Today’s recipes would be ideal if you are having a Valentine’s Night in and want to cook something impressive for your loved one, but not spend days in the kitchen. The pot-bellied chicken makes a great meal any time and the chocolate brownies are always a welcome treat. There are nice sweet and sour tastes in this chicken recipe with the lemon and the honey. I use Mileeven honey from Kilkenny in the restaurant. It is very popular at breakfast. Recently I had one of their honeycombs and the flavour was outstanding.
Today’s recipes would be ideal if you are having a Valentine’s Night in and want to cook something impressive for your loved one, but not spend days in the kitchen. The pot-bellied chicken makes a great meal any time and the chocolate brownies are always a welcome treat.
There are nice sweet and sour tastes in this chicken recipe with the lemon and the honey. I use Mileeven honey from Kilkenny in the restaurant. It is very popular at breakfast. Recently I had one of their honeycombs and the flavour was outstanding.
Tarragon and chicken go well together, but you might also like to try thyme, basil or flatleaf parsley.
We do enjoy these brownies and fudge sauce at home and there are never any leftovers.
Happy cooking
Neven
Pot-bellied chicken. \ Photography: Philip Doyle. Food styling: Sharon Hearne-Smith
Pot-bellied chicken
Serves four
3 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp clear honey
4 x 75g (3oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 rindless smoked streaky bacon rashers
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
200ml (7fl oz) white wine
175g (6oz) frozen petit pois
1/2 lemon, pips removed
15g (½ oz) bunch fresh tarragon, leaves removed and roughly chopped
200ml (7fl oz) cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Steamed baby new potatoes to serve
1 Place the mustard in a small bowl with the honey and mix to form a paste. Spread each chicken breast all over with the mustard paste and then wrap in the streaky bacon rashers – you’ll need three per fillet.2 Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or sauté pan with a lid. Add the wrapped chicken fillets and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, until well browned all over. Pour in the white wine and add half of the tarragon, cover and cook for 5 minutes. 3 Remove the lid from the pan and scatter over the petit pois, then add a squeeze of lemon juice. Pour around the cream and sprinkle the remaining tarragon on top. Season well and bring to the boil, then simmer for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is completely tender and cooked through. Arrange the wrapped chicken fillets in warmed wide rimmed serving bowls with the steamed baby potatoes and spoon around some of the sauce to serve.Gooey chocolate brownies with fudge sauce
Serves eight to 10
225g butter
275g caster sugar
100g pecan nuts, roughly chopped
275g plain chocolate, finely chopped (at least 70% cocoa solids)
4 eggs
100g self-raising flour
75g cocoa powder
For the fudge sauce:
150ml cream
25g butter
175g plain chocolate, finely chopped (at least 70% cocoa solids)
vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream, to serve
1 Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F, gas mark 3). Place 25g of the butter and 25g of the sugar in a small heavy-based pan with the pecan nuts. Cook over a low heat for 4-5 minutes until the pecan nuts are lightly toasted and caramelised. Spread out onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper and leave to cool before breaking up a little.2 Place 100g of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl with the remaining butter and set a pan of simmering water until melted, then stir to combine. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.3 Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a bowl until stiff and holding their shape, then whisk in the remaining sugar until the egg mixture has doubled in volume and is stiff enough to hold a trail of the figure eight. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the egg mixture and gently fold in. Add the melted cooled chocolate mixture with the remaining finely chopped chocolate and the caramelised pecan nuts and continue folding gently until all the ingredients are just combined.4 Pour the chocolate mixture into a deep-sided baking tin that is about 30cm (12in) x 23cm (9in) and at least 5cm (2in) deep and that has been lined non-stick parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes and then turn the tin around and bake for another 10 minutes until the top is crusty but the centre is still a little soft. 5 If serving warm, about 10 minutes before the end of the brownie cooking time, make the fudge sauce. Place the cream in a pan with butter. Bring to the boil, stirring. Let it simmer gently 2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate and simmer for another 2 minutes until you have a good sauce consistency. 6 Remove from heat and leave to cool a little. This is ready to serve warm or transfer to a bowl and leave to cool completely, then cover with clingfilm and keep in the fridge until needed. It should keep happily for up to one week.7 Remove the brownies from the oven and leave to cool slightly before lifting out of the tin with the parchment paper. To reheat the fudge sauce, transfer to a pan and gently heat through, or pierce the cling film and heat in the microwave. Arrange the brownies on plates with the hot fudge sauce and scoops of the ice cream or whipped cream to serve.What’s in season?
It’s that time of year where we start thinking about chocolate gifts for our Valentines. While the old stand-bys taste great, why not consider spending a small amount more for something Irish-made? From Lily O’Briens wide selection of chocolate gifts to Cavan-based Áine Hand Made Chocolates - a favourite of Neven’s - there’s a plethora of Irish chocolate producers out there to support.
For Neven’s brownies, try Áine’s 70% Dark Bar (100g, €2.50, www.chocolates.ie), Bean and Goose 75% Tanzania Bar (80g, €6.50, www.beanandgoose.ie) or try the Wilde Irish Chocolate “All The Darks” collection (pack of six bars, €25, www.wildeirishchocolates.com).
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