Tag: chicken recipe

Chicken and chorizo meatballs
Oven cooked meatballs! Remember to use a big pan for the tomato sauce or the meatballs won’t fit in.

Feeds four.

Timings: Prep: 20 min. Cooking: 40 min Eat: 10 min

Ingredients

500 g chicken mince

100 g breadcrumbs

A good pinch of salt

One egg

100g chorizo

A can of tomatoes

Onion and garlic

Vegetable stock cube/ stock pot

About a teaspoon each of dried oregano, thyme and chilli flakes. Add other herbs to your liking, and black pepper.

2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

Pasta – about 75 g dry weight per person.

You’ll need two big saucepans and a baking tray. Oven to 180 C (fan), gas mark 6.

If you can’t get chicken mince, use a blender to mash up the required amount of chicken thighs¹. Use the same blender to shred the chorizo (and make the breadcrumbs, unless you want to buy them).

Breadcrumbs and shredded chorizo in a Minimixer.

Combine the mince, chorizo, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, herbs and spices in a bowl and mix well. You can do away with the egg if you add more salt or leave the mix for longer – overnight is best². Form into 12 or so meatballs. Smaller ones will cook quicker, you might make 20.

Meatball mix. The salt and egg help to bind the meatballs.

Distribute the raw meatballs onto a baking tray with an oiled baking sheet. Brush with a little oil and bake for 20 minutes until browned – check they are done with a meat thermometer if you have one.

Ready to cook, raw meatballs on an oiled, foiled baking tray. The oil helps brown the meatballs and lessen sticking to the foil.

While the meatballs are in the oven, make the tomato sauce. It would be an option to make this earlier – a couple of hours earlier – since the flavour improves with time. Depends on how busy you are.

Fry chopped onion at a low heat for at least 5 minutes until they are translucent. If you have time, fry at a very low heat for even longer until they caramelise. Add garlic, spices and dried herbs, fry for another minute.

Add the tin of tomatoes, rinse out with half a can of water and add this to the sauce. Add the stock cube/ stock pot and simmer.

Boil the pasta as directed on the packet. It’s a good idea to time it so that the pasta is done about five minutes after the meatballs are come out of the oven.

Meatballs after 20 minutes in the oven. A bit of browning adds flavour. An yes, OK, they did stick to the foil a bit.

Once the meatballs are cooked, transfer them into the pan with the sauce. This is why you need a big saucepan and I never made the mistake of using a small saucepan. Oh no, siree, matey Bob!

Meatballs in tomato sauce, ready to dish up.

Garlic bread goes well with this.
1. Chicken thigh are tastier than breast, but not as aesthetically pleasing. ↩︎
2. I think I got this tip from Gordon Ramsey. The salt breaks down some of the protein in the meat and helps the mixture bind by creating a natural glue. ↩︎
04/06/2025
Thai Green Curry

An easy favourite. Feeds 3.

Timings: Prep: 10 min. Cooking: 10 min Eat: 10 min

Ingredients

Two large chicken breasts (or three small ones)

Mangetout – about 100 g

Green curry paste, 40 or 50 g (I used Mea Ploy brand for this one)

A can of coconut milk (400 ml)

Jasmine rice (200 g uncooked rice is enough for three)

2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

You’ll need a big saucepan and a large frying pan.

Slice the chicken breasts. I prefer slices to chunks for this recipe, but you do whatever you like best.

Rinse the rice. Boil about 600 ml water in a large saucepan (more water is fine), add salt and boil the rice while you cook the chicken. The rice will take about 10 minutes to cook.

Fry the green curry paste in the oil. If you’ve bought a one-meal batch of paste, use it all. The paste I’ve been using (see picture below) says to use 50 g. This was at the top end of our tolerance for spicy heat, so I’ve used 40 g since the first time. This makes a curry that’s hot enough to enjoy without feeling challenged.

This is the green curry paste I’ve been using. It’s spicy enough for us without added chilis, as the serving suggestion shows. This pot cost about £3, it’s good for eight to ten meals. Bargain!

Fry for a minute, then add some of the cream from the coconut milk. To make this easier I store the can of milk upside down so that there is a plug of cream when you open the can.

Once the paste and cream are combined and smelling good, add the sliced chicken. Fry until the chicken has gone white on the outside, then add the rest of the can. If you don’t want too much sauce, don’t add all the coconut water from the can.

Stir while cooking and remember to keep an eye on the rice.

About two minutes before the rice is done, add the mangetout. It’ll want a couple of minutes cooking to get warm, but don’t leave it too long or it’ll go soft.

Chicken curry nearly ready for dishing up. Just give the mangetout a minute or two in the sauce. That’s enough to warm it through without losing the crunch.

I crushed a few almonds to add on top – peanuts or any other nut will do, but we had almonds in the pantry.

Once the rice is done, strain in a sieve. If it’s a bit claggy for your liking, rinse with boiling hot water before serving.

Dinner’s ready! Thai green curry with jasmine rice. Some crushed almonds add a crunch.

There’s usually quite a lot of sauce. Make sure there’s enough rice to soak it all up.

We usually have ‘Thai inspired crackers’ with this. Last time, it was a Tesco own brand bag, I don’t think we’ve ever stretched to Sharwood’s own brand. Same with the coconut milk – it’s usually supermarket own brand.

I keep meaning to look into how to make my own green curry paste. I don’t know what the minimum amount is that can be made or how well it keeps. I don’t want to make a kilo of paste and it all go to waste.

06/05/2025