Roast chicken and three rice salad

Another Ottolenghi salad which is really damn good, I just made this for 30 people which I'm not going to lie was a massive faff but if your making it for a normal amount of people it shouldn't be too bad. It's stuffed with all kinds of ingredients and has a warm asian flavour, perfect to take as a picnic salad.

serves 8

1 small whole chicken
200g basmati rice
50g wild rice
50g brown rice
1 large onion, thinly sliced
6 spring onions, thinly sliced
4 mild red chillies, cut into thin strips
small bunch coriander, chopped
small bunch mint leaves, chopped
large handful of rocket leaves, shredded
salt pepper

Dressing
65ml lemon juice
30ml sesame oil
30ml thai fish sauce
35ml olive oil

Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Rub chicken with olive oil and season. Place in a roasting tin and put in the oven for 10 mins then lower the temperature to 190˚C and continue to roast for 50-60 mins until the chicken is cooked and juices run clear. Remove to cool and keep all the cooking juices for later.

While the chicken is roasting, cook the different rices separately following the packet instructions, make sure they still have a bit of bite as if over cooked it will fall apart later. When they are all ready drain and rinse with cold water and leave to cool.

Heat a frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onions in a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt until nice and golden, leave aside to cool.

Take the meat off the chicken and tear apart into chunks, chop all the herbs, onions, chills.
Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together and add the chicken juices to it, if it is quite fatty stick the juices in a jug in the fridge and the fat will go hard so you can spoon it off.

Gently using your hands mix all the ingredients and dressing together in a large bowl until well mixed, tasting and adjusting the seasoning as you go.

River cafe polenta, almond and lemon cake

This week has been a bit up and down with the weather, lots of rain and then an absolute scorcher yesterday in the 30˚s. Yesterday was an especially good day because not only did I get a little bit less pasty but I also stood up on my surfboard about 10 times!! I did almost die about twice getting absolutely smashed by waves and ended up with my hair looking a bit like a loo brush but very happy!! Since the weather has been crappy I made a huge cake, and I think this could be my newest most favourite cake I have ever made. I have been trawling through my River cafe books and there is so much amazing stuff so since I have all kinds of great ingredients on my door step I am going to go nuts and try loads this month. Serves 12 450g unsalted butter, softened 450g caster sugar 450g ground almonds 2 teaspoons good vanilla essence 6 free range eggs zest of 4 lemons juice of 1 lemon 225g polenta flour or fine semolina 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon of salt Preheat the oven to ...

Caramelised endive with Serrano ham

This is another delicious Ottolenghi recipe, you could do it as a starter or part of a summery lunch. Serves 6 6 endives, cut in half lengthways 40g unsalted butter 4 tsp caster sugar 50g breadcrumbs 70g parmesan cheese, freshly grated 2 tbsp thyme leaves 120ml whipping cream 12 thin sliced of Serrano ham olive oil for drizzling Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Start by caramelising the endive in batches depending on how many you can fit in a frying pan. Put the butter and sugar in the pan over a high heat until the butter starts to bubble, then place the endive halves into the pan cut side down until they are golden. Remove and place into a lined baking tray, caramelised side up. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Mix the breadcrumbs with the cream, parmesan, thyme some salt and ground pepper. Spoon the mix on top of the endives and top with a slice of the ham. Roast in the oven until golden and the endives feel soft when poked with a knife. Serve hot or warm drizzled with a little oli...

Aubergine and goats cheese dip with pitta crisps

Don't be put off by the slightly grey, something you might find in a babies nappy, colour of this dip, it is really good I promise! Served along side some healthy pitta crisps and you have yourself a good little chip and dip for the party season. makes 2 dipping size bowls 100ml olive oil 1 onion, finely diced 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped small 1 tbsp thyme leaves large pinch of chopped rosemary leaves 2 medium aubergines, finely diced 125g soft goats cheese, mild or cream cheese if you prefer salt and pepper pack of pitta breads olive oil handful fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped salt and pepper Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, add the onion, garlic, thyme and rosemary and sauté gently until soft. Add the aubergine, and cook for about 15 minutes until it is cooked through, stir regulary to stop it from catching and season. Allow to cool slightly before pureeing in a food processor with the goats cheese, check the seasoning and add more goats cheese to taste if nee...

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