Is it over yet? Can I come out now?

Sadly, we still have to endure days of perpetual meal preparation before we can break out and enjoy our favourite restaurants again.  Who knows how long, but we do know that this will eventually come to an end and hopefully you may have learnt something (A) about yourself

(B) about your family

(C) about what you love and hate to eat

For how to deal with what you’ve learnt from yourself or your family, I can only suggest that you find a great psychologist, although the queue to get into one of them will no doubt be extensive.  In the meantime, perhaps some simple ideas about food prep, can keep you sane.

Let’s start at the beginning – simple stuff.

Don’t try and recreate recipes from some Michelin starred  restaurant.  Now is not the time. Give Noma’s  René Redzepi all the kudos he deserves but don’t entertain his ideas in your kitchen at the moment.  Save that for the future. Besides – who are you going to share it with?  The basics are what you need and you need them now.

Chicken stock.  It’s what makes the world go ’round.

Boil your chicken in plenty of water, an onion some celery and a carrot and a couple of hours and there you have it.  You don’t have to take the skin off your onion, the skin off your carrot or the strings out of your celery. Just shove it all in.  The only thing I would suggest, and it really makes a difference to the finished product,  is to brown that chicken’s skin off in a little butter or oil before you add any water.  I always add some Vegeta, maybe a teaspoon, just for a bit of extra depth.  When it’s done, remove your chicken, keeping the flesh for use in some of the dishes below. Strain the stock and store it and the chicken separately in your fridge for use in:

Risotto……….Arborio rice, chicken, mushroom,  white wine, onion, garlic, a splosh of cream (now I can hear all those purists screaming) and a handful of grated parmesan or pecorino cheese.

Chicken soup……..The greatest cure all of All Time.  You can make yours any way you feel comfortable, but if you are under the weather and are looking for a miracle, fry off lots of fresh garlic, maybe 6 cloves, a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger and a tablespoon of grated fresh tumeric (if in desperation, you only have the dried variety, use it). Add about a litre of your chicken stock, about 1/2 a cup of rice wine vinegar, 1/4 cup mirin and a tablespoon of soy sauce.  Finely chop a chilli and add.  Give it half an hour on the stove, adjusting the taste to suit. You may like to add another teaspoon of Vegeta at this stage. You can add some of the chicken if you wish, or noodles such as udon for some substance. If this liquid gold doesn’t fix all your troubles, best book into the psychologist.

A delightful chicken and vegie pie………Is there anything more comforting than a steaming hot, buttery crusted pie generously filled with chicken, vegies and a thick bechamel sauce?  It’s a good time to visit one of those containers in the fridge filled with leftover vegies, or during our current circumstances, opening that can of mixed veg in your doomsday stockpile.  No one’s going to judge you if you use 1 or 8 vegies, just make sure it’s tasty, maybe cheesy or perhaps mustard-y. Once again I’d say, add a little Vegeta for umami and a generous grind of fresh pepper.  You can top with frozen puff pastry or if you’re bored and have the ingredients on hand, make the fabulous Maggie Beer’s Sour Cream Pastry.

Captain Chicken……..I feel this belongs in the 70’s but it’s a good one worth reviving, especially as you should have most ingredients on hand.  Fry off an onion, chop and add 1 red capsicum, 1 tablespoon of curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of dried ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme.  Add 1 cup of stock, 1/2 cup raisins and 1 can of diced tomatoes. Bring it to the boil, add some of the chicken, salt and pepper and reduce slightly.  I’d thicken with a cornflour slurry and then serve over rice.

Chicken and spinach pasta………The fabulous one pot dinner, as are all the dishes mentioned above.  It could be chicken and spinach, chicken and broccoli, chicken and mushroom, chicken, bacon and tomato – so long as there’s garlic involved, it doesn’t matter.  Boil your pasta of choice. Fry off some crushed garlic, a splosh of white wine, a cup of chicken stock, 1/2 cup of cream then add your spinach, a little grated nutmeg, some chopped parsley and basil, some shredded chicken, a teaspoon of Vegeta and reduce until the consistency that will coat your pasta.  Throw in your pasta, mix it through and serve.

Now, you will see that I use Vegeta extensively.  I make no apologies.  It can honestly make the difference between meh and yum – and I use it every day in 99% of my savoury dishes.  The Masterchef devotees amongst you, can snigger all you like.  I have a colleague who  jokingly says “Vegeta is like a Croatian mother – it’s in everything”.  Since she’s a Croatian mother herself, I guess she knows what she’s talking about!

Keep safe, keep it simple, keep smiling!  See you on the other side.