Chicken & Chorizo Risotto

It's no exaggeration to say around a dozen people have messaged me in the past week asking me for more recipes with chicken. There's a common theme it seems... a lot of us fall into the habit of eating the same thing every night until we get bored of it, and then we move on... Someone even said to me in the last couple of days "I'd rather skip dinner than have to eat chicken again".... and this is someone who trains really hard and loves their food. 

So what's the problem? Is it the chicken? Naaaah...we'd all get bored of steak if we ate it every single day for lunch & dinner.... Ok maybe I wouldn't get bored of steak, but you see where I'm going with this right?? 

Over the next while, I'm going to make a conscious effort to post lots of chicken recipes here... like I said before, I want to use GLBTK to inspire people to get cooking & show that real food tastes incredible & doesn't have to be bland to be healthy...

This risotto tastes so good, you'll barely even realise that it's made using cauliflower rice! 

• 1 chicken leg
• 100g cauliflower, pulsed in food processor to a rice-like consistency
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 50g chorizo, chopped
• 1 piece of streaky bacon, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 50g broccoli
• cumin 
• garlic powder

Start by seasoning the chicken with salt & pepper. Place in a heat proof dish in the oven at 170d. 

Prepare all the vegetables at once, as you'll add them quickly after each other. 

Add bacon, chorizo, garlic & celery to a wok, and cook quickly. 

Once the bacon is cooked, add the sliced mushrooms, broccoli & cauliflower rice. 

Add 100ml boiling water, 1 tsp cumin & 1 tsp garlic powder to the risotto. 

Allow to simmer over a medium heat for 15/20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed & the cauliflower rice is softened. 

At this stage, the chicken should be cooked through & the skin has browned. 

Serve the chicken on a bed of risotto. 

Pizza (Round 2)

So... lots of people are quick to dismiss the notion of trying something new it seems. I posted a recipe for pizza with a cauliflower base a couple of weeks ago, and several people were quick to jump to the conclusion that it wouldn't taste as good as 'real' pizza...I can honestly say, it was really good, not quite like a standard pizza crust, but good all the same.

Bear with me here...when you order a pizza, it's the toppings that concern you right? You like just cheese, or you're into meat sweats and order every meat topping known to man.. Honestly, have you ever given much thought to the base? It's just a way to hold all the fillings in place when you lift a slice. I'm pretty sure nobody has ever said 'WOW the wheat in my pizza base really made it taste amazing'.

Ever heard the expression 'tastes like chicken'? Well it's usually used to refer to foods that have a bland, hard to describe flavour..Very few people can actually say they don't like chicken, since it's pretty inoffensive. Yep, you guessed it... we're using chicken for the base!

BEST.IDEA.EVER!!!!

For the base:

• 1 cooked chicken breast
• 1 large egg white (reserve yolk for mayonnaise or freeze it... just don't throw it out... they're really useful!) 
• fresh parsley
• sea salt

You'll have noticed my penchant for simple recipes.. this is far easier than making a traditional yeast base, and you'll feel positively virtuous (and less bloated!) afterwards
Start by pulsing the chicken breast until finely shredded (don't overdo it, you don't want chicken puree)

Add in remaining ingredients and pulse until combined.

Spread out chicken base in even layer on a non stick baking tray (I used a 9 inch base from a springform cake tin). If food tends to stick to your baking trays, it's time to replace them but for now just grease the tray lightly with a little coconut oil.

Bake at 160d for 10 minutes until firm. Flip the base over to crisp up the other side (about about 5 minutes should do it) This isn't an exact science... you'll know when it's done because it's golden, firm and holding shape.

Once baked, remove from the oven and be generous with your favourite toppings. I used:

• Organic passata
• leftover chicken and bacon 
• mushrooms
• cherry tomatoes
• spinach 
• St Tola raw milk goats cheese (I may be addicted, it's so good!) 

I'm honestly not sure I can articulate how AMAZING this pizza is. Seriously, you're missing out on nothing by not having a standard base. The chicken base holds up great, and you can lift it like a normal slice. 

This felt like such a treat meal, but really it's pretty damn healthy. Protein shakes are great and all... but why have a shake, when you could have pizza???

Bacon Cordon Bleu...

Yeah that's right... the bacon is the star attraction, so no Chicken Cordon Bleu here...We're stuffing the chicken with bacon and goats cheese, and because we don't eat grains we're wrapping it in, yes you guessed it... bacon! If that doesn't appeal to you, well then I'm sorry there's something wrong with you.

Let me repeat it just to be sure... chicken, stuffed with bacon and then wrapped in bacon..Yep I knew you'd approve! 

• 1 large chicken breast
• 2 pieces of smoked streaky bacon
• 50g St Tola Raw Goats Milk Cheese ...I've said it before, and I'll no doubt say it again... I always try to buy Irish (must be cos I'm a farmer's daughter!), and prefer raw cheese so St Tola is an absolute must-have in my fridge. 

Start by butterflying your chicken breast to create a pocket for the cheese and bacon. 

Place a piece of cling film over the chicken, and using a rolling pin or meat mallet, bash the chicken until flattened. Season with freshly cracked black pepper. 

Next, do the same with the bacon.. just cover with cling film and roll it to flatten slightly. 

Stuff chicken breast with crumbled goats cheese and 1/2 the bacon.

Roll up tightly, and wrap in the remaining bacon to seal. (You can use cocktail sticks to secure the chicken if you need to). 

Top with a little coconut oil, and place in preheated oven for 20 minutes until the bacon is golden and crispy. 

Serve with a crispy salad or some steamed vegetables. 

This is a delicious protein packed dinner that is really simple to make. The smoked bacon really compliments the chicken...and well all that gooey melted goats cheese is seriously just amazing! To save time you can make a few together and freeze some or cook them all and keep in the fridge for a cold snack, or lunch on the go.

Chicken egg fried "rice"..

This is a really quick and easy variation of the cauliflower 'rice' that I posted as part of my Tikka Masala recipe. It's a great way to use to up leftover meat and vegetables instead of a boring stir fry dish.

• 2 cooked chicken breasts
• 50g chorizo
• 1 red pepper
• 3/4 brocolli florets
• 1 small carrot
• handful of mushrooms
• 1/4 head of cauliflower, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red onion
• 1 green chilli, seeds removed
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 50g frozen peas
• 2 large eggs
• coconut oil
• tumeric
• smoky paprika
• fresh coriander

Start by prepping all your meat and vegetables so everything is ready to just add in to the wok. Chop all your vegetables into similar sizes pieces, dice your cooked meat, and grate your cauliflower with the garlic and ginger. (Pulse it in the food processor to save time... if you don't have one, buy one... you'll wonder how you ever lived without it!) 

Firstly cook your veg until slightly softened in 1/2 tsp of coconut oil. It's a good idea to cook the vegetables in stages to retain their individual colours and flavours. Cook each vegetable over a moderate heat for 3/4 minutes until just about cooked, and remove from the wok while you cook the next vegetable. 

Leave cooked vegetables aside with your meat until needed. 

Next, add grated cauliflower, garlic, peas and 1 cup of water to the wok and cook for 6/7 minutes until soft but still with some texture... you don't want cauliflower mush!

Make a well in the centre of your 'rice', and crack the two eggs into the centre. Leave alone to set slightly. Once the eggs start to become opaque and scrambled, break them up and stir through the 'rice' 

Add in your cooked meat and vegetables, and season to taste with lots of your favourite spices. 

Continue to toss up until warmed through. 

This recipe serves 2, and is a cheap meal with lots of protein... an added bonus is that is actually tastes better than traditional egg fried rice! 

Warm chicken salad with tahini dressing

Thursdays are always my stir fry or salad days... it's nearly the end of the week, and I've lots of leftover bits of everything. I hate throwing anything out, so always find a way of making them into a meal. It's a bit frustrating really, because Thursday always seems to be the day that I'm craving something really specific for dinner, but there's no point doing shopping since I'm rarely at home at the weekends. 

So today's craving is steak. The end. I don't want anything with it, just give me a lump of meat and I'll be happy.. Reality sucks sometimes, and I've only got chicken. Cue a very loud sigh... 

I needed to make something with lots of flavour to make up for the lack of dead cow on my plate. I'm quite sulky sometimes, if I don't really feel like eating something, it'll end up in the bin and I'll end up hungry and skulking around the kitchen at 10pm which can only end badly! 

I've had a jar of organic tahini paste waiting to be put to use for a while, so decided to make a warm garlic tahini chicken salad. This literally took 15 minutes to throw together, so no I don't expect a Michelin star for tonight's efforts, though it tasted pretty great.

Marinade 

• 2 tsp organic tahini paste
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• pinch of sea salt

Brush chicken breasts with marinade, place in preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. 

While you're waiting, steam whatever vegetables you feel like, or make a quick salad. 

When your chicken is cooked, slice at an angle and serve with your salad/vegetables. Drizzle warm marinade sauce over chicken as a dressing. 

I did warn you that tonight's dinner was nothing fancy! Like I said, it tasted good and I forgot all about steak. You don't have to be a fantastic cook, but we all get bored if we eat the same things all the time so it's good to have a few simple recipe ideas to fall back on if you're in a hurry or just feeling lazy. 

Chicken fajitas

Once I became comfortable with the principles of Paleo/Primal, I became more confident about experimenting with new recipes and finding inventive ways to recreate conventional recipes. I always loved fajitas, and so began the hunt for a grain free recipe for wraps that would be equally tasty as the wheat variety. Recently I've found that I'm getting very good at these little challenges... 

I wanted to make this recipe one that wasn't relegated to my treat category because of high fat content from nut flours. I decided to try out cauliflower wraps. This recipe seems to be all over the internet, so I'm not sure who deserves credit for it...but seriously, thank you!! 

Cauliflower garlic tortilla wraps

• 1/2 head of cauliflower
• 1 egg
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp mixed herbs

Pulse cauliflower in food processor until you have fine rice-like shredded pieces. 

Steam grated cauliflower for 10 minutes, until soft. 

Place cauliflower in a fine sieve to cool and drain any excess water (stir it up a few times to help speed this up)

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. If the mixture isn't stiff (resembling mashed potatoes), you may need to add a little almond/coconut flour to thicken it up. 

Spread a layer of the mixture in a circle on parchment paper approx 1/8" thick. You need it thick enough so it's sturdy enough to roll when baked. Keep the thickness of a wheat tortilla wrap in mind. 

You should get four 6" wraps from this mixture. 

Bake in a preheated oven (160d) for about 10 minutes, or until firm to touch. 

Using a fish slice/palate knife, flip the wraps and bake for a further 3 minutes just to firm up the other side. 

Once baked, set aside to cool. 

Chicken fajita filling

• 2 chicken fillets, diced
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 red chilli, deseeded
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• handful of sliced mushrooms

I'm assuming we're all pretty smart, and know how to cook the above ingredients so I'm going to keep this really brief. 

Add chicken, onion, garlic and chilli to wok with a little coconut oil over a high heat. 

Add remaining ingredients, and any other veg you have in the fridge. 

Don't overcook, you don't want dry stringy chicken or mushy vegetables. 

Spicy tomato sauce

• 1 can organic chopped tomotos
• dried chilli flakes
• smoky paprika
• black pepper
• fresh basil leaves

I'm a pretty lazy cook, but it generally works out... Tomato sauce should be quick and easy! 

Add all the sauce ingredients to the fajita filling in the wok, and cook over a moderate heat for 5 minutes. Everything will be cooked now, so it's fine to taste the sauce to make sure it's flavoursome enough for you. 

To assemble

Fill wraps with a generous amount of spicy chicken filling and roll up. 

Place in baking dish, and top with any left over tomato sauce. 

Bake at 160d for 15 minutes, until warmed through and wraps are slightly crispy. 

I serve these with spinach, steamed asparagus and some flaked almonds.

Hope you enjoy, they are equally as nice (if not nicer) than their gluten contaminated wheat version!  :)