Chicken & Leek Pasta

I have made a delicious chicken & leek pie many times over the years, and it's a true winner. But for some reason Ms C has a 'thing' about pastry. She just won't eat it! I've served it countless times and she just won't touch it. And sometimes that includes anything that is attached to the offending pastry as well!

So, to make this approachable for Ms C, I decided to make it in to a pasta dish. Spiralli this time, to hold the sauce. I also added zucchini for a little hidden veg.

Malt vinegar.... a bit of an experiment. I'd just discovered it was MODERATE in amines and I wondered about using it for a little flavour in place of a wine.

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo chicken thigh fillet, chopped into smallish pieces
• salt
  
• 1 1/2 leeks, quartered and finely sliced
  
• 2-3 inner stalks celery, finely sliced
  
• 1 zucchini*, peeled and finely grated
  
• garlic
• malt vinegar
• 1 tab butter
  
• 2 tabs flour
• 1-2 cups milk

Method:

• Sautee leek, garlic and celery and remove from pan
• Sautee chicken in batches and remove from pan
• De-glaze pan with a some malt vinegar, leaving a little liquid
  
• Add veg, zucchini, salt and chicken back into frypan and add butter
• Sprinkle flour over everything in the pan and mix
• Keep it moving and add the milk a little at a time
  
• Check for seasoning
  
• Keep slowly adding milk and mixing until it is as runny as you'd like it.
• Serve over pasta

* Moderate Salicylates

Verdict: What a hit!!!!! Everyone had seconds (Rats! I wanted to freeze some for another meal.)

Lamb and barley stew.

Lamb & Barley Broth

This is the inspiration for this recipe: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/lamb-and-barley-broth

My sister loves recipes, food, taste and sometimes she reads a recipe and thinks "Hey! Frillypants could do this one!!" Sister made it for my Failsafer when she went for a sleepover. I tend to stick to the recipe, with the necessary FS amendments (eg spring onions for onions; Canola oil) but last night I 'beefed' it up a little with some potato. It became a little Irish Stew-ish I suppose. I'm thinking that Failsafe eating is easier in Winter with the nourishing one-pot stews and so on.

Ingredients:

• 750g - 1 kilo diced lamb
• 100g pearl barley (or buckwheat for gluten-free)
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 2 litres cold water (2.5 if you want it more brothy) (or homemade vege stock)
  
• 2 leeks, finely quartered and sliced
• 2-3 Spring onions
• 2 carrots finely diced
• 1 swede, finely diced
• 200g savoy cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 tab parsley leaves, finely chopped

Method:

• In a large, heavy pot, combine lamb, barley, salt and water
• Slowly bring to the boil, skimming of the froth as it accumulates on top
• Cover and gently simmer for 1 hour
• Clean up kitchen and then chop vegies (this is more a note for myself)
  
• Add the vegies and simmer for another hour
• Add parsley in last minutes, stir through.
• Serve on a bed of rice or with steamed veg.

Verdict: 'Nom nom nom nom' is all I heard at the dinner table. Then I heard 'Is there more?'
I feel so extraordinarily relieved when this is how it goes. Incredible how much my personal happiness relies on dinner going well.

Tweaks: This was originally a soup, albeit a very substantial soup. It has swede and cabbage in it which would go beautifully in this stew. Unfortunately I didn't have swede and I ran out of room in the pot anyway. The leftovers have gone into the freezer and will feed the whole family again if I add rice and veg. Hmmm, maybe even pasta??  

Tweeks:  25/02/11  Today I am sick with a cold *pouts* and my FACE is killing me.  I don't normally get colds.  I am known in these parts as "Last Man Standing".  So,  having defrosted some diced lamb I had to cook it and I was after something nourishing and comforting.  But when I looked in the pantry,,  NO BARLEY.  Not even soup mix.  So...  I washed some green and red lentils and chucked them in.  

Essentially, I am saying that this recipe is sooooo easy to change around.  I chucked it all in the cast-iron pot at about 10am, no pre-cooking;  just threw it in,  covered it with ample water and put it in the oven at approx 160degC until we came home from the last Milo Cricket session for Ms C&D at about 6:30pm.  (They got certificates and medals!  They were thrilled!!!  The cricket assoc sure knows the way to a kid's heart... medals!  Maybe I should start awarding them.  On the other hand....  maybe not.)

Roast Beef with 'Bashed Neeps'.

Well! The great thing about Failsafe is that it barely touches the good old fashioned roast. Yummo!! Tonight we had beef. I just put a little oil on all sides and rubbed on some sea salt.

The vegies I did were potato, pumpkin and parsnip in the oven; Swede made into 'Bashed Neeps'; broccoli for the non-failsafers; green beans and carrot.

Delish!!!