Creamy Chicken Volovants

Today is a sad week for me. My younger cousin, who happens to be one of my best friends is off on the trip of a lifetime to America for 10 months. I'm incredibly proud of her for taking on this adventure at only 17 but already feeling so lonely without her. Some comfort food to fill my sad little lonely self was on the cards and these volovants certainly helped- rich + creamy + hearty = comfort.

Creamy Chicken Volovants

Prep time:10 Cooking time:15  minutes  Serves:4

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast
• 3/4 cup button mushrooms
• Small bunch of spring onion
• 1 cup full cream
• 1-2 teaspooons seeded mustard
• Small knob of butter
• Salt
• Cracked pepper
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup tasty cheese
• 4 large volovant cases

Method:

1.Dice chicken breast and cook in a large frying pan with a dash of olive oil and cook until sealed on all edges (not browned). Add bacon into the pan and cook with the chicken until both are browned and thoroughly cooked.

2. While the chicken and bacon is cooking, slice the mushrooms and spring onions. And add to the pan with a knob of butter until softened.

3. Pour the cream, seeded mustard and cracked pepper into the pan and let the mixture cook until thickened. 

4. Into the pan add the cheese and turn off the heat and let it sit until the cheese is melted. 

5. Pour the mixture evenly into the volovant cases and bake according to the instructions or until the shell is golden and the top of the volovants are browned.

Mango chicken

As the days are getting warmer, I'm finding it hard to match the cravings I'm having with  flavours that are suited to summer. On the hottest of days, I've been unexpectedly feeling like hearty meals. While a stew or roast might fill me up, it certainly doesn't have the fresh flavours that are so suited to Aussie heat. For me, this mango chicken is the perfect solution. Rich in flavour and colour, it's made relatively quickly and the sauce can be prepared earlier if needed. Every bit as substantial as a winter meal and balanced with all those refreshing summer flavours I love.

Mango chicken

Prep time: 15 mins Cooking time: 15 mins Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts
• Coconut oil to cook
• 1 red capsicum
• 1 green capsicum
• 2 carrots

Mango sauce:

• 2 cups of mango- fresh or frozen is preferable but canned can be used also
• 3 large red chillies
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbs rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 tbs kecap manis
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbs fish sauce
• 1 thumb sized piece of galangal or ginger
• 1 can of coconut cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. De-seed and roughly chop chili. If using fresh ginger, peel and grate. Cut and juice lime.

 2. Add the chili, ginger and lime as well as all other ingredients for 'mango sauce' into a bowl, blender or food processor.

3. Don't put away any ingredients as you may need to adjust the balance of flavours once blended and then again once heated. I blended my sauce using a stick blender but the easiest way to do this would be in a food processor. Blend until it is combined and of a smooth consistency, add more coconut cream or a touch of water if its too thick.

4. Once blended you should have a delicious smelling sauce looking something like this ^ you now need to taste the sauce and see if its 'missing' anything.

• For saltiness add fish sauce or salt. 
• For sweetness  add kecap manis or brown sugar
• For a more sour flavour add lime or rice wine vinegar
• For a spicier sauce add more chili

Remember its better to add things in a little at a time- its very easy to go overboard with these strong flavours!

5. After adjusting the sauce, set it to one side. Dice the chicken breasts and add them along with some oil, into a large pan or wok to brown.

 6. While the chicken is browning you can peel and chop the carrots and chop the capsicums. They can either be diced or sliced, just try to keep the pieces a similar size.


7. Once the chicken is browned, add the sauce to the pan and allow it to heat through. Taste the sauce again, once heated and adjust it to taste.

8. The sauce should thicken sightly and bubble at the edge of the pan, add your vegetables and stir well. If desired you can now also add a handful of mango chunks to really highlight this flavour in the dish.


9. Cook the dish for a further 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are cooked to your liking.

10. Serve the meal with rice and roti bread for a delicious, filling meal. 



Garlic zucchini pasta

3 early morning starts in a row do not make for an inspired cook! I start off my week with high hopes and a huge grocery list and come the weekend (and a motivation 'slump') more often than not, my new recipe plans are thrown by the wayside in favour of tried and tested family favourites that I know I can rely on. This dish is one of those that makes a frequent appearance in our household as its regularly requested by Gabby who has a love for pasta and garlic like no other! The simple flavours of garlic and lemon make a delectable combination in this quick dish and prove that sometimes, easy is best.

Garlic zucchini pasta

Prep time: 5 mins Cooking time: 15 mins Serves:4

Ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini (or equivalent) 
• 1 large chicken breast 3 cloves of garlic 
• Juice of 1/2- 1 lemon 
• 250g pasta of your choice (I used shells for this but fresh linguine is my favourite)
• Small knob of butter 
• Salt and cracked pepper to taste 
  

Method:

1. Set a pot of water on to boil in preparation for the pasta with a generous dash of salt
 
2. Crush or finally chop garlic and add it to a frying pan on medium heat along with a splash of good quality olive oil
 
3. As the garlic is softening, dice the chicken breast and then add to the pan along with salt and fresh cracked pepper to season
 
4. Chop the zucchini roughly into even pieces similar size to the chicken
 
5. Flip and stir the chicken as needed and once completely sealed and starting to brown, reduce the heat to medium and add the zucchini pieces and more olive oil if necessary

 
6. Once the water is boiling add the pasta to the salted water and cook until just al dente, then drain and add a small knob of butter. The heat from the pasta will melt the butter and helps to bind the garlic, oil and lemon into a lovely sauce when the meat and vegetables are added
 

7. Cook the zucchini and chicken mixture until the chicken is browned and the zucchini softened. The great thing about cooking them together is the zucchini releases water that helps to keep the chicken moist and not over cook

 
8. Remove the frying pan from heat and squeeze in the fresh juice of half a lemon to the pan and add any extra salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into the pasta, stir to combine and serve