be a herb we use again soon.  It sits perfectly with a cream sauce and this simple recipe gives the impression of a much more defined dish that is still surprisingly quick and easy to make.

Enjoy

Paprika Baked Pasta

Yes I know it is another Pasta Bake - but they are just so convenient.  You can prepare them in advance and just pop them in the oven half an hour before teatime.  All that is ever needed is a pile of leaves and/or some nice crusty bread and you're done.

I suppose there are limitless ideas for what you can put in a pasta bake.  Even with this one I was meaning to put mushrooms and peas in but forgot.



Paprika Baked Pasta

As with many of our own recipes they are generally to eat up what is left in the fridge and this is no exception.  The only thing we knew we wanted in this dish was paprika and cream - probably due to the dishes we have been sampling recently at the Orange Tree Tapas in Denton.

What you will need for this dish:

Bacon Lardons (handful)
1 Medium Onion (chopped)
1 Courgette (chopped)
1 Clove of Garlic (crushed)
1 Tablespoon of Tomato Puree (that is paste not passata - long story!)
1 Tin of Italian Cherry Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon of Paprika
* 1 Tablespoon of Dried Sweet Basil
Single Cream - according to your taste
a good handful of grated mature cheddar for topping
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Dried Pasta - for 4 (we used gluten-free)

* it is worth a mention that the sweet basil we used was bought from Greek Oil Direct who have a fantastic stall at Marple Farmer's Market.

Method:

First gently fry the chopped onion and bacon in olive oil for 5 mins

Then add then corgette and garlic and fry for a few mins more

Add the sweet basil and paprika and mix well

Add the tomato puree and cherry tomatoes, mix well. 

Add the cream till the desired consistency
Season and bring to a simmer

Put dry pasta into a casserole dish and pour over the sauce.  Add a little water if required till the pasta is just covered.
Cover and place in pre-heated oven at 200c and cook for 15 mins
Remove lid, sprinkle over cheese and bake uncovered for a further 15 mins




The picure above was taken before adding the topping.  Serve with leaves, bread and shavings of Parmesan.  This was just as nice cold the next day.

Green Soup

Green Soup

After being inspired by all the fresh seasonal produce at Kenyon Hall Farm the other week I decided to see what Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says about what to cook this time of year in the River Cottage Year recipe book. In between August and September type time, was a recipe for a soup which used loads of courgettes, and as previously stated, Red Soup was getting a bit monotonous, so I thought to give it a try.

Recipe as follows:

1 kilo of firm courgettes

2 garlic cloves

750ml milk

3-4 tablespoons goats cheese

With such simple ingredients, and the addition of yummy goats cheese, surely this soup is a winner.

Hugh says to chop the courgettes to about coin thickness and to fry gently, with the finely chopped garlic, for about 20 mins, until most of the water has evaporated and they are soft, but not browned. This seemed to take an awful lot longer for me. Then either mash the courgettes or blitz them in a food processor. I chose to blitz.

The next step was to melt the goats cheese in. I'd bought a smallish cheese which was about 3 tablespoons at a guess. Maybe more. But I do like goats cheese.

It did look a bit gloopy, and the rind wasn't melting too well, and for a moment I thought Hugh had gone mad, but I persevered.

Next, was to heat the milk and add it bit by bit to the courgette mixture until it reaches the consistency required. I added all the milk as it seemed to come together well. I did blitz it again with a stick blender to break down the cheese rind and to give it a final mix.

 
 
The soup was lovely, and it was a first for me using milk. I did think it needed quite a bit of seasoning which the recipe didn't suggest, but this would probably depend on the type of goats cheese used, and the amount of it. All in all, very nice, and I think I will be doing it again.

Briam

The next challenge following our trip to Kenyon Hall Farm was to find a nice recipe to make use of the giant courgette we'd bought for 10p!!  To be honest thought this wasn't a difficult decision as one of our favourite dishes in the whole world (and very simple to cook) is Briam.

Briam - the original in Elounda. Served with homemade crispy bread

Briam is a Greek dish that we first tried while on holiday in Crete this year.  It is simply Vegetable Stew but all the recipes I have seen and indeed the version we had it was obviously baked - so I describe it as Baked Vegetables!

We had been on a little trip into the mountains near Elounda and visited an Olive Press (where the olive oil for this dish came from).  The guide took us to a taverna - where the host was a non-English speaking elderly Greek lady.  We were asked by the guide if we wanted food - as always we said yes.  Expecting a menu to be presented we were a little surprised to be told that today she had cooked Briam!  We shouldn't have been concerned with the lack of choice though as it turned out to be the best dish of the holiday.  Also it was rather charming that the host decided what the guests were going to eat.

Since returning we have tried a few versions - including a Rick Stein recipe that had lots of vegetables in it but it didn't quite bring back the memories of the Briam we had eaten, perhaps as it had too many ingredients.  We then set about replicating the dish we had tried in Crete.  We knew it had been baked for a long time and it was swimming in delicious Olive Oil.  Interestingly it only used 2 main ingredients: Courgette and Potato.  But I think the simplicity is the making of this dish and allows you to taste the fine olive oil.  This has been tested on Parents to critical acclaim :)

Briam - Baked Vegetables (our version)

You will need:

500g waxy baby new potatoes sliced
1 large courgette sliced
500g fresh tomatoes
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
A ready supply of the best savoury olive oil you can find

Make the tomato sauce.  This version needs everything to be finely chopped so I used the mini chopper.  First blitz the onion and garlic and soften on a low heat in olive oil.  Blitz the tomatoes in batches and add to the onion.  Season well and add oregano.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

Using a heavy oven proof dish such as a Le Creuset and begin assembling the dish.  First build a layer of potato, then a layer of courgette.  Season well (probably more salt than you are comfortable with) and a covering of olive oil.  Then add a third of the sauce.

Continue layering up, remembering to add plenty of salt each time.  These proportions should make 2 or 3 layers with the remainder of sauce poured over the top.

It should look something like this.








Add more oil, season, cover and bake in the oven for one hour. 
Remove the lid - give it a bit of a stir and add a little water so you can just see the juices below the top layer and return UNCOVERED for a further hour.

What you should be left with is a mouthwatering dish of baked vegetables that we find can be eaten as a main with crusty bread or side dish to anything really.  Season (again) - sorry to harp on but it really needs good seasoning and serve.





This is easily one of our favourite dishes and I even have some in a tub for my tea at work tonight :)