With hearty recipes that go beyond the bland steak and veg, CW food writer Fiona Williams shares tasty dishes that deliver plenty of bite and full-on flavour.
Chicken Kiev
Image and recipe from Meat by Anthony Puharich and Libby Travers. Photography by Alan Benson (with exception of images pages 6 & 11, which are by Paul Gosney), Murdoch Books, RRP $79.99.
Serves: 4
Prep: 40 mins (plus chilling)
Cook: 25 mins
- 4 skinless chicken breasts with wings attached
- Plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, for dusting
- 4 eggs, lightly whisked
- 240g (4 cups) panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
For the herb and garlic butter
- 150g butter, at room temperature
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup finely chopped mixed herbs, such as flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, tarragon and chives
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
To serve
- Mashed potato, steamed peas and extra chopped chives.
To make the herb and garlic butter, beat the ingredients together in a small bowl to combine and season with salt and pepper. To prepare the chicken, make an incision along one side of each breast, creating a deep pocket. Spoon a quarter of the butter mixture into each pocket, pushing to the back of the pocket. Brush edges of the pocket with a little of the egg, dust with a little flour and press together to seal. Refrigerate until butter is firm (1 hour).
Put the seasoned flour, remaining egg and the breadcrumbs in separate bowls. Dip each piece of chicken in flour, then egg, shaking off excess. Dip into the breadcrumbs, pressing so the breadcrumbs stick to the chicken, coating it completely. Dip once again into the egg and breadcrumbs to double coat. Lay the crumbed pieces on a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the coating.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat 3cm of the vegetable oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium–high heat to 160°C, or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 30 seconds. Shallow-fry the chicken pieces in two batches, turning occasionally for 5–6 minutes until golden brown (be careful, the hot oil will spit). Transfer to a wire rack on a baking tray and bake for 10–12 minutes until cooked through. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Roasted Brussels sprouts with dynamite sauce
Recipe extracted from Eat Your Greens by Pete Evans, published by Plum, RRP $39.99. Photography by William Meppem.
Serves: 4 (as a side)
- 600g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil or good-quality animal fat, melted
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 350ml chicken bone broth or vegetable stock, plus extra if needed
- 1/2 spring onion, thinly sliced
- 170g Dynamite sauce
- 1-2 Tbsp Furikake seasoning
For the Dynamite sauce
- 150g mayonnaise (or see Eat Your Greensp320)
- 1-2 Tbsp sriracha sauce
- 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
- Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl until well blended.
For the Furikake seasoning
- 2 nori sheets, torn or snipped into 3cm pieces
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 3 Tbsp bonito flakes
- Pinch of coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
Place the nori, salt and bonito flakes in a blender and pulse a few times to finely chop the nori. Mix in the sugar (if using) and toasted sesame seeds and set aside until needed.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Place the Brussels sprouts in a bowl, add the oil or fat, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Transfer the Brussels sprouts to a roasting tin, spread out to form a single layer and roast, tossing from time to time so they colour evenly, for 20 minutes, or until golden and charred. Pour in the broth or stock, stir with a spatula and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the sprouts are tender. Add more broth or stock if it starts to dry out too quickly.
Meanwhile, stir the spring onion into the dynamite sauce, then pour into a small bowl and set aside until ready to use.
To serve, place the roasted Brussels sprouts on a serving platter, spoon over some dynamite sauce and sprinkle on the furikake seasoning. Serve the remaining dynamite sauce on the side.
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