Do It The Italian Way.

Italian Stuffed Chicken.

 

Ingredients:

 

2 tbsp chopped olives or sundried tomatoes - whatever you've got

1 garlic clove , crushed

½ tsp dried mixed herbs

200g tub full-fat soft cheese

4 plump boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 ripe tomatoes , sliced

olive oil , for drizzling

 

Method:

 

Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Beat the olives or sundried tomatoes, garlic and almost all the herbs into the cheese, then season. Cut a slit along the side of each chicken breast, then use your knife to open it out into a pocket.

Stuff each breast with a quarter of the cheese mix, then press to close. Lift onto a greased baking tray. Season the top of the chicken, then overlap tomato slices over the top of each piece of chicken. Season, then scatter with the remaining herbs. Drizzle with olive oil.

Roast for 20 mins until the chicken is golden around the edges and the tomatoes look a little shrivelled. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Tip

 

To vary this recipe, you can swap the soft cheese for a soft garlic and herb cheese.

 

Italian Tuna balls

 

Ingredients:

 

2 160g cans of tuna in sunflower or olive oil, drained (reserve a little oil)

small handful of pine nuts

freshly grated zest 1 lemon

small handful parsley leaves, roughly chopped

50g fresh breadcrumbs

1 egg , beaten

400g spaghetti

500g jar pasta sauce

 

 

Method:

 

Flake the tuna into a bowl, then tip in the pine nuts, lemon zest, parsley, breadcrumbs and egg. Season and mix together with your hands until completely combined. Roll the mix into 12 walnut-size balls. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil, then cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions.

Heat a little of the tuna oil in a large non-stick frying pan, then fry the tuna balls for 5 mins, turning every minute or so until completely golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Heat the tomato sauce, then toss together with the pasta and tuna balls.

Tip

 

Make it into burgers

 

Tex-Mex burgers: Tip the drained tuna, breadcrumbs and egg into a bowl with a handful sweetcorn kernels, a sprinkling Tex-Mex or fajita seasoning and a small handful chopped coriander. Mould the mix into 4 burgers, cook as above and serve in buns with your favourite burger toppings.

 

Italian Lamb Stew with Rosemary and Olives.

 

Ingredients:

 

2½ kg boneless lamb shoulder , excess fat trimmed

4 tbsp flour , well seasoned for dusting

3 tbsp olive oil

3 large onions , chopped

4 stalks celery , diced

4 carrots , peeled and diced

4 garlic cloves , sliced

2 tbsp chopped rosemary leaves

350ml white wine

2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes

20 black olives , pitted

2 lemons , zested and juiced

a small bunch flat-leaf parsley , chopped

 

Method:

Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Cut the lamb into chunks and dust with the flour. Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a large casserole dish. Brown the meat all over in batches. Pour in the remaining oil, onions, celery, carrots, garlic and rosemary. Season and cook for 10 minutes. Add the wine, tomatoes and meat and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 2-3 hours.

Stir in the olives and lemon juice, sprinkle with the lemon zest and parsley and serve.

Nutritional value per serving

 

489 kcalories, protein 41.6g, carbohydrate 14.1g, fat 28.9 g, saturated fat 13.9g, fibre 2.6g, salt 0.73 g

 

OK, try out these recipes, they are great.

Next time i will bring you food from somewhere else on the globe.

 

Buon Appetito.