Leftover chicken hash

Perhaps not the most appealing title to this post. I tried to think of a more enticing name for this delicious way with leftover roast chicken but my imagination eluded me! I'm not exactly sure what constitutes a 'hash' and when I try to search on the internet, I simply get guided to information on cannabis. For those concerned, I can assure you that this dish is 100% legal!

Basically, what I understand by a culinary 'hash' is a dish involving left-overs which is thrown together rather haphazardly - a mish mash, or hash I suppose!

This particular dish is closely based on a dish in Nigella's Christmas book. Her recipe is one for leftover turkey and came to her via her agent. I cooked it up at Christmas with one of my nephews as sous-chef and it was a huge hit. When recently I found myself with lots of leftover chicken and most of the other key ingredients, I decided to cook it up again.

The important thing about this dish is that it is entirely flexible - you can use whatever you may have knocking about in the fridge. I'd suggest that they key elements are the peppers, flaked almonds, olives and Parmesan. The rest you can meddle with 'till your heart is content. My recipe deviates somewhat from Nigella's - she uses soured cream whilst I only had creme fraiche. I added courgettes and, at Christmas, added some frozen peas.

Quantity wise this is equally adaptable. At Christmas I made this for a crowd of eight. Last week I made it into a speedy supper for one. Nigella gives precise measurements but in the spirit of the 'throw it together' nature of the dish, I've tried to keep it simple with handfuls and mugfuls. No matter that your hands are bigger or smaller than mine - the recipe is a flexible one!

Chicken hash
Modified from 'Ed's Victorious Turkey Hash' from 'Nigella's Christmas'

Ingredients to serve two

handful of flaked almonds
Knob of butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped

1 stick of celery, chopped
2 red peppers, cored and chopped into chunks
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or crushed
2-3 generous handfuls of cold shredded chicken
generous handful of pitted lack olives, roughly chopped
1 courgette, sliced in half lengthways and sliced into half-moons
2 tbsp creme fraiche or soured cream
2 tbsp chicken stock or hot water if you can't be bothered!
1 large egg
few dashes of Tabasco sauce
Handful of flaked Parmesan cheese
handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Toast the almonds in a hot dry pan and remove to a plate until needed.

2. Melt butter and oil in the pan and add the onions, peppers, celery and courgettes. Cook over a medium heat for around 10 minutes until nicely softened. Stir from time to time.

3. Add in the garlic and give a good stir. Cook for a minute or so before adding the chicken. Cook until piping hot - about 10 minutes. Season with pepper and a little salt (remember that the olives and parmesan are salty).

4. Add the toasted almonds and olives to the pan and stir to combine.

5. Whisk together the cream, stock and egg and then pour over the top of the hash. Quickly stir it all together to mix and combine and then shake in Tabasco sauce to taste.

6. Just before you remove from heat, shave over a generous helping of Parmesan and stir until it starts to melt. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top just before serving.

Cheesy ham and leek pie

I am rather partial to the odd pie.

A satisfyingly crisp exterior that gives way to something creamy, unctuous and just a little bit naughty underneath is my idea of heaven. Or rather, it is one of my many culinary ideas of heaven.

Pies can seem like a lot of work. I've seen many blanch at the mere mention of pastry. But here is where I come clean. I didn't actually make the pastry for this pie. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone...

I am in the school of thought that labels ready-made pastry as one of the great time-saving devices of the modern age. I know that homemade tastes better and when I have a little more time to spare, I'm pretty nifty at the old shortcrust. But puff pastry? I simply can't be bothered. I'm sorry. I hope you don't think any less of me, but there we are.

I am someone who can't be bothered to make my own puff pastry.

I'm not ashamed. I laugh in the face of puff pastry purists... Or something.

I find a couple of packs of the ready-made stuff are handy items to have in the freezer. Puff pastry can be just the thing to transform an uninspiring supper into one with a bit of dash. Got red onions? Got goats cheese? Bingo. You have a rather tasty tart. Got left over roast chicken? Got milk? Bingo. You have a creamy chicken pie.

At the weekend I held a party in my garden for twenty or so friends. I do this every year around my birthday and do a big buffet for all to dig into. I would share the recipes here, but I kept it pretty much the same as last year with my favourite quiche, scrumptious ham, a series of salads and a couple of my favourite puddings.

As someone who is only ever able to cater for twice the number of people I've invited, I had a fair few leftovers to use up. In particular, quite a large hunk of ham. Sandwiches were good, but this tasty pie was the best. I made a cheesy sauce in which to smother the ham and added leeks and courgettes too. You could use any combination of vegetables - mushrooms would have been good, carrots and certainly peas. Whatever takes your fancy really.

My favourite moment with pie-eating is when you plunge the spoon through the crust for the first time to reveal the juicy interior. Heaven indeed...

The recipe here is for two, but can be easily doubled/tripled etc...

Cheesy chicken and leek pie
Serves 2

Ingredients

3 generous handfuls of chopped cooked ham (cut thick slices and then cut into chunky cubes)
1 large leek (or two small...)
1 medium courgette
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
1 1/2 oz butter
1/2 pint milk
4oz mature cheddar cheese
1 heaped teaspoon of dijon mustard
Approx 250g puff pastry (I used half a regular pack)
1 beaten egg
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Make the sauce first. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir thoroughly to combine to make a paste. Cook for a minute or so. Next add a little milk and stir to combine. Cook for a few seconds. Add a little more milk - stir until smooth, cook a little. Repeat, adding the milk a little at a time until you have a smooth sauce. Keep the heat reasonably low and keep stirring all the time to prevent sauce sticking on bottom.

2. Grate the cheese into the sauce, add the mustard. Taste. Add more cheese or mustard if required.

3. Steam the leeks and courgettes until al dente. Add to the sauce, along with the chunks of ham. Warm through and season carefully, remembering that ham is usually quite salty, as is the cheese.

4. Pour the pie filling into a small pie dish or baking dish. Flour a surface and roll out the pastry until the thickness of a pound coin. Brush a little beaten egg around the edge of the pie dish and place the pastry carefully over the top. Trim the overhang. Use any trimmings to decorate the top (I used a little heart cutter). Brush the top with egg so that it browns nicely. You can also use milk, if you prefer.

5. Place in the oven and bake for half an hour, or until the pastry is crispy and golden.

Courgette, leek and pea frittata

I was working from home yesterday, a joy as I usually have a two hour commute, plus I find it easier to concentrate in the quiet of my home and end up being more productive. One of the best things about working from home though, is that I can whip myself up a proper lunch. I get SO sick of sandwiches - there are no decent lunch places around my office and I am not nearly efficient enough to make my own lunch to take in each day, so I basically have to work my way through the various flavours of Marks and Spencer sarnies which I grab 'en route' at the station.

Don't get me wrong, I M&S make decent sandwiches. I just get a little bored of them.

So yesterday, I took a look in the kitchen around one, and was rewarded with three eggs, some leeks, a couple of potatoes and a red onion. Perfect for a frittata, I thought. As a child, 'Spanish Omelette' was a Sunday night favourite, made with whatever ingredients were lying around. My mother's version usually included bacon, red peppers, tomatoes, onions and potato. I haven't named this 'Spanish Omelette' as I feel I might upset the purists! No doubt a tortilla espagnol has fairly precise ingredients (usually just onion and potato, I think).

Anyway, this was speedy and delicious and I would happily serve it to friends with a salad for a summery lunch.

Ingredients (serves 2 hungry)

1 large potato (or two small)

1 red onion (or white would do)

1 medium courgette

1 medium leek

Handful of peas (fresh or frozen)

4 eggs (though 3 will do)

Pinch of herbs, if you have them

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Grated cheese of choice

1. Boil the potatoes until just tender (do not over boil as you need them to hold their shape when sliced). Drain and slice into 1/2 cm thick slices.

2. Chop the courgette - I like it chopped into semi-circles. Again, about 1/2 cm thick. Chop the leek too, same thickness.

3. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a non stick pan (one that fits in your oven). Meanwhile, pre-heat the grill to high.

4. Sweat the leeks for a couple of minutes and then add the courgettes. Fry until tender (al dente). Boil the peas for a few minutes.

5. Tip the sliced potatoes into the pan with all the other veg. Season and add herbs if wished.

6. Lightly beat the eggs and then pour over the filling, swirling round until everything is coated. Cook on medium heat until the bottom half is just set.

7. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese and place under the grill -

8. Grill until nicely browned and the egg is just set. Watch it carefully to avoid overcooking - the frittata will take on a rather rubbery texture.

9. Enjoy with a nice salad!

Easy-Peasy Pasta Nights (Pasta Amatriciana)

It is hard to imagine life without pasta, isn't it? The first recorded use of pasta in this country is found in a 14th century recipe book from Charles II's household. In the 17th century, macaroni made its way to Britain, but it is only relatively recently that pasta has become a popular staple in so many UK households. For me, it is hard to imagine a week where pasta does not feature as the basis of at least one meal.

For me, pasta nights are those when I am tired, don't want to spend too long in the kitchen, can't bring myself to head to the shops and want to use up some bits and bobs in the fridge. For that reason, I very rarely make the same pasta dish twice. It always depends what is hanging around. I should probably treat pasta with a little more respect, putting a little more effort into creating more special dishes, but it is just so quick and easy this way. Pasta nights for me are lazy nights. But don't get me wrong. They are invariably delicious. There is no skimping on flavour.

I try always to keep the cupboards stocked at all times with the following: tinned tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, tinned tuna, dried chilli flakes.

And the vegetable rack invariably contains onions of some form, courgettes and garlic.

The freezer ALWAYS contains frozen peas.

And, as for the fridge, I try to ensure there is always something lightly creamy with which to enrich sauces. Usually low-fat creme fraiche or cream cheese. Often there will also be some fresh pesto and some smoked bacon.

With these essentials, I have endless scope for easy-peasy pasta nights.

I make no apology for the fact that my pasta creations have virtually nothing to do with traditional Italian recipes. I love proper authentic dishes, but that is not the point of easy-peasy pasta nights. The point is making something satisfying and nourishing out of (virtually) nothing.

The most common dish I throw together is 'green pasta'. It entails a good dollop of fresh pesto and any mixture of green vegetables that I have around. Usually, courgettes fried in a little olive oil with a touch of garlic, sliced leeks and peas.

A recent triumph was created when I used up some chicken and combined with sun-dried tomatoes, courgettes and peas (of course) and a little Boursin cheese.

Last night was another variation on a theme. Good old tomato and basil sauce with a kick of chilli and a little smoked bacon. So, pasta amatriciana really.Made in the following way and thoroughly recommended -

Pasta Amatriciana

Ingredients (for 2)

1 large onion

1 tin good quality chopped tomatoes

1 clove garlic2

rashers smoked bacon or pancetta

a good pinch of dried chilli flakes (or fresh, if you have it to hand)

pinch of brown sugar

small handful fresh basil

a little chicken stock (quarter of a pint approx.)

Olive oil

Pinch dried herbs

Salt and pepper

Pasta of choice

1. Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add chopped onions and chopped garlic and fry until translucent.

2. Chop the bacon into small pieces, add to pan a lightly fry until just cooked (but not brown or crispy). If using fresh chilli, finely chop and de-seed and add to pan.

3. Pour over the tinned tomatoes and mix well. Add the pinch of sugar (this softens the acidity of the tomatoes somewhat), a few dried herbs if you wish (basil, thyme, oregano), or fresh if you have them. Add the chilli, if dried. Add a little of the stock and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add more stock as necessary to 'loosen' the mixture as it reduces, but go carefully as you do not want too runny a sauce.

4. Meanwhile cook the pasta.

5. Season the sauce - go easy on the salt as the bacon is quite salty. Be sure to taste! At this point you may want to add a little creme fraiche or a tablespoon of soft cheese if you want a slightly richer sauce (I did, on this occasion). It only needs a little though. Throw in some torn up basil.

6. Now this is important. Drain the pasta and ADD THE PASTA TO THE SAUCE. It has taken me years to learn this simple and obvious fact. The sauce coats the pasta so much better if you add the pasta to the sauce in the warm pan. Never add the sauce to the pasta - it simply sits on top! You probably all know this, but I am just a little slow.

Notes - pasta is horrible to photograph. So apologies if these photos don't look entirely appealing. You'll just have to trust me when I say it was delicious!

No bacon? Try tuna. Or roasted vegetables.

Wine Notes - Tomato-based dishes can be challenging as tomatoes are very high in acidity. To match you need a wine with similar acidity. Italian wines work best with Italian-style food (they make their wines to match their cuisine, after all). Here I would probably go with a nice Barbera.