My Italian Month: (3) Roast Chicken With Rosemary

Honestly I didn't know roasting a beautiful chicken is so simple yet I missed out the simple technique of regular turning and use juice to moist them skin of the bird. This Italian roast chicken probably one of the good and simple dishes ever I tried.

Ingredient:

2 sprigs of rosemary
3 Garlic cloves
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 X 1.5kg Whole chicken
2 tablespoon extra virgin oil
2 tablespoon olive oil
123 ml (1/2cup) chicken stock

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200'C.
2. Put 1 rosemary sprig, garlic and balsamic vinegar inside the cavity of the chicken, add large pinch of salt and peppers. Truss the legs together.

3. Rub extra virgin oil over the chicken skin, pour the olive oil into a roasting tin and put chicken over it, breast up and a sprig of rosemary on the top
4. Bake it in the oven for 1 hour ( basting the chicken with pan juices every 15minutes)

5. Remove the chicken from oven.
6. Spoon off the fat from roasting tin and place it over high heat sauce pan. Add chicken stock and deglaze the pan. Boil until reduced and thickened. (use it for sauce for chicken)


Tips: Roast together with chicken of choices or mix of potatoes, pumpkin or carrots (roughly cut) for extra.

My Italian Month: (2) Potato and Pumpkin Gratin

I love pumpkin ever since I tasted one, pumpkin have the natural sweetness when cooked. I did this pumpkin and potato gratin because I have the ingredient to do one, beside it is simple :)



Ingredient:
450g Potatoes, thinly sliced
3 sprigs of thyme/rosemary, finely chopped
700g pumpkin Squash, thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove, crushed
500ml (2cups) double cream











Method:

1. Preheat oven on 180'C, lightly greese 25/23 cm (10X9 inch) gratin dish with little butter.
2. First layer with potato in the dish and season it with salt, pepper and herbs, second layer of pumpkin and season again with same. Repeat and finishing with pumpkin layer.
3. Mix garlic and cream and pour over the top, cover the dish with buttered foil and bake for about 45minutes.
4. Remove the foil and increase it to 190'C and cook further for 15min, until brown and crust

note: Cooked gratin and soft when slices(test)
Tips: Delicious with grilled meats or with green salab

My Italian Month: (1) Italian Meatballs with tomato sauce

Meatball spaghetti bolognese

Breakfast meatball with pouches egg and cheese

Have to be honest, I started to love Italian meatball when I working in a Greek restaurant, I tried it once and I just love it, because it was sauteed with tomato sauce and best, with red wine. The first time I tried Meatball in Malaysia but it is nothing compared to the real thing. It is just beautiful.


Ingredient:

3/4 Cups(185ml) Olive Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
2/3 Cups (100g), Pine Nuts
3 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
40g Parsley, roughly chopped
5g Basil or rosemary, roughly chopped
2 tsp fennel seeds, ground
2/3cups (55g) fresh breadcrumbs
1cups (25g) Ricotta cheese
1/4cups (25g) grated Parmesan cheese
grated zest of 1 large lemon
1 egg
1/4 cups red wine
500g minced (ground) beef or pork

Method:
1) Cook onion, pine nuts with olive oil until brown. Add garlic and cook few minutes more and set aside.
2) Combine herbs, fennel seeds, breadcrumbs, ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest and egg in a bowl with minced meat, add red wine.
3) Add cooked onions and pine nuts, season with salt and pepper and mix until ingredient combined
4)leave it to rest for 30min or overnight
5) Make meatball about 50g each (slightly flatten if fry)
6) CHOICE OF COOKING: fry until golden brown each side OR bake it at 200'C for 25min.
7) Served it with tomato sauces


Tomato sauce:
800g tomatoes (or 2 X 400g tins tomatoes)
1/2 Cups (125ml)
Optional: herbs- oregano, rosemary, basil and etc...

Method:
1) if fresh tomatoes, score a cross in top of each one, plunge them in boiling water for 20 second, then drain and peel the skin.
2) finely chopped the flesh
3) Add the tomatoes and wine to the saucepan, season with salt and pepper (other lovely herbs of choices) and simmer for 5 minutes.
4) Optional: pour over meatball or add meatball to sauce and cover and simmer further for 10 minutes.
5) leave 10minutes before serving.


Tips: When keeping in fridge, I cover meatball with tomato sauce, the next day taste awesome!!