Come Dine with Me (6) - Petersham Portuguese Charcoal Chicken w Peri Peri Sauce; Chicken and Leek Soup; Cucumber and Caper Salad; Pasta E Fagioli

I cook a lot at home lately because, although my back is getting better, I still can't venture out on trips to the city plus sitting in a restaurant for long dinners in the evening. It's our choice to live in a quiet suburb, close to the beach but far from the city (oh well if you consider a 25 minutes off-peak-hour drive to Sydney CBD far).

I love the excitement when I spot great recipes from my favourite restaurants or chefs while flipping through newspapers or magazines. Often I cannot wait to run to the kitchen to try the dish out. Nowadays, with more and more chef and restaurant recipes easily accessible, cooking can be nearly as much fun as dining out.

Petersham Portuguese Charcoal Chicken Recipe
(Adapted from Daily Telegraph Taste, recipe by Luis Fernandes)
Serves 4-6

Who has not tasted the famous Petersham Portuguese Charcoal Chicken? Me! With a young kid on tow for the past 8 years, a 2-3 hours round trip to taste the famous charcoal chicken is a luxury. Although we are as curious as everyone to find out how good the taste of this charcoal chicken is, we didn't embark on a road trip to visit the restaurant. So when the Daily Telegraph printed the famous charcoal chicken with peri-peri sauce on their weekly Taste section, I couldn't wait to get Mr J to lit up his barbie and give this famous recipe a go. How did it go, you may ask? Oh well, we don't have a real charcoal BBQ but the recipe is as good as BBQ chicken can be. It goes very well with the super garlicky peri-peri sauce although I was quite surprise to learn that the sauce uses only garlic powder and not the real minced garlic. Nevertheless, it's a great recipe for a spring or summer BBQ dinner!

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

Marinade:
8 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch salt
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp bay leaf powder
2 tsp paprika
2 shots scotch whisky
2 tbsp soft butter
Rock salt

Peri peri sauce:
2 tbsp chilli flakes (or 10 birdeye chillies, finely chopped)
Pinch salt
Juice of lemon
100 ml olive oil
2 tbsp garlic powder

Method

1. Prepare chicken by trimming away excess fat. Use a sharp knife or kitchen scissors to cut the chicken through the breastbone. Open out, turn over and flatten by pressing down with your hand along the backbone. Make a small cut under each wing to help it flatten further. (You can ask your butcher to prepare this step)
2. Mix all ingredients for marinade together. Make several incision in the chicken with a sharp knife. This will allow the flesh to absorb the marinade and allow fat to drain. Prick all over with a large fork. Brush both sides with the marinade and sprinkle with rock salt. Cover and marinade for 30-45 minutes.
3. Cook over a charcoal barbecue (or hot grill) turning frequently and basting continuously with the remaining marinade until both side are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cut the chicken into pieces with kitchen scissors and brush with peri peri sauce.
4. For peri peri sauce: Mix all ingredients into a thickish dipping sauce.

Chicken and Leek Soup Recipe
(Adapted from Vogue Entertaining + Travel August / September 2009 issue)
Serves 8

Chicken soup is good for the soul. On a lazy day, I like to simmer a big pot of chicken soup to go with a big bowl of steaming hot jasmine rice. It doesn't just warm up the body, it nourishes our soul as well. This is one of my favourite chicken soup recipes.

Ingredients

4 leeks
1.3 kg chicken or 4 large chicken marylands
1 onion, halved
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery, each cut into 4
2 large carrots, each cut into 4
1 fresh bouquet garni (thyme sprigs, parsley stalks and a bay leaf tied together)
Juice of 2 lemon
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to serve

Method

1. Cut green tops from leeks, rinse and reserve. Cut white parts into 2cm-thick slices and rinse.
2. Place chicken in a large saucepan or stockpot, cover with 4 litres water and bring to the boil, skimming off scum. Add reserve leek tops, onion, garlic celery, carrots and bouquet garni.
3. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then bring to a very gentle simmer over low-medium heat. Cover and cook for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
4. Transfer chicken to a bowl. Strain stock into a clean saucepan and discard solids. Shred chicken meat, discarding skin and bones, and add to strained stock. Add white part of leeks and cook broth over medium heat for a further 15 minutes or until leeks are tender. Add lemon juice and season.
5. Ladle soup into large bowls and scatter with parsley. Serve immediately.

Cucumber and Caper Salad Recipe
(Adapted from Gourmet Traveller Magazine March 2008 issue)
Serves 6

I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of kimchi (Am I weird?). A little once in a while is okay for me, but I have never gone gaga over it and never crave for it. Instead of kimchi, I always whip up this salad whenever I cook a Korean main meal for my family. It goes especially well with the Korean Fried Chicken I made recently. This is a great salad for any season and any meal.

Ingredients

3 Lebanese cucumbers
5 radishes
1 small Spanish onion
2 tbsp raw caster sugar
3 tbsp salted capers, soaked in warm water for 2 minutes, then drained
2 tbsp white vinegar

Method

1. Using a mandolin or sharp knife, very thinly slice cucumbers, radishes and onion widthways and place in a bowl. Add a pinch of sugar, season with sea salt and gently mix to combine. Stand for 10 minutes or until liquid leaches from cucumbers, then gently squeeze out excess liquid. Add capers, stir to combine and season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.
2. In a bowl, combine remaining sugar and vinegar and season to taste. Stir through salad and serve immediately.

Pasta E Fagioli Recipe
(Adapted from Vogue Entertaining + Travel Magazine April / May 2009 issue, recipe by Cafe Sopra's Chef Andy Bunn)
Serves 6-8

Have I been to the famous Cafe Sopra? Again, my answer is NO. However, I have cooked many recipes written by their chef Andy Bunn. This is one of the hearty pasta soup meals that I love. Mr J loves soup flavoured by ham hock. The reason behind it is probably that his favourite Dutch pea soup is cooked with a very similar method with lots of vegetables and peas (instead of beans) and is flavoured by ham hock. "Too keep a man is to fill his stomach." My mom told me this Chinese proverb when I was at a tender young age and now I am happily married for 11 years.

Ingredients

2 onions
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
60 g butter, chopped
6 roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, finely chopped
1 ham hock
1.5 litre chicken stock
575 g fresh borlotti beans or 250 g podded (You can substitute 400 g canned cannellini beans, chickpeas or kidney beans for the borlotti beans)
100 g short macaroni or other short soup pasta
1 tbsp each chopped flat-leaf parsley, chervil and chives
Finely grated parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Chop onions, carrots and celery into 1 cm pieces. Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add onions, carrots and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until soft. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, then add ham hock and stock. Simmer gently for 2 hours.
2. Remove hock from soup, cool slightly, then shred meat. Skim excess fat off soup, ad ham meat, beans and pasta, and cook for 7 minutes or until pasta is al dente and beans are tender. Stir in herbs and season with freshly ground black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with parmesan.