There are many things that I love about my flat. For sarters, it's a duplex, which makes it feel like a proper home. My neighbours aren't too annoying, if I exclude the elderly lady underneath us who enjoys tapping on her ceiling/our kitchen floor with her broom. I couldn't be any closer to the town centre, which means I don't always have to use the car. The list of bonheurs is endless.
However, all of these avantages are quickly forgotten by your frustrated Gourmande when it comes to cooking dinner in what seems to be the world's worst thought-out kitchen. Or kitchenette. Calling it a kitchen would be a slight overstatement. With absolutely NO workbench, I therefore have to do all food prep on either the dining room table (not too practical when hosting dinner party) or the American-style bar (too high, makes my arms hurt!).
The other thing that annoys me about the kitchen is the teeny tiny sink. Put a coffee cup and a plate in there and there's no room for anything else. OK, maybe a slight exaggeration, but you get the gist!
I have thus become a huge fan of any meal that avoids both complicated preparation and washing-up, like this easy and stress-free one-pan chicken dish.
Simply chop up whatever vegetables you fancy (I chose sweet potato, carrots and red peppers), chop them and pop them in an ovenproof dish, then add 10-15 garlic cloves. Don't take the skin off the garlic, just separate the cloves and throw them in to the dish whole. When they cook the overpowering taste will give way to a slightly sweet, delicate garlicky paste. Add 4-6 chicken thighs depending on how many people you need to feed and how hungry they are. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with whatever herbs you have in the kitchen and cook in the oven for 1 hour 15 mins at 190C. Drizzle with honey 15 minutes before serving if you like your vegetables a bit caramelised.
Nothing makes me think more of home than a good old roast dinner, lovingly cooked by my Mam. When I'm feeling homesick I like to give the Sunday lunch a try but whereas Mam's chicken is always lovely and juicy, mine has the unfortunate habit of turning out dry.
I was therefore intrigued to see a new product in the supermarket designed to overcome this problem: Les papillotes de poulet, or chicken in a bag.
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| The magic bag |
There are a variety of flavours available (lemon and herb, tarragon and garlic) but I opted for tomato and paprika, knowing that Cheri likes a bit of spice. The instructions are clear and simple: Unfold the plastic sachet and pop in your chicken, then add the packet contents and a couple of soup spoons of water. Close up the bag and pop in the oven for approximately 1 hour 30 depending on the size of the bird.
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| Ready for the oven! |
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Cooking time over, it was time to see the results! Even before taking the chicken out of the oven, an inviting smell of roasted tomatoes managed to coax Cheri down from the study. And taste-wise? I have to say I'm impressed! The chicken was well-cooked, moist and juicy, and the mixture of paprika and tomato made a lovely jus for our mashed potatoes. The fact that you only add water (no oil or butter) to the chicken is also a plus.
The only down-side is that the sachets are quite pricey, on average at least 1 euro 50, but the results are worth it, especially if you only cook a roast chicken from time to time.
The only test that remains will be to cook this for my Mam the next time she comes over!
