Chili Lobster With Texas Toast

I have not yet tried this, but it is right up my alley...

Chili Lobster With Texas Toast
Adapted from Marc Forgione, New York.
From NY Times -    http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/12544/Chili-Lobster-With-Texas-Toast.html

Salt
3 or 4 lobsters, totaling about 4 1/2 pounds
2 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola oil
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 cups dry white wine
5 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs tarragon
1 bay leaf
6 cups water (reserved from poaching)

FOR THE CHILI LOBSTER
3 or 4 cooked lobsters (claws, knuckles, tails; see recipe above)
2 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons sweet onion (like Vidalia), peeled and minced
1 1/2 cups lobster stock (recipe above)
2 tablespoons fresh mint, cut into chiffonade
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons Sriracha sauce, or to taste
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 to 2 limes
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions

FOR THE TEXAS TOAST
4 thick slices sourdough bread
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 400. Fill a large pot with salted water and place it over high heat until it comes to a boil. Poach the lobsters for approximately 5 minutes, then remove from water and place in an ice bath to cool them quickly. (Do not discard the poaching liquid.) Once they are cooled, cut off the claws, knuckles and tails and refrigerate them until ready to prepare the final dish. Split open the heads, and remove the tomalley, which is delicious to some but not so pretty in this dish. Lift the legs away from the shell to reveal the gills, and cut them out using scissors. Break the heads apart by hand into large pieces.

2. Place a large, oven-safe saucepan over high heat, and add the oil, heating it until it shimmers and verges on smoking. Add the lobster heads to the pan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste to coat the shells. Add the shallots, stir to combine and put the pan in the oven. Cook for 8 to 12 minutes, or until well roasted.

3. Transfer the pan to the stove. Add the wine and herbs, bring to a boil and simmer until reduced by half. Add 6 cups of the reserved lobster poaching liquid to the reduced stock. Simmer the stock for an additional 90 minutes, reducing it. Strain through a fine sieve.

4. Make the chili lobster. Cut the tails into 1-inch pieces, then crack the claws and remove the meat. In a wok or a large skillet set over high heat, heat 2 tablespoons canola oil until just smoking. Add the ginger and onion and cook, stirring, for approximately 1 minute. Add the lobster tails, still in their shell, and the claw meat, turn heat down to medium and cook for approximately 2 minutes, or until hot. Add the stock, and return it to a boil. Transfer lobster pieces to a large serving plate, leaving the stock in the pan to reduce by half. Sprinkle the lobster with mint.

5. To the reduced stock, add soy and Sriracha and whisk in 3 tablespoons butter, one tablespoon at a time. Add a squeeze of lime juice, and adjust seasonings. Toast the bread, butter it generously and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cut into triangles. Spoon sauce over the lobster and garnish with sliced scallions.

Serve with toast
YIELD Serves 4

Butternut Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 Medium butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds before cutting) deseeded and cut into 1-2 inch cubes (you can leave the skin on or peel it)

1 small onion roughly chopped

3 large cloves garlic roughly chopped

2 medium carrots roughly chopped

2 stalks celery roughly chopped

15 oz container of ricotta cheese

16 oz mozzarella cheese, grated

1 1/2 cups parmigiano reggiano, grated

1 pound rotelle pasta (wagon wheels)

2 cups water (or chicken or vegetable stock)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Cook pasta about 3-4 minutes less than the package instructions (very al dente) in salted water. Drain and set aside.

Over medium high heat put olive oil, onion, carrots, garlic and celery along with salt and pepper and sauté until just tender and with some caramelization, about 15 minutes. Add in the cubed butternut squash and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is very tender.

Puree with an immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender). Taste for seasoning adding in salt and pepper as needed (or extra nutmeg). Add to the pasta along with the ricotta, 1 cup of the parmigiano reggiano and half of the mozzarella and blend well. Place in a buttered large baking dish and top with the remaining mozzarella and parmigiano.

Bake in a 375 degree oven, uncovered, for about 40 minutes, or until it is bubbling and the top is brown.

Cuban Pulled Pork

This was...awesome. I should have made 10 pounds...

Ingredients:

1 pound pork shoulder lightly trimmed

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

3/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lime juice

Olive oil

Directions:

Heat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Use about a tablespoon of oil and coat the pork shoulder. Add the spices and salt and pepper and coat well. In a hot pan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil brown the shoulder on all sides. Add in the orange and lime juice and bring to a boil.

Put the pan in the oven, covered, for two hours. Check that the meat should pull apart easy. Uncover the pot and cook for another 30 minutes to reduce the sauce and further brown the meat.

Remove from the oven, and put the shoulder in a separate bowl and shred with two forks. Add as much of the juice as you would like (I would suggest all of it).

Serve with tortillas, over saffron rice, with potato and apple latkes (awesome) or just eat it out of the bowl and lie to your friends that the dog ate it.

Homemade Merguez Sausage

I didn't use any casing on this, but it is very tasty! Serve on a roll with a yogurt sauce, or with lentils or couscous.

1 pound ground lamb

3 cloves garlic chopped, then mashed in a mortar/pestle with 1 T salt

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper and 2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar/pestle

2 Tbl paprika

1 tsp cayenne

Lots of fresh cracked black pepper

2 Tbl olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together. Form into small, sausages or meatballs and fry in a non-stick pan until brown. Turn and finish cooking, being careful not to overcook, making them dry.

Moroccan Lentils

This uses a variety of Moroccan spices to create a creamy and delicious side dish or main course. I prepared it with a terrific Merguez sausage.

Ingredients:

2 medium carrots, chopped fine

1/2 medium parsnip, chopped fine

2 stalks celery, chopped fine

1 small hot pepper, chopped fine

1/2 medium onion, chopped fine

4 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp corriander

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 pound lentils, inspected and washed

2 cups chicken stock

4 cups water

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Instructions:

Sweat carrots, parsnip, celery, hot pepper, onion and garlic in olive oil in medium heat until soft and a little brown. Add spices and stir, cooking only a minute or two being careful not to burn. Add lentils and coat, cooking for a couple of minutes. Add chicken stock and water and bring to a boil and then reduce heat and cook for about an hour. After 45 minutes check doneness, and add additional water if necessary.

Mexican Inspired Marinade

This is a great marinade for pork, flank steak or even chicken. You can add extra peppers for spiciness! Also, the longer the marinate, the spicier the meat.

Marinade:

2 cans of chipotle peppers in adobo

1-2 jalapeno peppers, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 shallot, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

Small bunch parsley and cilantro, coarsely chopped

Salt and pepper

Water if necessary to thin

Directions:

Place all ingredients (except water) into blender and pulse just a few times to blend to a chunky consistency. Place over meat and marinate for at least 2 hours.

Put leftover marinade into a pot and bring to a boil then strain for a nice, spicy sauce.

Blackened Hake with Cheddar Cauliflower

This is a riff I did on southern shrimp and grits. I knew I wanted to cheddar the cauliflower, but wasn't sure how to do the fish. Then, I thought of a great, spicy shrimp and grits I had in Charleston, and thought a blackening would work well.

Ingredients

Hake filet, about 14 ounces for two servings

Blackening spice (or mix together some paprika, cayenne, onion and garlic powder, salt and black pepper...possibly some dry thyme and parsley ground fine. Make it as hot as you would like!).

One head of cauliflower, ideally cheddar (orange color)

Two cloves garlic

A small handful of shredded cheddar cheese

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut cauliflower into relatively small pieces. Peel garlic and leave in clove form. Put a sautee pan over medium heat, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and add cauliflower and garlic to the pan. Roast for about 10-15 minutes until you get a little caramelization and the cauliflower gets tender. Add about a half cup of water to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Put into a food processor, and add the cheddar and process until just a little chunky. Add back to the pan to keep warm.

While the cauliflower is cooking, heat a pan over medium-high heat. Spread the blackening spices onto a board and roll the fish until covered. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan (it should just start smoking) and add the fish and cook until about 3/4 cooked through and nice and blackened (but not burned) on the bottom. Turn over and finish cooking on medium heat.

Add the cauliflower to a plate, top with the fish and enjoy!

Very Mushroom Risotto

I had a small epiphany when perusing one of Mario Batali's cook books. In it, he grinds dried porcini mushrooms into a powder to coat a steak. That made me think that doing the same thing in the risotto would make a really, really mushroom risotto...I was right!

Ingredients:

1/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms

About a cup mixed mushrooms sliced (crimini, shittake, oyster)

1 medium shallot diced finely

1/2 stalk celery diced finely

1 large clove garlic, sliced finely

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon thyme leaves (or regular thyme)

8 oz risotto or orzo, about a cup

4 cups chicken stock (or about 2-3 if the orzo)

White wine

Olive oil

1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Directions:

Take the dried porcini and break into smaller pieces so they can fit in a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) and grind until you have a very fine powder. You should have about 1 tablespoon.

Sautee the mushrooms over medium high high heat with some olive oil, until they are browned and cooked. Remove from the pan.

Lower the heat to medium, add a few tablespoons olive oil and add the celery, shallot and garlic and saute until soft, a few minutes. Add back the mushrooms (but save a few to garnish the plate) and then the risotto and thyme and cook a few minutes until the risotto is translucent. Add about a half cup of wine and cook down. Then add the stock about a cup at a time and cook until the rice is al dente.

You should have a slightly soupy mixture to which add a little more olive oil (or a couple of tablespoons of butter) and the parmigiano and stir. This should tighten the mixture, though it should not be too thick or thin.

Arctic Char with Soba Noodle Salad

I have not tried this yet, but like the combo of flavors.

From NYTimes -

Arctic Char With Soba Noodles, Pine Nuts and Meyer Lemon

Published: January 7, 2011

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:

6 ounces soba noodles

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon finely grated Meyer lemon zest

2 teaspoons fresh Meyer lemon juice

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

4 Arctic char fillets, about 8 ounces each, preferably center-cut pieces, skin removed

Meyer lemon wedges, for serving

Chopped fresh cilantro or mint, for serving.

1. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Rinse under cold water; drain well.

2. Pulse the pine nuts in a food processor until finely ground. Scrape them into a large bowl. Add the garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and lemon zest. Whisk in the lemon juice. Slowly whisk in 3 tablespoons oil. Toss noodles with the dressing.

3. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

4. Set a small skillet over medium-high heat and allow to heat up, about 1 minute. Add the cumin seeds and sizzle until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and add remaining oil. Allow to cool slightly.

5. Season both sides of the fish with remaining salt and a pinch of pepper and place on the baking sheet. Spoon the cumin and oil evenly over the fillets. Roast to desired doneness, about 10 minutes for medium rare.

6. Divide the noodles among four plates and place the fish over the noodles. Garnish with the lemon wedges and cilantro or mint.

Yield: 4 servings.

Tuna with Asian Avocado Salsa

Again, another random recipe that was delicious. This makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and cubed

1 jalapeno, diced (with or without seeds, depending on how much heat you want)

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

1 garlic clove, grated

1/2 lime, juiced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Small pinch sugar

Two pieces sashimi-quality tuna

Directions:

Mix all ingredients (except the tuna and soy sauce) together in a bowl and taste for salt and pepper. This is best if left in the fridge for an hour for the flavors to meld.

Sear the fish over high heat to desired doneness (rare is preferred). Scoop salsa over fish and drizzle soy sauce over salsa.

Riccota Gnocchi with Eggplant and Tomato Ragu

This uses the recipe for ricotta gnocchi which you can find here.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons blended oil, plus more as needed

1/2 cup sliced garlic (about 5 to 7 cloves)

Kosher salt

1 grafitti eggplant, peeled and cut into medium dice

6 fresh San Marzano or plum tomatoes, seeds removed and cut into medium dice

1 fresh hot cherry pepper (or equivalent) chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves picked

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced (3 to 4 slices)

Extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Place a saute pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons blended oil. Once heated, add the garlic and pinch of salt. Do not brown, just sweat for 30 seconds. Add the eggplant and season again with salt.

Add a bit more oil if necessary; the eggplant may quickly soak up what is already in the pan. Once this starts to breakdown, after about 2 minutes, add a bit more oil, if needed, the red pepper, tomatoes and freshly picked oregano leaves. Toss to combine, lower the heat and allow to slowly cook while starting the sauce.

For the sauce:

To another saute pan, add 1/2 cup unsalted butter and allow to melt over medium heat. Add the lemon slices to the butter and allow to saute while you cook the gnocchi.

Once the gnocchi start to float, after about 2 to 3 minutes, remove them from the water using a slotted spoon and add them to the butter pan and allow to brown, about 2 minutes. Reserve the pasta water.

For plating:

Spoon in the eggplant mixture (first 1/2 of it, then add more as necessary) into the butter-gnocchi pan. Toss in 1/4 cup pasta water, drizzle extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and toss to combine. Once the butter melts, place onto plate. Drizzle the plate with extra-virgin olive oil and more Parmesan cheese.

Stuffed Zucchini "Moussaka"

Always trying to find ways to use the zucchini from the garden. This ended up being a very good use. Pair with a Greek salad, other roasted vegetables or a light pasta or pasta salad.

Ingredients:

2 Medium-large zucchini (8-10 inches long)

1 Pound ground lamb

1 Medium potato, cut into 1/4" dice

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1/2 Small onion, chopped finely

1 Clove garlic, chopped finely

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Olive oil

Crumbled feta cheese

For béchamel:

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

1/2 Cup milk

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch salt

Pinch pepper

Directions:

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Remove the seed and pith leaving about 1/4" shell. Salt and place upside down on towel to pull some of the water out.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add potatoes. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onion, garlic and oregano and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add lamb, salt, pepper and cayenne and cook until meat is cooked through. Turn off heat and mix in parsley.

For béchamel, melt butter over medium heat and add in flour and stir well. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir well. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. The sauce should be thicker than a normal béchamel.

Preheat oven to 375.

Dab the inside of the zucchini with a paper towel. Spread a nice layer of the béchamel in the zucchini. Fill the zucchini with the meat mixture and top with the feta cheese.

Put the zucchini in a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Beef Short Ribs

This is a classic, with a twist by using the liquid from the reconstituted dried mushrooms adding a deep, earthy flavor.

Ingredients:

4 short ribs

Hand full of dried porchini (or other) mushrooms (1 package)

2 cups beef stock

1 cup good red wine

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 sprigs rosemary and one bunch thyme, tied together

Flour

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat up the stock and the wine to a boil and remove from heat. Rinse the dried mushrooms and put into the stock/wine mixture to steep for 30 minutes.

Dry the ribs and salt, pepper and flour the ribs and over medium-high heat, sear each side to get a nice browning. When done, remove ribs to a plate and add a few tablespoons of olive oil and sautee garlic, onion, carrot and celery until soft.

Remove mushrooms and chop finely. Add mushrooms to vegetables mixture along with the ribs, stock mixture (being careful not to let any sediment on the bottom go into the pan) and rosemary/thyme bouquet and bring to a boil. Cover and put into 350 oven for about 2 hours.

Greek Inspired Chicken Kababs

Always looking to use fresh ingredients. This, along with the "Greek Inspired Cucumber Sauce," grilled zucchini with thyme and some fresh grilled pitas (see below) are a great summer meal.

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts, washed and cut into 2" cubes

3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1/4 teaspoon crushed hot pepper

1/3 cup Olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

The night before, put chicken, oregano, mint, hot pepper, olive oil, vinegar, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a plastic bag or bowl. Mix and marinate overnight.

Next day, soak skewers (if wooden skewers) in water for 30 minutes. Assemble 6-8 pieces of chicken per skewer, making sure the pieces don't touch. Once you assembled all the skewers, salt and pepper each side.

Grill on a hot grill until done. Serve with cucumber sauce and pitas.

For homemade pitas, use basic pizza dough recipe and form into small balls and roll out into 6-8" 1/4" think pitas. Grill over low flame for 2-3 minutes until puffed and turn over for another 2-3 minutes until cooked through.

Salmon with Cucumber Dressing

Cucumber and dill married with salmon.....it doesn't get much better than that!

Ingredients:

2 salmon filets, about 1/3 to 1/2 pound each

Salt and pepper

For cucumber sauce:

1 large cucumber

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1/4 cup sour cream

1-2 tablespoons milk

Salt and pepper

For the sauce, peel cucumber and slice very thin. Place in a colander, add a two pinches of salt and mix. Let sit for 30-45 minutes to draw out the moisture. Squeeze remaining water out and place in a bowl. Add dill, sour cream, milk and pepper and mix. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as necessary.

Salt and pepper the salmon filets and bring a pan to high heat while pre-heating the broiler in your oven. Once the pan is hot, add a tablespoon of oil and coat the bottom of the pan. Add salmon filets skin side down and let sautee for 4 minutes. Place under broiler and finish cooking, about 8 minutes or until internal temperature is 130-140 degrees.

Server either over the cucumber sauce or with the sauce spooned over top or on the side.

Oma's Sauce

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes - with some fresh parmagiano on top...mmm. The best is with plain spaghetti.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion chopped fine

1 small Italian (cubanelle) pepper chopped in thin strips

1 tablespoon hungarian paprika

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sautee onion and 1/2 of the pepper in the oil over medium heat until onion is opaque. Add beef an cook until heated through. Add rest of pepper and the paprika and cook for 3-4 minutes being careful not to burn the paprika.

Add tomato sauce, water, salt and pepper and cook for 45-60 minutes to meld flavors. Server over spaghetti.

Lobster Risotto

From NY Times Magazine

Lobster Risotto

Published: July 6, 2008

About 6 cups lobster stock

¼ cup butter

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

Salt

2 cups arborio, carnaroli or other short-grained white rice

Meat from 1 cooked lobster, chopped

2 tablespoons minced chives

½ cup grated Parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper.

1. In a medium pot, heat the stock and keep warm.

2. In a large, wide saucepan, melt the butter in the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add a large pinch of salt, then add the rice and stir constantly for about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of broth and simmer, stirring until the broth is almost absorbed. Add more broth, a cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding the next. Stir often. Cook until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the lobster meat until heated through, then add the chives and ¼ cup of the Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with remaining Parmesan. Reserve excess risotto for eggs over (easy) lobster risotto patties (recipe here). Serves 4, plus leftovers. All recipes adapted from Sam Sifton.

NOTE: For a meatier risotto, cook an extra lobster or two.

Steamed Lobster

From NY Times Magazine.

Steamed Lobsters

Published: July 6, 2008

1 tablespoon sea salt

5 live lobsters (1¼ to 1½ pounds each)

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Steamed corn (optional)

Baked potatoes (optional).

Fill a large lobster pot with 1 inch of water. Stir in the salt, set a rack or large steamer basket in the bottom and bring the water to a boil. Add the lobsters, cover with a tight-fitting lid and return the water to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a gentle boil and steam the lobsters until they are bright red, about 10 minutes. Check doneness by pulling an antenna. If it comes off without resistance, the lobster is done. If not, cook for a few more minutes. Serve with melted butter and, if you choose, corn and potatoes. Remove the meat from the fifth lobster and refrigerate for use later in lobster risotto (recipe here). After eating, reserve the lobster shells for stock (recipe here). Serves 4.

Crispy and Sticky Chicken Thighs with Squashed New Potatoes and Tomatoes

Another great recipe from Jamie Oliver. I go heavy on the oregano.

Directions

This is a simple pan-baked chicken dish - the sort of food I absolutely love to eat. As everything cooks together in 1 dish, all the beautiful flavors get mixed up. This is what it's all about! With a green salad, it's an easy dinner.

Ingredients

1 3/4 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed

12 boned chicken thighs, skin on, preferably free-range or organic

Olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 pounds cherry tomatoes, different shapes and colors if you can find them

1 bunch fresh oregano, leaves picked

Extra-virgin olive oil

Red wine vinegar

Put the potatoes into a large saucepan of salted boiling water and boil until cooked.

While the potatoes are cooking, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cut each chicken thigh into 3 strips and place in a bowl. Rub the meat all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss.

Heat a large frying pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces snugly in 1 layer, and put the chicken into the pan, skin side down. If you don't have a pan that's big enough, feel free to cook the chicken in 2 batches. Toss and fry over a high heat for 10 minutes or so, until almost cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon to an ovenproof pan or dish.

Prick the tomatoes with a sharp knife. Place them in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for a minute or so. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, pinch off their skins. You don't have to, but by doing this they will become lovely and sweet when cooked, and their intense flavor will infuse the potatoes. By now the potatoes will be cooked. Drain them in a colander and lightly crush them by pushing down on them with your thumb.

Bash up most of the oregano leaves with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar, or a Flavor Shaker if you have one. Add 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, a good splash of red wine vinegar and some pepper and give everything another bash. Add to the chicken with the potatoes, the tomatoes and the rest of the oregano leaves. Toss everything together carefully. Spread out in a single layer in an appropriately sized roasting pan, and bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven until golden.

Lovely served with an arugula salad dressed with some lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil, and a nice glass of white wine.

Beautiful Zucchini Carbonara

This is from the Food Network/Jamie Oliver - a very good and tasty recipe.

Beautiful Zucchini Carbonara

Directions

Carbonara is a classic pasta sauce made with cream, bacon and Parmesan and is absolutely delicious. Try to buy the best ingredients you can, as that's what really helps to make this dish amazing. I'm using a flowering variegated variety of thyme but normal thyme is fine to use. When it comes to the type of pasta, you can serve carbonara with spaghetti or linguine, but I've been told by Italian mammas (who I don't argue with!) that penne is the original, so that's what I'm using in this recipe.

Ingredients

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 medium green and yellow zucchini

1 pound penne

4 large free-range or organic egg yolks

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 good handfuls freshly grated Parmesan

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

12 thick slices pancetta or lean bacon, cut into chunky pieces

A small bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped, flowers reserved (if you can get hold of flowering thyme)

Optional: a few zucchini flowers

Before you start cooking, it's important to get yourself a very large pan, or use a high-sided roasting pan so you can give the pasta a good toss.

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Halve and then quarter any larger zucchini lengthwise. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the zucchini at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne. Smaller zucchini can simply be sliced finely. Your water will now be boiling, so add the penne to the pan and cook according to the package instructions.

To make your creamy carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat a very large frying pan (a 14-inch is a good start - every house should have one!), add a good splash of olive oil and fry the pancetta or bacon until dark brown and crisp. Add the zucchini slices and 2 big pinches of black pepper, not just to season but to give it a bit of a kick. Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, give everything a stir, so the zucchini is coated with all the lovely bacon-flavored oil, and fry until they start to turn lightly golden and have softened slightly.

It's very important to get this next bit right or your carbonara could end up ruined. You need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the cooking water. Immediately, toss the pasta in the pan with the zucchini, bacon and lovely flavors, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and your creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now, otherwise you'll scramble the eggs.)

Get everyone around the table, ready to eat straightaway. While you're tossing the pasta and sauce, sprinkle in the rest of the Parmesan and a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give you a silky and shiny sauce. Taste quickly for seasoning. If you've managed to get any zucchini flowers, tear them over the top, then serve and eat immediately, as the sauce can become thick and stodgy if left too long.