Summer Roast Chicken with Lemon and Olives

We've had some changeable weather this week. One minute it will be brilliant sunshine, and the next it will be pouring with rain. Yesterday the window cleaner came, so I knew it would rain, it always does. I'd planned to cook dinner on the bbq but didn't fancy getting a soaking, so instead I cooked this chicken dish in the oven. It's perfect for this time of the year as it doesn't take much preparation, which means that you can go and enjoy the sunshine (if you're lucky enough to have some).

I served it straight from the oven with steamed broccoli, but it can even be served cold with a salad.

Summer Roast Chicken with Lemon and Olives - serves 4

8 chicken thighs
1kg baby new potatoes
handful of olives
2-3 lemons, quartered
olive oil
sea salt
fresh herbs - I used rosemary

• arrange the chicken, potatoes & olives in a large roasting dish
• squeeze the lemons over everything and then add these to the pan
• drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and scatter with fresh herbs
• bake in a preheated 180C oven for around 1 hour, until the chicken is cooked all the way through and the potatoes are tender

Pimms and Elderflower Iced Lollies

Well, summer has FINALLY arrived, and what does everyone do? complain that it's too hot! Such a typically British thing to do, but if you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen, which definitely applies in my case, as the kitchen is the hottest room in the house this time of the year. Even the hamsters have gone on vacation to the deepest, darkest (and coolest) depths of the teen cave to cool down.

This explains why my blog has been quiet for a few days (ok, it was a whole week), because who wants to be stuck in the kitchen when the weather is so nice. I've either been at my desk in the coolest part of the lounge (warmest in winter as it's next to the radiator) or up at the allotment, planting, watering and building (more on my DIY pallet bench another time).

This weekend is set to be another scorcher, so these iced lollies will help to cool you down. If you don't have any sparkling elderflower you can make up some cordial with sparkling water or lemonade, or just use regular lemonade, whichever you prefer. This recipe makes 6 lollies but you may need to adjust the quantities depending on the size of your lolly moulds.

Pimms and Elderflower Iced Lollies - makes 6

100ml Pimms

300ml sparkling elderflower (I used Cawston Press Elderflower Lemonade)

a few thin slices of strawberry

a few thin slices of cucumber

• mix the Pimms and elderflower together
• pop a couple of slices of strawberry & a slice of cucumber into each lolly mould
• fill the moulds with the Pimms mixture & pop a stick in
• freeze overnight

Enjoy! (and no moaning about the weather, we want it to stay like this for a while)

Perfect Summer Drink - Aperol Spritz

A few months ago I had never heard of an Aperol Spritz, but my lovely blogging friend Steph raved about it.  Fast forward to June of this year when I met up with Steph at The Taste of London in Regent's Park and she introduced me to this mighty fine cocktail.

It's been a slippery slope for me and the Aperol ever since. Later that month I mixed up two litres of the lucozade looking concoction in an old plastic water bottle (glass bottles were not allowed) to take to a Jessie J concert with friends in the middle of Cannock Chase forest. I'm definitely not 'into' Jessie J and the Aperol helped me to not care what I was listening to.

A couple of days ago I had been busy baking and cooking dinner, and the sweat was pouring off me. As soon as the husband came in from work I retired to my quiet corner of the garden where I enjoyed an ice cold Aperol Spritz (or two) courtesy of World Duty Free, who are currently hosting their Summer Drinks Festival.

After a while I was joined in the garden by Jack, who came out to fix his goal. I kept quite and still and he didn't notice I was there, allowing the peace to continue for a little longer.

To make an Aperol Spritz you will need :

3 parts Prosecco

2 parts Aperol

1 splash of soda

slice of orange

lots of ice

• pour Prosecco, Aperol and soda over ice and stir
• garnish with a slice of orange 

Enjoy! 

Garlic & Basil Bread Bites

Al Fresco dining and summer salads seem to be well and truly upon us now and who doesn't love to have a bit of bread with their salad. I absolutely love bread, although bread doesn't love me, or rather it does love me and loves me so well that it just sits on my hips and stays there until I banish it from my diet for a few weeks. I find it hard to do that in the summer though as there is nothing better than a platter of lovely fresh tasty bread, cheese and salad - my mouth is watering just thinking of it.

At the weekend we spent a lot of time eating in the garden and for one of our family afternoon snacks I made an easy dough in the breadmaker and baked up some garlic and herb bites, which were great for dipping in Balsamic vinegar and eating with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. Breadmakers are great as you don't need any baking skills to make a very versatile dough, and you can then enjoy freshly baked bread whenever you like.

I use the same dough recipe for lots of breads as it works for me and can be used in both savoury and sweet recipes - for sweet ones such as Cinnamon buns I add sugar too.

Quantities of the garlic and basil will depend on your own taste and how garlicky and herby you like your bread - I used around 1 tbsp of basil paste and 1tsp of garlic paste.

Garlic & Basil Bread Bites

225ml milk

500g white bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

50g butter, softened

7g yeast

100ml (approx) Olive oil 

garlic paste or crushed fresh garlic cloves

basil paste or fresh basil made into a paste with a little olive oil 

• Add the dough ingredients into the breadmaker in the order that your machine specifies and set to dough.
• Once the dough is ready remove onto a lightly floured surface and roll out into a long sausage
• Divide the sausage into 4 and roll each out a bit longer
• Cut each piece into around 12 pieces - you don't need to be too precise here and at this point I lost count of the pieces that I was cutting - as long as they are all similar in size and bitesize then don't worry too much

• Mix the olive oil, basil and garlic together in a bowl
• Roll each piece of dough in the oil until covered

Let any excess oil drip off the dough and place into a baking tin

 

• Cover the tin with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for around an hour until the dough has doubled in size
• Bake in a preheated 200 C oven for approximated 20 minutes
• Whilst warm brush with a little more olive oil and toss into a bowl for serving (the bread will fall apart into pieces)

Serve with freshly sliced tomatoes and mozzarella and some Balsamic for dipping - or as an accompaniment to a main meal

I have been sent a Panasonic breadmaker to try out for a few weeks for The Ideas Kitchen, come and see this and other recipes here