FOOD:It's a good time of year for salty, spicy roast chicken joints, and a delicious, moist rhubarb cake that makes a wonderful breakfast and lasts for days in the fridge
I KNOW I’VE said it before, but my kitchen cupboards and drawers are a real disappointment. I live in a gadget-free house, and except for a few wooden spoons, two good knives, chopping boards and an electric beater, it is entirely devoid of gizmos. There is a food processor that works part-time, (or when there’s a full moon), but I lack the shiny rows and piles of spanking new equipment and slick pots and pans that I feel entitled to.
I did own a juicer once, and was even sucked into buying a €30 pasta machine. Neither is around to tell the sorry tale of how their brief lives came to an end. My blender also died and I have to say, I kind of miss it. But the family is very relieved, as occasionally I would blend up a beetroot, a carrot, an apple and a lump of ginger for them in the morning. Lumpy beetroot and carrot smoothies, made in a blender rather than a juicer, are hard to stomach first thing in the morning, for even the most die-hard health nut.
The only thing I’m starting to hanker after is a pestle and mortar, which would make grinding the spices for this chicken recipe a lot easier. There is something very appealing about the whole process of grinding up bits and bobs in a confined space with a perfectly formed tool. Maybe it’s a bit caveman-like, or else it’s the fact that it takes very little effort on the cook’s part. I’m not quite sure, but it’s a job everyone seems to enjoy. Because I don’t own one, I crush spices in a cup with the bottom of my rolling pin. My method is a lot more Fred Flintstone than I care to admit, but it gets the job done, although you may end up with big stalks of cinnamon that resemble bits of tree bark, instead of finely ground spicy powders to adorn your chook.
This rhubarb cake was a hit, and it lasted for days in the fridge. It’s a good combination of sweet and tart, moist as hell, and the dark muscovado sugar gives a richness that works with the rhubarb. At this time of year, rhubarb fool, or just some stewed rhubarb mixed with some Greek yoghurt, is delicious. But this cake was a real treat to have for breakfast and went down a lot better than the compost smoothies.
Salt peppa chook
This is dead easy, and tasty. I used one whole chicken which was cut into six to eight pieces and fed five really greedy people. You could ask your butcher to do this for you, or else just buy a selection of legs, thighs and breasts (for the wussy guests). If you want to do it for 8-10, then double the spices and just get as many chicken pieces as you need.
4 star anise
3 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
Few tbsp olive oil
Zest of two limes
1 heaped tsp sea salt
Black pepper
Few sprigs of thyme
6-8 pieces of chicken
Put all the spices in a small frying pan and gently heat for a minute to dry-roast them. Either grind them in your grinder or pestle and mortar, or pour into a cup and crush them with the end of a rolling pin. Pour the crushed, dry-roasted spices back into the saucepan, and add the olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the chicken) and mix well. The residual heat from the saucepan will gently warm through the olive oil and other ingredients, which will make it easier to pour and rub onto the chicken.
Put the chicken in a roasting tray and pour on the oily spice mixture. Rub the meat well (then wash your hands thoroughly), and marinate for an hour or overnight, if possible, covering the chicken with clingfilm and keeping it in the fridge.
When you’re ready to cook, you can either cook this in the oven at 190 degrees/gas five for about 25-30 minutes, (less if you’re just using breast meat), or cook for 15 minutes in the oven and finish off on a barbecue. Either way it tastes great.
Red pepper and chilli sauce
3 red chillies, deseeded
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 red peppers, deseeded
Big knob of ginger, peeled
1 tsp salt
100ml rice wine vinegar
100ml water
100g sugar
Put the chillies, garlic, red peppers and ginger in a food processor or blender, along with the salt, vinegar and water, and blitz till pulp-like. Pour into a saucepan and heat gently, adding the sugar. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by a third. Check the seasoning, allow to cool down and serve.
Rhubarb and cinnamon squares
Adapted from a BBC Good Food recipe.
500g rhubarb
100g soft butter
100g golden caster sugar
1 large egg
100g mixed nuts, roughly chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
250g dark muscavado sugar
Approx 300 ml sour cream
225g cream flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
Preheat an oven to 180 degrees/gas four. Remove the end bits from the rhubarb and cut into bite-size pieces; you should end up with 300g of perfectly chopped rhubarb. Butter a baking tin (approximately 33cm x 23cm), and line it with baking paper. Beat the soft butter with the caster sugar until it is fluffy and then beat in the egg. Gently beat in the nuts, cinnamon, muscavado sugar and sour cream. Fold in the dry ingredients and the rhubarb. Pour into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool, and then cut into squares. Lasts for four to five days in the fridge. dkemp@irishtimes.com
See also www.itsa.ie
