Little Cooking Tips - Chicken

Preparation Time:

15 minutes

Cooking Time:

50 minutes

This week the cloudy, grey skies of the last days, finally cleared up. A glorious sun showered Greece with much-needed warmth and sunshine, to help coping with a recent natural disaster.

We won’t go into much detail –as this makes us really sad, because there were casualties- but a rare phenomenon, a Mediterranean hurricane hit Greece in mid-November. The outskirts of Athens were hit really hard by the storm, and now that it’s over households and businesses affected, have the difficult task to start assessing the situation in order to heal their wounds, if possible.

We don’t want to write much more about this; it’s really a painful situation. In this blog, we prefer to write about the positive things in life, to celebrate food and tradition. As you have noticed through the years, we don’t write about the Greek financial crisis or anything similar. We rather write about the beautiful things that life has to offer. This blog is all about memories, traditions, culture and –of course- food.

So -taking a big breath- we’ll focus on these. Most of us got to enjoy the autumn and the cool weather. Ourselves, we got the opportunity to walk in nearby groves and make small excursions in the country. The setting with the yellow, orange and red leaves is so majestic, isn’t it? And walking (or driving) in the country, offers a panorama of emerald-green meadows and dark woods, that you gaze in awe, in their autumn splendor. The other day, while taking photos, we noticed how a scene of nature in the fall, is as beautiful as the work of an impressionist painter, don’t you agree?

Harvesting Olives

In November, we have the olive harvest, here in Greece. It’s a tradition that hasn’t changed for thousands of years and the process is still more-less performed in the same manner. The olives are hand-picked by the workers -but also to a large extent- by families who own smaller olive groves. During the last years, most people opt for cold-pressing the olives, which means that they have a lower yield of oil, but the quality is higher. Organic groves are also on the rise, which is also great news, as the olive oil produced in them has both an amazing flavor and is free of any trace of pesticides.

Some of the best, chubby olives, are selected for pickling. These will become edible after a simple brining process, as olives are naturally very bitter. After brining, they are stored in olive oil and herbs, to accompany the meals in the months to come. There’s nothing like having selected your own olives and enjoying them in your table. There’s a link here with one’s past, with people who did this before, and people that will follow and continue this tradition.

Winter is coming :)

As November nears to an end, the festive period of Christmas and the New Year is gradually getting closer. The scents of orange, cinnamon, and clove from making melomakarona and diples will start filling the air in Greek households. The aroma of the flower water from buttery kourabiedes will put a smile on everyone’s face.

As mentioned in the kourabiedes post, regarding Greek Christmas, pork is the most popular choice as the traditional meat of the season. But it’s not the only one. Another popular dish for Christmas is the Greek chicken soup avgolemono (egg-lemon sauce). This soup is often the meal at the Christmas Eve dinner, or the first course at the main meal on Christmas.

Both of us have wonderful memories of Christmas past, sitting on the table with the family to enjoy this warm, delicious chicken soup, while the fire was crackling at the fireplace and the discreet music in the background was playing carols or Sinatra (or anything similar from the Rat Pack), staring at big piles of melomakarona, awaiting us for dessert :)

The chicken soup avgolemono

This soup is -of course- also popular all year round and is definitely one of the best and simplest dishes of the Greek cuisine. It’s also one of the most beloved Greek comfort foods. Perhaps that’s why we got many requests for this specific soup from our visitors and friends. These requests especially increased during the last year; as we noticed, this chicken soup is also getting a lot of attention from people abroad, being so easy and delicious as it is. So, we were waiting for the weather to cool down, in order to share it on the blog; and the season right before Christmas seemed to be the perfect time to post this.

Traditionally, this soup is made with a whole, free-range chicken. That is why olive oil was rarely added to the soup (usually only a drizzle when serving it), as free-range chickens have natural fat and one does not need to add more. You can make the soup with a whole chicken, cut into 6 or 8 pieces, in which case we suggest you double the rest of the ingredients of this recipe, as a whole chicken will weigh about 1,5 -2 kg / 3,5-4,5 lbs.

Being more practical, we preferred to use chicken thighs for this recipe. Buying boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs is far more convenient and easier to handle for most people so, we tried both and then adapted and tested the recipe, with just (500-700 gr / 1-1.5lb) of chicken. We found that the thighs work better for this soup, as they do have a little fat and come out tastier in the end, in comparison to chicken breast. Of course, feel free to use whichever part you prefer.

There are countless variations of this recipe. This version is the traditional way our parent’s families make it and a very popular version in general. Plus, it’s really simple. You start by making a broth/stock, simmering the chicken and the veggies with peppercorns and bay leaves. When ready, you remove the chicken and the veggies and keep them aside, to chop and add them later on, when you’ll serve the soup. The broth is strained and then simmered with starchy rice until it softens. And the final step is making and adding the magic ingredient: the avgolemono (literally meaning egg-lemon) sauce.

This sauce is so delicious, that many people abroad are calling this soup simply “Avgolemono”. That’s not very proper though, as the same sauce is added in other dishes as well. For instance, one of the most popular Greek winter (and Christmas) dishes is a pork and celery stew called Hirino me Selino and it’s quite common to add egg-lemon sauce to this. Magiritsa, a traditional Easter soup, is also served with avgolemono, even in its vegetarian version. So, it’s better to call this dish “chicken soup avgolemono”, to distinguish it from other Greek dishes that also contain the avgolemono sauce.

What is avgolemono?

Now, what is the avgolemono sauce? It’s a very simple sauce, where eggs (whole or yolks) are beaten until creamy and fresh lemon juice is then added to them. While whisking vigorously, one starts to add slowly warm broth into the mixture. The purpose is to raise the temperature of the egg-lemon mixture to almost the same level as the broth in a soup. This way, the eggs won’t curd, they won’t become scrambled in the soup. They will turn into a creamy sauce that adds a wonderful silky texture to the soup. You won’t believe that you got this texture without using cream. And it’s really simple to make.

You can use whole eggs (not just the yolks) if you prefer a sauce with more froth. In this case, when you add the sauce in the pot (in the final step), simply hold and swirl the pot, don’t stir. It comes out better this way. Some people also like to beat the egg whites into foam separately, and then mix them with the yolks and the lemon juice. Then they temper the whole thing with the warm broth.
In this recipe we added just the yolks, as we believe that this soup looks better with less frothy sauce. It’s entirely up to you, to use the yolks or whole eggs. It’s simply a matter of preference.

In this post, we share a trick used by many cooks that helps a lot when reheating this soup. If you do this, the reheated soup will look much better. The trick is to add a little cornstarch in the lemon juice and then add this to the beaten eggs (or yolks). If you plan to serve the whole thing at once, you don’t need to do this though.

You can easily make this soup a day ahead without the egg-lemon sauce, and the next day reheat it well, make the sauce and add it to the soup right before serving it. It will be as delicious as it was freshly made.

You can also add more rice if you prefer a thicker soup. This is only suggested if you serve the whole soup at once. If you plan to serve it on the next day, the rice will continue to absorb the broth and the soup will be very thick, with almost no broth, so keep that in mind when you want to add extra rice.

So let’s see how to make this yummy chicken soup with avgolemono!

Ingredients:

- 500 – 700g / 1 – 1.5 lb (2 large) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut in 2 or 4 large pieces *
- 1-2 carrots, peeled
- 1 stalk celery, cut into two pieces
- 1 large onion, peeled
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 chicken stock bouillon (optional)
- 2 lt / 8 cups / 2qt water
- 1/3 cup medium-grain rice **
- salt, pepper

For the egg-lemon (avgolemono) sauce:
- 2 egg yolks (from large eggs)
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional, but highly recommended)

* You can also use chicken breast
** Choose a starchy rice, like Arborio, Carnaroli

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Preparation

Place the chicken, the carrots, the celery, the onion, the bay leaves, the peppercorns and the bouillon in a large pot and cover with 2lt/qt of water (pic. 1). Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once it starts simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low.
In case white foam forms on the surface, using a slotted spoon, skim off and discard (pic. 2).

Simmer covered, for 30 minutes. Then remove the chicken (pic. 3) and the veggies with a slotted spoon and place on a plate (pic. 4).

Place a fine sieve/colander over a large bowl and strain the stock from the pot (pic. 5). Pour the strained stock back into the pot, place over medium-low heat, and add the rice (pic. 6), salt and pepper (season well). Simmer for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice you chose. Taste some of the rice to see if it’s soft (not chewy). When ready, remove the pot from the stove and set aside.

Add the cornstarch in the lemon juice and stir to dissolve. This is optional, only if you use cornstarch (which is highly recommended). In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the yolks until creamy, for a couple of minutes (pic. 7). Add the lemon juice (pic. 8) while whisking continuously.

Start adding broth from the pot (keep whisking continuously), one ladleful at a time (pic. 9). Add broth from the surface of the pot, to avoid adding much rice. It’s ok if the broth you add contains a little rice.
Add very slowly the first two ladles with broth, whisking vigorously (pic. 10). You will need about 3 full ladles to warm the sauce up. The whole point is to increase the temperature of the egg-lemon mixture to that of the level of the broth. This way, the yolks won’t become solid.

Once hot, pour the frothy sauce mixture into the pot (pic. 11), and stir. Ready to serve (pic. 12)

Shred the chicken (it’s now cool enough to handle) with your hands or chop it with a knife, and serve the soup with it, adding some chopped carrots or celery as well if you like, and freshly crushed pepper and/or finely chopped parsley.

Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. You can make this dish with chicken breast, or even a whole chicken, cut into portions. If using whole chicken, simply double the ingredients, it will come out amazing.
2. The reason for suggesting the use of cornstarch is that it helps when reheating this soup to avoid cooking the yolks.
3. You can make the soup a day ahead without the egg-lemon sauce, and the next day reheat well, make the sauce and add it to the soup right before serving it.
4. You can also use whole eggs (not just the yolks) for a sauce with more froth. In this case, when you add the sauce in the pot (in the final step), simply hold and swirl the pot, don’t stir.
Some people also like to beat the egg whites into foam separately, and then mix with the yolks and the lemon juice.
5. You can add more rice if you prefer the soup thicker (like a stew) or less if you prefer a clean, broth-like soup.
6. You can also try this with any short pasta, like orzo, or couscous. It’s not the traditional way to make it, but it does make for a great soup.

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Healthy

Low Calories/Diet

Garlicky green salad with chicken, parmesan and croutons

littlecookingtips — Mon, 19 May 2014 19:29:34 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

508

Servings:

serves 2

Cooking Time:

Sometimes we need a healthy, quick meal that can be prepared in minutes, that still doesn't lack anything in taste. One of the perfect choices for these times is this beautiful green salad with chicken, Parmesan and croutons.

This is a delicious salad recipe that can be prepared in many different ways. When you have more than 5 minutes available, you can cook the chicken with a little olive oil and one garlic clove in a skillet. This is the best version of the recipe and adds just 5 more minutes in the total cooking time. BUT the good news is: you can also use any cooked (grilled, boiled), shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken. ANY leftover chicken will do:)

The advantages of such a dish are obvious: it's versatile, it's frugal, it's a light and filling meal, it's super healthy and of course it’s very easy to prepare!

The addition of Romaine lettuce, parmesan and croutons will remind you of the classic Caesar salad, but this one has no egg or Worcester. Instead, we use a delicious garlicky balsamic vinaigrette and add some red bell pepper which provides a sweet, fruity flavor in the salad. The veggies are well coated with the dressing and taste amazing!

As with the chicken, the croutons may also be ready-made (or store-bought), but if you have a little time more time available do try to make some fresh ones with any leftover bread you may have. They taste so much better, and it's not difficult to make. See the tips section and be rewarded by their superior flavor for making the effort to prepare them!

Also do consider this recipe if you're having people over. It's perfect for backyard parties and it's a great way to make you kids eat their salad as well:)

Ingredients:

- 250gr / 8.8oz / 0.55lb chicken breast
- 170gr / 6oz (4-5 large leaves) Romaine lettuce, chopped
- 200gr / 7oz red bell pepper, seeded and cut in squares (brunoise)
- 1 cup croutons
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 80gr / 2.8oz parmesan, in flakes or grated

For the dressing:

- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 60ml (4 tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil
- 15ml (1 tablespoon) balsamic vinegar
- salt, pepper

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Preparation:
Cut the chicken breast in half lengthwise (pic.1). Then slice in 1.5cm/0.5in pieces (pic. 2).

In a medium sized bowl pour the olive oil (pic.3), the balsamic vinegar (pic.4), add the minced garlic (pic.5), salt and pepper (pic.6). Whisk until combined (pic.7) and add the lettuce and the pepper (pic.8). Toss to coat.

Add the garlic and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy nonstick skillet and put it on medium heat (pic.9). Once the garlic starts to sizzle add the chicken (pic. 10) and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often to cook both sides well. Remove and let it rest wrapped in aluminum foil while you assembly the salad.

Add the lettuce-pepper-dressing mixture at the bottom of a large bowl. Garnish with the parmesan and the croutons, and finally add the chicken and serve.

Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. You can also grill the chicken breasts for 8-10 minutes instead of cooking in the skillet.

2.To make your own tasty croutons : Add a little olive oil and some minced garlic in a skillet, use medium heat and roast any leftover bread sliced in cubes for about 6 minutes, stirring often until golden brown.

3.You can also try this recipe with roast red peppers (you can also try the ones available in jar) instead of using a fresh red pepper, for a different taste.

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Crispy Fried Chicken (Chicken Schnitzel)

littlecookingtips — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:51:06 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

1290

Servings:

serves 2

Cooking Time:

Fried chicken is a delicacy for everyone and always a hit among children. It's an easy dish that we can quickly enjoy! Let's start making it!

Ingredients:

- 500gr/17.5oz/1.1lb chicken breast (in thin slices - for schnitzel)
- 2 large eggs
- 140gr (1 cup) flour
- 140gr (1 cup) breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon curry powder (yellow, Indian)
- 1 teaspoon black ground pepper
- Sunflower oil or Olive oil for frying (preferably, you can also use any vegetable oil for frying)

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Preparation

Season the chicken with a bit of salt. Put the flour in a bowl.
Use a second bowl and add the eggs. Beat them slightly.
In a third bowl add the breadcrumbs and all the spices. Mix well.
Pour some sunflower oil or olive oil in a frying pan and put it on medium heat. The oil in the pan must be at least 2cm deep. Alternatively you can also use a deep fryer at 160 degrees Celsius (320 Fahrenheit).

Once the oil is hot,follow this process:
Take each schnitzel and put it in the flour bowl. Coat all sides with flour.Shake off any excess flour and put it in the beaten eggs bowl.
Coat all sides and then shake off any excess egg. Finally, put it in the breadcrumbs and spices bowl and coat all sides. Again, shake off any excess breadcrumbs and put it in the frying pan.

Fry both sides until golden brown. Don't turn the schnitzel until the first side is ready. You should try frying the chicken by turning it only once.
Put each fried schnitzel in a large plate covered with some kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.

When you have fried all of the chicken, serve with some french fries and salad, or some rice or some mashed potatoes and your favorite sauce/dip. Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. You must not rush to get the chicken out of the pan. You can slightly rise the schnitzel to check the frying of the first side, and once it's ready (it will take at least 2 minutes) then you can turn it to fry the other side.
2. Before you start frying, it's better if you put all three bowls and the chicken next to the frying pan, to facilitate the process.
3. If you use a deep fryer, of course, you don't have to flip the schnitzel on the other side.
4. You can also prepare the chicken for schnitzel in your home, by slicing chicken breast fillets in thin slices (1-1,5 cm). Cover the slices with some cling film or baking paper and flatten them with a meat mallet or even the bottom of a glass if you don't have a mallet.

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Creamy Chicken Pasta with Spinach

littlecookingtips — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 08:35:51 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

639

Servings:

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This week we decided to put together three favorite ingredients in a special mix. Pasta, spinach and chicken were combined with cream in a delicious result.
It's a recipe so good that you 'll make it over and over again!

Ingredients:

- 500-600gr/17-21oz skinless chicken breast
- 100gr/3.5oz spinach leaves, (3 handfuls)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 small onion (80gr/2.8oz), finely chopped
- 250gr/8.5oz pasta (preferably penne or rigatoni or tagliatelle)
- 60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
- 3 teaspoons tarragon (dried)
- 400ml (1 2/3 cups) fresh cream (full fat)
- salt and pepper
- 100gr/3.5oz grated parmesan

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Preparation: Slice the chicken breast into fillets (1-1,5cm thickness). Season with salt and pepper.

In a large frying pan, put the olive oil on medium to high heat. Add the chicken fillets and sautee for 4 minutes. Turn the fillets on the other side and continue to sautee for another 4 minutes. Remove the fillets from the pan and put them in aluminum foil, to keep them warm and juicy.

Meanwhile, prepare the pasta following the cooking instructions on the box. In the pan used to prepare the fillets, add the onion and sautee until translucent. Use a wooden spatula to scrape off any material left from the chicken (deglaze).
Add the garlic, sautee for a few seconds and add the spinach leaves. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the spinach withers (about 1-2 minutes).
Add the tarragon and increase the heat to medium-high again. Pour the cream and cook until the sauce slightly thickens (about 2 minutes).

Put the pasta in a plate, add the sauce and put the chicken fillets on top, cut in thin stripes. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Tips:

1. You can find spinach leaves, already washed and cut in all the super markets if you don't have the time to prepare them yourself.
2. You can also add some flavour by adding roasted pine nuts.
3. You can add the prepared pasta in the pan with the sauce and mix it before serving. In this case, add a little water from the pot where you boiled the pasta.

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Mustard sauce Chicken Pasta Bake

littlecookingtips — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:09:34 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

1077

Servings:

Preparation Time:

50 minutes

Cooking Time:

30 minutes

A good casserole is everybody's favourite; It's a definite comfort food, and we can use a huge variety of ingredients to make one allowing us to use our creativity.

In this recipe, we are cooking a chicken pasta bake with a mustard flavoured sauce that will make you crave for more. It takes a bit of time to prepare (like all good casseroles) but the result will be rewarding!

The pasta used as the base for this dish, is rigatoni. Rigatoni is great for casseroles due to its shape that is helping the sauce to stay on the pasta. We will combine it with tasty chicken thighs and cream cheese and enhance the taste and flavour by adding bacon, Edam cheese and mustard.

It's a perfect dish for a family meal, or when having people over for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:

- 600-700gr/21oz-25oz/1.3-1.5lb (2 large) chicken thighs
- 250gr/8.8oz rigatoni pasta (use ziti/penne if you can't find rigatoni)
- 100gr/3.5oz (5 tablespoons) butter or margerine
- 90gr/3.2oz (1 small) onion, finely chopped
- 80gr/2.8oz (5 slices) bacon, cut in thin strips (julienne)
- 30-35gr/1-1.2oz (1/3 bunch) parsley, finely chopped
- 250ml (1 cup) milk
- 200gr/7oz cream cheese
- 250gr/8.8oz Edam cheese, grated
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3-4 tablespoons yellow mustard

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Preparation: Boil the chicken thighs in a small pot with lightly salted water, for approximately 40 minutes, until it softens. Remove the chicken, and leave it on a plate to cool down. Then, remove the chicken meat from the thighs and shred it with your hands, into small pieces/slices. Put it in a bowl and leave it aside.
Boil the rigatoni in a small pot with salted water, and remove it 2-3 minutes shorter than the boiling instructions on the package. Drain the pasta and keep it aside.

Add the butter in a large frying pan and put it on medium to high heat. Once it melts, add the onion and the bacon. Saute until the onion becomes translucent. Then add the chicken and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes more. Add the cream cheese and stir for 1 minute until it melts into the mixture.

Remove from heat, add the parsley, stir and put the mixture along with the boiled rigatoni in a medium sized pyrex / ceramic baking pan. Add half of the edam cheese and stir carefully.
Whisk the egg in a bowl, adding slowly the milk. Then, add the mustard, while continuing whisking. Pour the milk-egg-mustard mixture into the pyrex, stir and add the rest of the edam cheese on top.

Bake in preheated oven, in 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit), in the middle rack, for about 30 minutes.
Serve with green salad and some toasted bread or garlic bread. Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. Instead of thighs, you can also use chicken breast, or even turkey fillets.
2. The broth from the boild chicken can be frozen in order to be used in future recipes. You can also use it in the same day, by adding a few vegetables in order to make an easy, tasty chicken soup.
3. Instead of rigatoni, you can also use other similar types of pasta, like ziti,penne or conchiglie, having a slightly different result.
4. You can also use leftover chicken (roasted/boiled). In case of roasted, reduce the cooking time (when you add it in the pan).

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Lemon fried chicken

littlecookingtips — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:37:02 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

706

Servings:

serves 2

Preparation Time:

45 minutes

Cooking Time:

We all have tasted the classic fried chicken with one crust or another. Here, we will show you a recipe where the chicken is not deep fried, so it's lighter, with much less calories. We hope you 'll enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

- 1 lemon (a bit large)
- 350gr/12.5oz chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 6-7 tablespoons flour (will be used for frying)
- 2 tablespoons oregano
- 1/2 stock cube, chicken flavor (you may also use any chicken broth available)
- 2 cups of water (for the broth, if using the stock cube)
- a bit of parsley, finely chopped
- salt, pepper

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Preparation: Cut the chicken breast into equal slices/pieces, about 2cm/a bit less than an inch, thick. Try to cut them in similar thickness because this way they will be ready (cooked) at the same time. Put the pieces in a bowl.
Peel the lemon (just a thin yellow layer). Cut the peel into thin strips (julienne), squeeze the lemon, and put the juice and those strips in the bowl with the chicken.
Add salt, pepper and the mustard. Mix with the chicken and lemon and leave it aside for 40 minutes-1 hour to be marinated.
Next, put the stock cube in about 2 cups of water and give it a boil to make the broth. Leave it aside. (Skip this final step if using ready made broth).

Take the marinated chicken and shake it to remove the lemon strips. Put it in the flour so that the whole surface of the chicken is coated.
Put a good non-stick frying pan on medium to high heat, and add the butter and the oil.
Once hot, shake the chicken pieces to remove any excess flour and put them in the pan.
Fry the chicken, turning the pieces every 2 minutes or so.
Once fried, put the lemon strips from the marinade in the pan. Also add the oregano and one cup of the chicken broth prepared.
Stir and cook until it gets thick.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley, remove the lemon strips and serve with french fries or rice and a nice green salad. Kali oreksi!

Tips:

You may also keep 1-2 thin slices from the lemon, cut into 4 pieces each, in order to use them for a nicer presentation. In this case, you add directly in the serving plate, decorating the chicken.

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Chicken with cream and mushrooms

littlecookingtips — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:06:40 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

505

Servings:

Preparation Time:

Cooking Time:

30 minutes

Chicken "a la creme", is one of our favorite chicken recipes, and definitely one of the most popular dishes around the world. The only similar dish we can think of, that can be compared with it in terms of deliciousness is a creamy chicken with pasta.

This dish is ideally served with rice on the side (or on a bed of rice) and/or a slice of fresh-baked crusty bread... to wipe the plate clean from all the delicious creamy sauce! You can also serve some nice green salad with it.

If however, you aren't afraid of carbs, serving it with some Greek lemon-garlic oven baked potatoes (so yummy) is the ideal combo!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 kg fillet of chicken breast
- 150gr champignon (common) mushrooms, sliced
- 60ml water (1/4 cup)
- 125ml olive oil (1/2 cup)
- 250ml white wine (1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped (or 1-2 tablespoons dried)
- 1 tablespoon mustard, mild flavour
- 200ml heavy cream (minimum 30% fat)
- 1/3 teaspoon nutmeg powder
- salt and pepper

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Preparation: Using a sharp knife, slice the chicken breast in half, lengthwise. This way, you will have 1-2cm/0.5 inch thick slices, which is cooked faster. Then, cut each slice into 5-6 pieces.

Pour the water in a large frying pan, and put it on medium to high heat. Add the chicken. Once the chicken starts to turn white, turn the pieces on the other side. When all the water is evaporated, add the olive oil and the mushrooms.

Saute, all sides, for 5-6 minutes. Pour the wine and add the oregano. Stir well and cook until the wine is almost completely evaporated. Add the mustard, stir and add the cream. Cook until the sauce thickens.

Then add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Stir once more and serve with some rice on the side.Enjoy!

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Easy Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

littlecookingtips — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:48:14 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

272

Servings:

Preparation Time:

30 minutes

Cooking Time:

Everybody likes a good chicken soup. It's a classic comfort food, that's perfect on any cold day. A steaming bowl of chicken soup is a soothing and nourishing food which helps us to reenergize.

Chicken soups may contain veggies and/or pasta to make them a bit more filling and substantial and enhance their flavors.

We're all for enjoying a traditional, hearty chicken soup, but sometimes we also want to experiment a bit. So, in this recipe, we added curry powder, rice noodles and fish sauce, giving a Thai flavor to the soup.

The main ingredient of yellow curry is turmeric; Turmeric helps cleaning your body from the inside, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and enhances the taste of every food it's added to. So, it's really good for you.

The chicken broth in this soup isn't very intense, and we actually prefer it this way in this specific version, in order to better understand all the other flavors. So it’s lighter and easier to digest. Feel free however to add one or two chicken stock cubes (prefer fresh, refrigerated with no preservatives) if you want a stronger taste.

The veggies added are: leek, spring onions, garlic and corn. We also used a bit of olive oil to sauté the onions and the leek, but you can also use Ghee or any other vegetable oil.

So give our Thai chicken soup a try! We think you’ll enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients:

- 2 chicken legs and thighs (800-850gr / 28-30oz / 1.75-2.2lb), skin on

- 1 leek (250gr / 8.8oz), cut into thin slices

- 100gr / 3.5oz (about 3 pieces) spring onions, cut into thin slices

- 150gr / 5oz (1 cup) corn (you can also use canned/frozen)

- 3 teaspoons of curry powder

- 80gr / 2.8oz of rice noodles (about 1/3 of a typical 250gr/8.8oz package)

- 2 tablespoons fish sauce

- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced

- 1,5lt (6 cups) water

- 45ml (3 tablespoons) olive oil

- salt and pepper

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Preparation:

Wash well the chicken legs and thighs. Put a large pot, on high heat and add the water. Once it starts simmering, reduce the heat to medium and add the chicken with a little salt (pic. 1).

Cover half the pot with the lid and cook the chicken for 30-35 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and with a large spoon remove any foam from the surface (in case it occurs, it’s not always needed).

Take the chicken thighs off the pot and let them cool for a while. Remove the skin and shred the meat in small pieces with your hands (pic. 2). Keep the broth in the pot.

Prepare the leek and the spring onions: slice in thin slices like in pic.3. Put the olive oil in a large pot and place on high heat. Once hot, add the leek and the spring onions and sauté for 1-2 minutes (pic. 4).

Once soft, add the garlic and the chicken (pic.5), stir for 2 minutes and then add the corn (pic. 6).

Stir and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes (pic. 7). Slowly add the warm chicken broth (pic. 8) into the pot, while stirring at the same time. Add salt, pepper and the curry powder. Cover half the pot with the lid and cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, break the noodles in half and add them in the pot (pic. 9). Add the fish sauce (pic. 10) and stir well. In about 4 minutes the noodles are also soft and ready.

Serve at once in bowls. Kali oreksi or as they say in Thailand กินให้อร่อย (gin hâi a-ròi)!

Tips:

You can use chicken breast, instead but in this case you need slightly less cooking time (the chicken breast is tender). You can also use boned chicken thighs.

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Healthy

Low Calories/Diet

Fresh green beans with chicken : A healthy chicken recipe!

littlecookingtips — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:23:26 +0000

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

593

Servings:

serves 4-6

Cooking Time:

1 hour

A traditional Greek dish, very tasty and healthy! It combines perfectly the green beans with the chicken.

Ingredients:

- 1-1,5kg / 35-53oz / 2.2-3.3lb chicken, cut into pieces
- 1kg / 35oz / 2.2lb green beans
- 5 tomatoes, grated
- 2 onions, grated
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/3 bunch (30gr/1oz ) parsley, finely chopped
- 70gr/2.5oz tomato paste (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 seed allspice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- salt and pepper

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Preparation

Put some olive oil in frying pan and heat it on medium to high.
Add the chicken pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes, on both sides.
Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes.
Pour the tomatoes and the paste, reduce the heat to medium-low,add the cinnamon and the allspice. Stir.
Add the water and the green beans.
Stir gently and cook for 1hour.
Add the parsley. Stir and serve. Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. The best side dish for this recipe is freshly baked bread and feta cheese.
2. If you use frozen green beans, do not add them at the same time with the tomatoes! They will take less time to cook, so add them about 10 mins after the tomato sauce has started simmering.

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Chicken "Milanaise"

littlecookingtips — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:35:04 +0000

Photo and Text by Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

625

Servings:

serves 8

Cooking Time:

1 hour

It's one of our family's favourite dishes and we totally suggest it!

Ingredients:

- 1,5kg (3.25 pounds) chicken
- 1 1/2 cup of long grain rice
- 1 large onion
- 1 pinch of thyme
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 tablespoon of ginger powder
- salt and pepper
- 750ml (3 cups) water
- 1 chicken bouillon (stock cube)
- 300gr/10oz grated graviera or any other similar hard yello cheese you prefer (you can use Gruyere, Dubliner etc).

For the creamy topping (Greek bechamel)
- 8 tablespoons flour
- 6 tablespoons of margarine
- 400ml (1 2/3 cups) of milk
- 300ml (1 1/4 cups) chicken broth from the boiled chicken
- salt and pepper

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Preparation

Boil the chicken (in 10 cups of water) together with the onion, salt, pepper, thyme and ginger. Let it simmer for 30 minutes.When ready remove the chicken and let it cool down.
Remove the bones and the skin, cut the meat in small pieces and leave aside. Keep 300ml of broth. Cook the rice in 4 1/2 cups of water, together with the bouillon (stock cube) and the butter.
Once ready pour it in a baking pan and add the pieces of chicken on top.

For the cream
Add the the butter in a sauce pan and put in on medium heat. When the butter melts add the flour and whisk continuously. It will become a thick paste.
Add the milk slowly and then the chicken broth, salt and pepper. Stir continuously until it thickens.
Cover the chicken and rice with the cream. Add the grated cheese. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes in 200degrees Celcius/390 Fahrenheit. Then use the broiler for 5-8 minutes.
Kali oreksi!

Tips:

The rest of the broth can be used to make a chicken soup, by adding 2 small cups of rice some lemon juice and vegetables like carrots, or onions. Cook for about 30 minutes. This way you can have 2 dishes!

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