My mother's adobo

I was one of those kids blessed with parents that could cook well.  Really really well. Often we would choose to stay home, rather than go out for dinner, as food at home was simply better. And I guess my love of food came from this!  I spent much of my younger years in the kitchen, sometimes helping, sometimes eating and sometimes coming up with new recipes (microwave cheese doughnuts, yum).

My mother is half Spanish and half Filipino, and her cooking has influences from both places.  She has a number of crowd pleasing favorites, with one of my favorites being adobo.  It is a typical Filipino recipe, usually made from chicken and pork and a sauce of vinegar and soy sauce.  Make sure you use white vinegar - I once made this with malt vinegar and it was really weird and not very nice.

This recipe is really flexible.  If you are not on a diet, treat yourself and use a pork cut that is quite fatty like pork belly - it really makes it much more tasty.  Also leaner cuts of pork can end up becoming quite dry.  Alternatively for a more healthy version, just use chicken - skinless thighs are probably the best choice.

My mother's adobo

Serves 4
5 chicken legs and/or thighs - with or without skin
3-400 g pork - belly pork is ideal - cut into chunks
3-4 big cloves garlic - minced
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/3 cut soy sauce
1 cup water
3 bay leaves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp oil
3-4 handfuls of fresh or frozen spinach

1.  In a heavy pan, heat the oil and brown the chicken and pork.  Do this in batches if necessary.  Put the meat to the side.  If there is too much fat left in the pan, pour some of it out.
2.  Add the minced garlic and lightly fry for minute or two.  Add the vinegar and bring to a boil.  Then add the soy sauce, meat, bay leaves and black peppercorns.  Add enough water so that the meat is just about covered in liquid and stir.
3.  Bring to a boil, then turn it down and simmer covered for about 45 minute to an hour (or until the pork is really melting and tender - the longer you leave it, the better it gets).  Taste the sauce - if it is too strong, add some more water, and if it is too mild, a bit more soy sauce.
4. Add the spinach and cook for another 5 minutes.  Then it is ready to eat!

This dish is served best over white steamed rice or rice noodles.  And always make sure you make extra - it is especially good when eaten the next day!

One pot lentil chicken!

Apologies for the lack of posts.  It has been a busy few weeks, what with festivals, flu, work and Ibiza.  I'm now back, needing a bit of rest and relaxation.  And what a better way to do it with good food...

So during the week, I like to try and take food with me for lunch to work a few times a week.  It's mainly because deciding what to eat (and we have LOADS of choice around our new office) can be super time consuming, especially since I'm so picky.  I'm also trying to be healthy and I have a feeling the lovely wraps from Doughmasters or the massive portion of chicken chili fried rice from the Japanese Canteen is not exactly low in fat.

So I've come up with this lovely, filling and relatively healthy one pot chicken meal with lentils!  It's easy to cook, so great for making on a Sunday evening, and tastes even better after a day in the fridge.  You can add as many different types of vegetables to it, whatever you have in your fridge/freezer.  I like it both served hot or cold with a handful of baby spinach leaves.

One pot chicken

Serves 4-5

6 skinless and boneless chicken thighs
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried thyme
sprinkle of paprika
sprinkle of white pepper
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs olive oil
1 bay leaf
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
chillies (optional)
 150 ml red wine

6 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

fresh or frozen vegetables (peas, carrots, spinach, broccoli, courgette, aubergine etc, chopped into rough cubes)

1 can chickpeas

3 handfuls of brown rice

3 handfuls of puy lentils

500 ml chicken stock

1.  Marinate the chicken thighs in the olive oil, soy sauce, spices, chillies, garlic and onion.  Leave in the fridge for at least an hour, but overnight if you have time.

2.  In a very hot pot, brown the chicken thighs then remove.

3.  Deglaze the pot with the red wine.  Add the remaining marinate plus the onions, garlic and sundried tomatoes.  Simmer for a few minutes

4.  Add the rice, lentils, chicken and stock to the pot and bring to a rolling boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 45 mins or until the lentils and rice are almost tender.  If the mixture becomes too dry, add a bit of water and stir.

5.  Add the chickpeas and any vegetables.  Cover and simmer for another 5 mins or until the vegetables are tender.

6.  Serve hot or cold with a handful of salad and chopped tomatoes and sprinkled with sliced fresh coriander.