Chicken and Butternut Stew

The weather has taken a colder turn again this week, and the ground has been covered in frost all day. What better way is there to finish the day than a nice warming stew.

This chicken stew is made extra special by the addition of warming cumin, that adds a mouthwatering fragrance to the dish.

If you want something to soak up all that delicious gravy, you could do a lot worse than some Cornbread Muffins.


Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 fresh chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 25g butter
• 3 small red onions, cut into 8
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 butternut squash peeled, deseeded, and chopped into 1" cubes
• 4 large tomatoes, cut into 8
• 500ml stock
• 3 strips of lemon zest
• handful of chopped parsley

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pot
2. Brown all sides of the chicken pieces, then set aside
3. Reduce the heat, add the butter, and fry the onions till soft
4. Stir in the garlic, and cumin and cook for a further 2 minutes
5. Add the squash and cook for 5 minutes
6. Stir in the stock, then add the tomatoes and lemon zest and seasoning
7. Finally, submerge the pieces of chicken
8. Put on the lid, and simmer for 1 hour.
9. Stir in some chopped parsley, and serve.

Servings	4
Calories per serving	535

Chicken and Chorizo with Pesto and Mozzarella

It is not often that Mr Madnad makes the dinner. It isn't that he cannot cook - far from it, as he makes a mean chilli con carne. But even he would be the first to admit he perhaps isn't as interested in cooking as I am. He is, however, always happy to act as guinea pig and chief taster.

I say this not to disparage his skills in any way, but to highlight just how simple this recipe is as he made it for dinner this evening.

Simple it may be, but this is another great winter dish, and although I served it with gnocchi, it would work just as well with pasta, a bake, or even a jacket potato.

The following dish was the result of a twitter conversation I had with a foodie friend, who listed the ingredients as her dinner one night this week. I am a big fan of chicken, and chorizo, so of course my interest was piqued. When I found her dinner also included pesto and mozzarella, I was hooked!

Below are the quantities I used, but as you will see, it is easy for you to add more or less of the ingredients, according to taste.

Ingredients:

• 500g Chicken breast, diced
• 150g Chorizo, diced
• 150ml Single Cream
• 125g Mozzarella (either chopped up fresh or grated)
• 75g Green Pesto (fresh is always best, but ready made is perfectly acceptable)
• Enough gnocchi or pasta for 4

 Method:

1. Brown the diced chicken in some olive oil on a medium heat
2. Add the chopped chorizo, and allow the chicken to finish cooking in all those wonderful oils
3. Add in your cream, then stir your pesto and cheese
4. Once the cheese is melted and mixed thoroughly, fold in your gnocchi and serve

Difficulty	Easy
Servings	4
Calories per serving (with gnocchi)	838 kcal