Abercrombie & Feast

There seems to be a direct correlation between the slowly rising temperatures of Spring and the rapidly increasing number of appointments on my calendar. Each day is a little bit warmer, and a little bit busier than the last.

Evenings spent at home in front of the telly with slow-cooked beef and heavy red wine just don’t sound as appealing now that it stays light after 5pm. Instead, I find myself dreamily buying crispy fresh radishes and planning evenings spent with friends in front of a barbeque with cold glasses of sauvignon blanc.

My friends all seem to feel the same way, hence the increasing number of calendar entries I seem to have. Suddenly, people want to plan a drink after work, with the sunlight still streaming in the pub windows. Mid-week dinner parties have gone from a rare occurrence to a regular fixture on our social schedules. Everyone seems to be up and out earlier on weekend mornings, filling up the High Street with their arms full of daffodils from the flower shop and shopping bags full of pastel coloured spring clothes. We’ve all come out of hibernation and we have the new dresses to prove it!

If, like me, your diaries have filled up in the past few weeks, I urge you to set aside a little time to make this satay chicken. This is one of the “pernickety” recipes I was telling you about a few weeks ago. It takes a little time and a little fiddling, but it’s the perfect food for this time of year. The flavours are bright and bold, but not too spicy.

I used my griddle pan for the chicken, since it’s not quite barbeque season yet here in southern England, but if you live somewhere warmer, this chicken is ideal to throw on the barbie for your first cook-out of the season. It’s also the perfect food to share with friends as the evenings get warmer and the beverages get colder. I hope you enjoy the Spring!

*Sorry about the quality of the food photos around here lately.  Our nice camera has been sick, so I’ve been shooting with the not-so-nice one. 

Chicken Satay
adapted from Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey

If you don’t feel like making the peanut sauce, this chicken is amazing just marinated and simply grilled.  But, you should try the peanut sauce.  I made it and loved it so much I was slathering it on toast and crackers!

Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a starter

For the chicken:
500 grams boneless / skinless chicken breasts
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs sesame oil
50g shallots, finely chopped
20g garlic, finely chopped
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
3-4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

In a small pot, heat the oils over a medium heat.  Add the chopped shallots and fry slowly until they are golden.  Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds, then remove the pan from the heat.  Tip the oil, shallots and garlic into a bowl large enough to fit all the chicken, and allow to cool.

Once the oil is cool add the soy sauce, black pepper and lime leaves.  Add the chicken to this mixture and stir to make sure the chicken is very well coated.  Leave the chicken to marinate in this mixture for at least 10 minutes, but preferably close to an hour. 

Heat the barbeque or your griddle pan to medium high heatl.  Brush the grill / griddle with some vegetable oil before adding the chicken.  Cook the chicken for about 7-8 minutes, turning once, until it’s all cooked through.  Don’t over cook!  Serve with the peanut sauce.

For the peanut sauce:
2 dried red chillis, soaked in hot water for 30 mins and then drained and chopped
1 tbs vegetable oil
50g shallots, finely chopped
20g garlic, finely chopped
1 fresh red chilli (preferably bird’s eye), finely chopped
40g canned chopped tomato
2 tsp brown sugar
150ml coconut milk
150g peanuts, roasted
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs lime juice

Heat the oil in a small pan over low heat.  You can use the same pan you used to make the chicken marinade.  Add the shallots and garlic and fry until soft and pale golden.  Add the chopped dried chillis, fresh chilli and tomato and cook for 2-3 minutes. 

Stir in the sugar and the coconut milk.  Leave to simmer for 2 minutes until it has reduced and is slightly thicker. 

While the sauce is reducing, place the peanuts into a small food processor and process until finely chopped.  Stir the peanuts into the sauce, along with the soy sauce and the lime juice.  Season to taste with a little bit of salt. 

Andy likes his satay sauce to be very coconut-y and fairly smooth, so I added a bit extra coconut milk to mine and then blended the sauce in my mini food processor before serving it.  Gorgeous!