CDFREAKS CHEFS

Oriental Chicken

Serves 2

•2 chicken breast fillets, cut into strips
•3tbsp oil
•2tbsp soy sauce
•1tbsp honey
•Juice of ½ lemon
•2.5cm (1 inch) piece fresh root ginger peeled and finely grated
•1 clove of garlic, chopped
•1 small red pepper, de-seeded and sliced
•4 ready-to-eat apricots, halved
•75g (3oz) mangetout, sliced diagonally
•100g (4oz) fresh beansprouts

1.Mix the chicken with the oil, soy sauce, honey, lemon juice, ginger and garlic in a bowl and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1hr.

2.Heat a wok, then add the chicken and the marinade and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the pepper, apricots, mangetout and beanspouts and stir-fry until the vegetables are cooked but still crisp.

3.Serve.

Serve this along side some fried rice or some plain boiled rice.

note: the recipe never said which oil so I used olive oil.

Quick-Fried garlic prawns with chilli and coriander

Serves 4 as a starter or small side dish.

•12 large shell or raw tiger prawns
•1 red chilli de-seeded and finely chopped
•1 large clove of garlic, chopped
•Juice of 1 lime
•4tbsp olive oil
•1 bunch of spring onions, finely sliced
•Salt
•2tbsp freshly chopped coriander
•Lime wedges

1.Using a sharp knife cut through the shell on the back of the prawns. Remove and discard the legs.

2.Mix the chilli, garlic, lime juice and 3 tbsp of the olive oil together. Add the prawns and marinate for 30 minutes.

3.Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan or wok. Remove the prawns from the marinade and add to the pan. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side. Add the rest of the marinade and the spring onions and stir-fry for a further minute. Season with salt and add 1tbsp of the coriander. Serve with a lime wedge and scatter with the remaining coriander

Tomato-Balsamic Barbecued Chicken

1 can (6 oz) basil-garlic flavoured tomato paste , or 1 6-oz can tomato paste mixed with 1 tsp prepared pesto)
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Chicken
5 lb chicken thighs and drumsticks
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Season chicken with salt and pepper and place on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat a gas grill to medium-high or prepare a charcoal fire.
Remove chicken from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
If desired, remove skin. Brush chicken generously with tomato-balsamic sauce.
Grill chicken, turning and basting frequently, until well browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
Makes 10 servings.