Satay Chicken Salad (GF)

05-07-2017 Local Black BookAsian, chicken, dairy-free, gluten-free, healthy, lunch, peanut, recipe, salad, SatayLeave a comment

My obsession with everything peanut isn’t anything new.

To be honest, it sort of runs in the family. My parents are the kind of people buying roasted peanuts by the kilo and eating handfuls of the stuff as a snack.

Though I’m not that into roasted peanuts, one thing I definitely am VERY into is Satay chicken.

There rarely is a week without some sort of Satay-ish chicken concoction in my house.

In winter, it’s usually some variation on Rosie’s skinny Satay recipe, atop vegetable stir-fry or with some actual noodles added in if I’m especially peckish.

But in summer, I’m all about this Satay chicken salad.

High in protein, big on flavour, super fresh and just SO DAMN SATISFYING, it’s an absolute winner of a chicken dinner!

Or lunch, because once you try it, you won’t be able to satay away!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:18]

More super-satisfying salad recipes

Vegan Buddha bowl with Green Tahini (Vegan, GF)

Spring Potato Salad (Vegan, GF)

Kale & Rice Salad with Avocado & Salmon (GF)

Easy Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup

31-01-2017 Local Black Bookchicken, coconut, curry, recipe, red curry, soup, ThaiLeave a comment

About two offices ago (what do you mean that’s not an accurate way to measure time?), I got introduced to Itsu and its dangerously addictive coconut chicken noodle soup.

Needless to say, it became my lunch of choice for those days when I was too lazy/late/disorganised to pack lunch (or I just really, really wanted something warm, spicy, comforting and full of rice noodles for lunch).

Time passed, offices moved and suddently, there was no Itsu nearby for me to get my coconut chicken noodle soup fix.

Luckily, it turns out it’s really easy and quick to make, taking only about 15 minutes from start to finish.

It’s barely any work at all, and yet it delivers a punch of warming, complex flavours. Rich, spicy, tangy, funky all at once. Plus it’s a one pot sort of dish. Less washing up = always a winner in my book.

Easy Thai coconut chicken noodle soup | Cake + Whisky

I know it sounds too good to be true, but you definitely want to give it a try, because it’s all pho real!

Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup (serves 1)

Ingredients:

100g chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 spring onions, white cut into bite-sized pieces and green thinly sliced
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp red curry paste
small garlic clove, finely chopped or grated
tiny piece of ginger, finely chopped or grated
1 tsp yellow curry powder
3 tbsp canned chopped tomato
125ml coconut milk
200ml chicken broth or water
fish sauce to taste
50g rice noodles, prepared according to packaging instructions
lime wedge to serve
salt, pepper

Method:

1. In a saucepan or wok, heat up the sesame oil until it just starts smoking. Add in the red curry paste, grated garlic and ginger and curry powder and cook on a high heat for a couple of minutes.

2. Add in the chicken and spring onion white pieces and cook for a few minutes.

3. Pour in the coconut milk, chopped tomato and chicken broth, reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with fish sauce, salt and/or pepper accordingly.

4. Place the prepared rice noodles in a bowl. Top with the coconut chicken broth. Garnish with spring onion greens and a lime wedge and serve immediately.

Chick ‘n’ Sours Seven Dials

14-11-2016 Local Black Bookcentral London, Chick 'n' Sours, chicken, Covent Garden, fried chicken, London, recommendation, Restaurant, review, Seven Dials, small platesLeave a comment

Another day, another brunch!

Now, this one’s nowhere near as traditional as the last one but it’s just as crackin‘!

Unlike many of my faves, Chick ‘n’ Sours is not all about the eggs.

In this achingly cool restaurant, it’s the chicken that comes first!

Well, after the cocktails at least!

All of which are delightfully mixed and of the sour variety (hence the restaurant being called Chick ‘n’ Sours!).

My favourite was the signature The Chick ‘n’ Club (gin, blackberry, apple, vermouth, vinegar, sour).

A brilliant combination of all things autumnal in liquid form. Win.

Though if you’re already into your festive phase, The Rye ‘n’ Black (rye whiskey, red wine syrup, sour) is absolutely the one!

Note to self: red wine syrup. Get on it!

Best enjoyed with a side of Mexi-nese Nachos.

If you think nachos are not really your thing, think again.

Those come drenched Chengdu chicken ‘n’ bacon, green chilli, kimchi and cheese sauce and are THE BOMB!

So good in fact you better get your insta-perfect shots in quickly, or there’ll be nothing left for you but the plate to lick (if you’re lucky)!

Same rule applies for the Szechuan aubergine.

Coated in a light, crispy batter and swimming in a spicy, sour sauce, it goes right up there with Ottolenghi’s for the title of the best aubergine dish I’ve ever eaten.

Super moist + crispy chicken tenders with seaweed crack with sriracha sour cream.

Just as good as you’d expect from a top notch chicken joint.

When it comes to quality, these guys are definitely not yolking around!

And then, there’s the K Pop Bun aka the chicken burger to end all chicken burgers.

Korean fried thigh, gochujang mayo, chilli vinegar, crunchy slaw, all stuffed into a brioche bun.

A true beast but one that’s well worth dislocating your jaw for!

With a side of Pickled watermelon, coriander, mint & peanut salad to keep things fresh!

If you’re still hungry after that, there’s also some (apparently excellent) soft-serves to be had, but I’m afraid we chickened out!

So if you’re after the best fried chicken in London, chick‘ out Chick ‘n’ Sours.

It’s just the spot to make every day fry-day!

Chick ‘n’ Sours, 1a Earlham Street, Seven Dials, WC2H 9LL (they also have a restaurant in Dalston)

Absurd Bird, Soho

20-10-2016 Local Black BookAbsurd Bird, American, bar, chicken, chicken wings, cocktails, Deep South, fried chicken, London, recommendation, Restaurant, review, Soho2 Comments

I first fell in love with Deep South American classics when we visited New Orleans a bit over a year ago.

The weather this past few day had me reminissing about that trip, craving the heat, the Bourbon Street atmosphere, the music, and most of all, the food!

Luckily, there’s no food you can’t find in London, and if you’re after some soul-warming American South comfort food, I know just the place!

Nestled at the heart of always bubbly Soho, Absurd Bird feels like a little slice of the Deep South, with all the contradictions it involves.

Nostalgic and modern, humble and sophisticated, comfortable and innovative…

Upstairs is all about the open kitchen and Absurd Bird’s signature Moonshine lampshades, but downstairs is the true hidden gem.

An inviting basement den, complete with an intimate hideaway bar and cosy dining space, all absolutely NOLA-worthy…

The cocktails truly live up to the expectations as well.

Moonshine’s Mary

A fiery take on the bloody classic made with the restaurant own distilled Absurd Moonshine.

Hillbilly Iced Tea (Monshine, Lipton peach iced tea, syrup, lemon juice)

A light & refereshing drink that’s perfect to accompany all the spicy, crispy deliciousness to come.

Starting with an all-round favourite: the Spinach and Artichoke Dip, served with giant fried tortilla chips.

Creamy & zingy, this classic American dip is absolutely addictive and perfect for sharing!

Jalapeno Cheese Biscuits with apple butter

Crumbly, cheesy and spicy, they’re an absolute triumph.

Not that it takes away from the star of the show at Absurd Bird.

The chicken.

Superstar, free-range chicken from Fosse Meadows farm, all marinated in Absurd Bird’s secret sauces and cooked in a variety of ways, each more delicious than the next.

The wings come in 5 different flavours, ranging from the classic Crispy fried buttermilk version to the more unexpected Smoked garlic, parmesan & lemon one and seriously fiery Buffalo wings.

All are finger-licking good, the perfect balance of super moist chicken, crispy batter & amazing sauces.

The kind of thing you can’t just wing!

Big Mama’s Favourite

A generous helping of perfectly-cooked, Southern style smoked chicken served with sweet gravy

Dirty Buns (fried chicken, spicy mayo and pickle served in sweet milk buns)

Chicken and Waffles with smoked sweet gravy & maple syrup

Absurd Bird, Soho

Popcorn chicken waffle cone.

A quirky, genius take on the chicken wrap, complete with fresh tomato, salad and a generous drizzle of spicy mayo.

Fried Chicken Sliders (with bacon jam, pimento cheese, potato bun).

An obvious winner.

Especially when served alongside some irresistible sides…

French fries and Spicy sweet potato fries

The kind that’d give the old ‘Fries before guys’ thing a whole lot of sense!

Jalapeno Mac & Cheese

Almost an exact twin to my own recipe and an absolute must-order.

…and the divisive Sweet potato bake with toasted marshmallows (not really my thing, but if you’re into that sort of things, go for it!)

All topped off with insanely good, home-baked desserts, including Crack Pie (just as addictive as the name suggests), a rich & indulgent Peanut Butter Cheese Cake (perfect for sharing) and impossible-to-resist warm Choc Chip Cookies, served with the cutest mini milk bottle.

The (Deep South) American dream, in dessert form and definitely one of the many, many reasons to chicken Absurd Bird menu!

I’m sure you won’t have too much difficulty finding friends to come along, the place’s an absolute chick magnet, but if you do go with a big(ish) group, make sure you book ahead!

Absurd Bird, 5 Peter Street, London W1F 0AH

Field Trip to the Happy Egg Co. Farm

05-08-2016 Local Black Bookchicken, egg, farm, farm day, field trip, free range, organic, The Happy Egg Co, travel1 Comment

The early bird gets the worm.

And a field trip to a Happy Egg Co. farm is definitely worth getting up before dawn for!

After a quick snack, it was time to get suited…

… and booted!

Before meeting up with JP, the farm manager.

A true egg-xpert!

With the most adorable furry guide ever, we took off to the fields, eager to meet the the Happy Egg Co. V.I.Bs (Very Important Birds) and find out how happy they truly were.

All Happy Egg Co. farms truly do everything they possibly can to make sure they have happier lives – and lay tastier eggs.

Hens are naturally inquisitive animals, and love spending their days rummaging around in treelines and hedgerows – after all, their ancestors were jungle-dwellers!

Which is why, besides loads (and I mean LOADS!) of room to roam, happy hens also benefit from a minimum of 20% tree coverage to play, forage and shelter in.

They also have their own henhouse, where they sleep, eat, drink and lay their eggs.

The hens usually leave the henhouse between 8am and 9am, then head back to bed at dusk, depending on the season.

Field Trip to the Happy Egg Co farm | Cake + Whisky

However, Happy Egg farmers try their best to encourage the hens to go outside as much as possible.

Besides giving the birds a beautiful red crown, it helps them remain healthy and reduce both stress and violence, which can in turn affect the quality of the eggs (soft or wrinkled shells…).

Despite the Happy Egg Co. being a massive organisation providing free range eggs to supermarkets across the UK, I was surprised to find out it works as a cooperative of family farmers.

Each farm is hand-picked according to a strict set of rules, guaranteeing that the farmers are truly committed to the wellbeing of the hens.

The best farmers have their own quirky ways of keeping the girls happy – early morning walks on the range, singing in the henhouse, employing a bunch of alpacas to ward off pesky foxes, or even hen-petting!

Which we obviously couldn’t resist trying, though our attempts weren’t all quite succesful…

Looks like it’s just not something you can wing!

After photographying the farm’s VIBs from every angle (could you resist those shiny & fluffy feathers?!), we went on a egg hunt…

With eggs-tremely good results!

After the eggs get collected from the henhouses, they get hand-stamped.

0 means organic, UK is (quite obviously) the country of origin and the following 5 numbers are a unique code for the farm of origin, allowing absolute tracability of the eggs.

The eggs are then stored in a giant fridge until they’re packed and collected by lorries to be distributed across the country.

After a morning in the fields, we were all pretty egg-cited for lunch!

Especially since egg-specialist Jackson & Rye had come all the way from London with a cracking menu!

Starting with Smoked devilled eggs

Creamy yolk, firm white and plenty of smoked paprika, it was and egg-celent modern take on the retro classic.

Avocado Egg Florentine with Truffle Hollandaise

With eggs Florentine on of Jackson & Rye’s signature dishes, I can tell you this was no yolk!

Another good egg, that dish!

Last but not least, Jackson & Rye signature Pecan Pie, served with maple rippled crème fraiche.

No word to egg-spress how good it was, so you might just have to go and try it yourself!

Quite an egg-straordinary day altogether!

This peak behind the scenes has re-inforced my choice of always doing my best to support animal welfare and farmers doing their best to garantee it and I truly believe choosing The Happy Egg Co. brand does just that.

Going above and beyond the RSPCA Freedom Food standards, they’re definitely worth paying a little eggs-tra!

PIN FOR LATER:

*I visited The Happy Egg farm as a guest of the brand, but all opinions, pictures & terrible puns my own!

Greek Chicken Skewers + The Real Greek Cookbook Giveaway

28-07-2016 Local Black Bookbarbecue, chicken, cookbook, cooking, greek, grill, lemon, meat, recipe, The Real Greek, The Real Greek cookbook, tzatziki10 Comments

You know that frustrating feeling when you go to a restaurant, you have the most *amazing* dish and you know that you won’t for the life of you be able to have this again ever because the restaurant has an ever-changing menu and they won’t give you a recipe so you can make it yourself at home? SO FRUSTRATING!

Well, that won’t happen with The Real Greek.

Not only do they keep classics and favourites right and centre on their menu all year round, but they also just released a cookbook running you through those same recipes that have made their success on London’s restaurant scene.

A stunning collaboration between the team of experienced chefs at The Real Greek and the restaurant’s consultant Tonia Buxton, the cookbook is a comprehensive guide to creating restaurant standard food at home.

From delicious meze dishes to scrumptious feast, it’s the perfect companion for beginners and well-read foodies alike to explore the wonders of Greek food.

With over 100 recipes to choose from, deciding where to start was no easy job, but I decided to try recreating one of the dishes we indulged in at The Real Greek cookbook launch: Marinated chicken skewers.

The ones we had at the restaurant were simply beautiful: tender chuncks of chicken with sweet pepper and onion pieces, basted in a light and fresh marinade, with the subtle flavour of the charcoal there had been cooked over.

So I was curious to see if I could achieve the same results at home.

And the good news is, I did! …oh, and there’s another good news!

I teamed up with Blink Publishing to give out a copy of The Real Greek with Tonia Buxton cookbook so you also get to cook restaurant-worthy Greek recipes from the comfort of your own home!

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Chicken Skewers (serves 4-6)

Ingredients: 6 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless, cut into 3cm chunks), 1 small red pepper (deseeded), 1 small yellow pepper (deseeded), 1 red onion; For the marinade: 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp freshly chopped rosemary, 1 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves, 1 tsp ground paprika, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients for the marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken chunks, coating them well, then marinade for at least 1 hour, but preferably longer (ideally overnight in the fridge).

2. Cut the peppers into 2 cm pieces. Quarter the onion and cut the leaves into 2cm pieces.

3. Soak 6 wooden skewers to prevent them from charring. When ready to cook, thread the chicken, peppers and onion alternately onto the skewers. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Cook under a medium-hot grill or in a griddle pan for 8-10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes and basting with any remaining marinade.

5. Cut each skewer in half and arrange crossways on individual serving plates.

I served my Greek chicken skewers with a side of tzatziki and pan-fried pepper slices, but lemon mayonnaise would also work well.

A’meze’ing, isn’t it?

The Real Greek with Tonia Buxton, RRP £20, out now, Blink Publishing

Broccoli salad with honey-mustard chicken and grapes

04-02-2016 Local Black Bookalmonds, broccoli, chicken, grapes, honey, lunch box, lunch ideas, mustard, Ready Steady Lunch, salad1 Comment

Update: So happy to see this recipe featured in Furniture @ Work’s Healthy Desk Lunch Recipe eBook! My new go-to for lunch-spiration!

New week, new lunch box! Those are the rules of the Ready Steady Lunch challenge.

This time was a bit more relaxed as we didn’t have any set rule.

Broccoli is one of my favourite vegetable as it’s very versatile, easy to cook and can be eaten both cold or warm. So I decided the tree-like cabbage would be the star of this week’s featured lunch box.

Add a bit of chicken, a good handful of grapes and almonds and a punchy mustard dressing and you have it: my new favourite broccoli salad!

Broccoli salad with honey-mustard chicken, grapes and almonds

Ingredients (serves 1): 1/2 bowl of broccoli, about 100g chicken (cut into small bits), 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp honey, 2 tsp grain mustard, 2 tsp lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper, handful grapes (halved), 10 almonds (slightly crushed), 1 tsp wine or cider vinegar, 2 tsp olive oil

1. Steam your broccoli until nice and tender.

2. In a bowl, combine the chicken, the smoked paprika, the honey, 1 tsb grain mustard, the lemon juice and some sea salt and black pepper. Let it rest for about 10-15 min. Heat up a frying pan (with a bit of oil if necessary, but I didn’t use any because I have the best pan!!), then pan-fry your chicken for about 5 min.

3. Pile all your ingredients up in your lunch box (or a bowl) and eat slightly re-heated or cold.

Want more lunch inspiration? Visit Binny’s and Michelle’s blogs to find out what they’ve been cooking this week!

Cake and Whisky

Life in London and other almost-grown-up tales

Menu

chicken

Satay Chicken Salad (GF)

More super-satisfying salad recipes

Easy Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup

Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup (serves 1)

Ingredients:

Method:

Chick ‘n’ Sours Seven Dials

Absurd Bird, Soho

Field Trip to the Happy Egg Co. Farm

Greek Chicken Skewers + The Real Greek Cookbook Giveaway

Broccoli salad with honey-mustard chicken and grapes