Experience the magic of slow-cooked comfort and vibrant flavours with two of Maggie Beer’s standout recipes.

Turmeric, soy and ginger chicken

The marinade here is definitely ‘finger-licking good’ in the true sense of those words and it adds wonderfully to the caramelisation of the skin. You’re a stronger person than me if you can peel that off before you eat.

Serves 6

• 6 x 230 g chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt flakes
• Roasted carrots, kale and hazelnuts

For the marinade

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Finely grated zest of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 1 lemongrass stalk, pale end only, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon finely grated turmeric
• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

To make the marinade, place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined.

Place the chicken in an airtight container, pour over the marinade, then place the lid on the container and shake well. Refrigerate for 2–4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C (fan-forced).

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off the excess. Season with salt, then place half the chicken, skin-side down, in the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Take care not to burn the marinade. Remove from the pan and place, skin-side up, and spaced well apart on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Repeat with the remaining chicken thighs.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 4–5 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in a warm place for 8–10 minutes.

Scatter with extra orange zest and drizzle with any resting juices. Serve with the roasted carrots, kale and hazelnuts.

Nutrition: Turmeric contains the polyphenol curcumin which has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-diabetes properties.

Balsamic and rosemary shoulder of lamb

This recipe came about to prove to my group of trainee mentor chefs that we could still get a beautiful burnish on a shoulder of lamb without searing the meat in a pan before baking, which can be time consuming and difficult to manage. The real trick to this dish is making sure that there is only a very small amount of stock or water in the base of the pan as you cook, or the lamb will actually steam instead of bake.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
• 1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 600 g lamb shoulder, bone in (this is about half a shoulder cut by the butcher)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tablespoon salt
• Chicken stock or water to approx
• ½ cm in bottom of pan

Place oil, rosemary and balsamic vinegar into a large bowl and whisk together, then add the lamb skin-side down to marinate for at least 1 hour (see note).

Preheat oven to 140°C (fan-forced).

Add the garlic and salt to the marinade and baste both sides of the lamb. Sit the lamb in a roasting pan, skin-side up. Add chicken stock or water to the base of the pan, and loosely cover with baking paper and foil. Roast in the oven for 2 hours, then check for doneness. It may take another hour or more until the lamb starts to fall off the bone.

Rest in the pan, covered, for 30 minutes. Siphon off the juices and skim off as much fat as possible. Slip out the bone to serve easily. Heat the juices and pour over the lamb to serve.

Note: Lamb can be left in the marinade in the fridge overnight if desired and brought to room temperature for 1 hour before cooking.