Roast Chicken with Broccoli and Cheese Crumble and Pan Roasted Baby Potatoes

Last night on this blog, I included a small section about how to easily find healthy recipes to suit your personal tastes. Purely off the top of my head, the three food ingredients which I used in the example were chicken, broccoli and cheese. A couple of hours after publishing the post, it occured to me that I should provide my own option to suit the example. So, today we have my healthy eating option incorporating chicken, broccoli and cheese...

Ingredients per Person

1 chicken breast quarter portion
1/2 small head of broccoli
8 to 10 small new potatoes
1 slice of bread
2 oz cheddar cheese (or other hard cheese)
1/2 tsp dried sage
Salt and black pepper
Butter for greasing baking dish

Method

The potatoes have to be firstly cooked by boiling. They should be washed and added to a pot of cold water, placed on a high heat until the water boils and the heat reduced to achieve a simmer for half an hour. The potatoes should then be drained and added to a pot or bowl of cold water to cool. The expansion/contraction process helps to make the skin later easier to remove.

The chicken portion should be baked in the oven on a baking tray. The oven should be preheated to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6 and the chicken put in for half an hour to cook and then the oven turned up to full for five to ten minutes to crisp the skin. It is imperative to check that the chicken is fully cooked after this time. The easiest way to do this is to pierce the thickest part of the flesh with a skewer and then press down over the hole you have made to ensure the juices run clear and that there is no trace of red, or even pink. Cover the tray with tinfoil and set it aside for the chicken to rest.

The broccoli should be split in to florets and added to a pot of boiling, slightly salted water for ten minutes. While the broccoli is simmering, the bread and cheese should be grated and mixed with the sage and some black pepper in a bowl.

The broccoli should be drained and added to a small oven proof dish, lightly greased with butter. The crumble mixture should be spread evenly over the top and the dish placed under a hot overhead grill for around five minutes.

The potatoes should peel easily simply by rubbing them with the ball of your thumb. They should then be deep fried for around five minutes until beautifully golden and drained on kitchen paper.

The broccoli and cheese crumble should be removed from under the grill and carefully slipped out of the dish with a fish slice on to a plate. The chicken and roasted baby potatoes can then be served alongside.

Roast Chicken Legs with Coriander Mash and Garlic Mushrooms

I love roast chicken but so often it is prepared ins such a way as to be incredibly unhealthy. This recipe is not only healthy but extremely simple, meaning that if you fancy having it for dinner tonight, there is not a lot of preparation time or work involved.

Ingredients (Per person)

3 raw chicken legs (skin on)
2 large maris piper potatoes (peeled and chopped)
2 tsp of freshly chopped coriander leaves (cilantro in US)
3 small closed cup mushrooms (halved downwards)
2 cloves of garlic (crushed or very finely chopped)
Pinch of dried sage
Salt
Knob of butter
Olive oil

Method

Preheat your oven and a metal baking tray or sheet to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Add a little olive oil to a large bowl or basin and season with salt. Add the chicken legs and stir well to ensure even coating in the oil. Place the chicken legs on the hot baking sheet and in to the oven for 35/40 minutes, turning half way through the alloted time. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest/cool.

Boil the potatoes in salted water for 25/30 minutes or until soft. Drain well, add the knob of butter and the coriander leaf and stir thoroughly.

Heat a little olive oil in a small saucepan and add the garlic, mushrooms and pinch of sage. Stir for a couple of minutes until heated through then plate up, serve and enjoy your meal.

N.B. If you are unable to obtain the Huntigout, three-legged breed of chicken common only to Scotland, two or four legged varieties may of course be used instead.

Honey Roast Chicken and Potatoes

Chicken is a great favourite of mine and I know of a great many other people as well. I am therefore always on the look out for new and exciting healthy chicken recipes which I can add to my repertoire. This roast chicken offering is very simple and straightforward in preparation but is absolutely delicious when served.

Ingredients

1 3 or 4lb chicken
1 small orange (unpeeled and shopped in to 8 pieces)
1 tbsp orange blossom honey
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 large potatoes (unpeeled and chopped in to 1" chunks)

Method

Put your oven on to preheat to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5.

Put the honey and thyme in to a large bowl or basin and stir well. Add the orange pieces and stir to ensure they are evenly coated then stuff this mixture in to the cavity of the chicken.

Place the chicken on a roasting tray and cover with aluminium foil. Put it in to the oven and cook for 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven and remove and discard the foil. Add the potato pieces to the tray and stir them around well in the juices which should by now have collected. Return the tray to the oven for a further 45 minutes.

Check the chicken is properly cooked by sticking a metal skewer or fork in to the thickest part of the thigh and ensuring that the juices run clear. It is then simply a matter of carving the bird and serving with your deliciously flavoured roast potatoes and further vegetable of your choice.