Rubber Chicken

As today's outfit is a repeat (the floral/nautical tunic) I though I'd do a cooking post.

Frugal ways with Leftovers: Part 1 - The Rubber Chicken

Saturday - Lemon Roast Chicken

I was aiming to achieve a Mediterranean style chicken with the lemon doing most of the talking!

I rubbed a little olive oil onto the chicken to keep it moist and to help with the flavours in the bottom of the pan during cooking. I sprinkled some turmeric over the breast to give a yellow colour.

The slices of lemon on top are partially for aesthetics but also I hoped the acidity in the lemon might tenderise the meat. In the bottom of the dish I added a roughly chopped onion, some celery tops, a few cloves of garlic (whole in the skins) and some sprigs of rosemary.

I squeezed the two halves of lemon over the top and the stuffed them inside the cavity to add flavour and moisture from the inside.

I popped it all in the oven and roasted as usual. When it was cooked I added the vegetable water from cooking to the dish, squeezed the garlic cloves to release the soft roasted pulp and mixed it all up into a delicious gravy.

The flavours all worked well together and it was a lighter fresher alternative to a Sunday Roast. The lemons in particular gave a really aromatic sweet and sour quality to the dish.

I served this with new potatoes and mangetout.

Sunday - Chicken, Bacon and Tomato Pasta

This was an easy quick fix, by the time the pasta was cooked, dinner was ready.

I chopped up the remaining breast keeping it chunky. In a small pan I fried up some roughly chopped bacon and garlic. I then added some fresh chopped tomatoes, rosemary and the chicken. I also added a little of the cooking water from the pasta to give a richer sauce. A little salt and a lot of pasta and it was done.

Monday and beyond - Oriental Chicken Soup

This was going to also feature noodles but I didn't have time to soak them for 1/2 hour before adding to the soup.

I heated a little olive oil in a huge pan, then added roughly chopped onion, celery, carrots and whole cloves of garlic. I let these colour a little and then popped in the chicken carcass and any remaining meat. I added a good glug of lemon juice (I would have ideally liked to throw in a stick of lemongrass but didn't have any) and also a fair bit of soy sauce and some ground ginger (fresh would have been better I think). Then I topped the pan up with water. Once it was up to the boil I put it on a very low simmer and left for for 2 hours.

I sieved the soup and also picked out any decent bits of chicken which I added back into the soup.

I added some salt to my portion and some chili flakes. Dylan ate his without.

This made enough for about 6 servings so I'll reduce the rest down and freeze in ice cubes trays which can then be tipped into a bag. When I defrost I'll add back some water.

It was really tasty and warming on this cold miserable day.

Does Rubber Chicken already feature in your repertoire? I'd love to know how you s-t-r-e-t-c-h yours!