This week Chef Niemand shares an easy recipe for a fancy looking chicken parcel. She also shares the secret to those crispy roasted potatoes.
| Mediterranean chicken parcels | |
| 4(440g) | chicken thigh fillets (deboned) |
| 30 ml | olive oil |
| 60 g | black olives |
| 125 g | feta |
| 10 g | fresh thyme |
| 200 g | air dried cherry tomatoes (or sundried, soaked in warm water) |
| Salt and pepper, to taste | |
| 8 | sheets phyllo pastry |
| 90 g | melted butter |
| Cream sauce: | |
| 125ml | cream |
| 5 ml | whole-seed mustard |
| 10 ml | Balsamic vinegar |
| 30 ml | chopped basil |
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180 ºC. Trim chicken of excess fat and sinew.
- Heat oil in heavy – bottom frying pan and add the chicken.
- Cook over medium heat for 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and just cooked. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel.
- Blend the olives, feta, thyme and tomatoes together (until just combined).
- Lay a sheet of pastry on a flat work surface. Brush sheet all over with melted butter. Top with another sheet of pastry.
- Place a chicken fillet in one corner of the pastry sheet, top with one quarter of the tomato mixture and roll up, tucking in the ends as you go. Place the chicken roll seam-side down on a shallow baking tray.
- Repeat with the rest of the chicken fillets and tomato mixture.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until golden.
- Combine the cream, mustard, balsamic vinegar, chopped basil in a saucepan and heat until heated through.
- Remove the chicken parcels from the oven and place on a warmed serving platter or plate.
- Pour over the cream sauce and serve immediately.
| Roasted potatoes | |
| 1.5kg | potatoes |
| Oil for roasting | |
Method:
- Preheat oven to 200°C. Peel potatoes and cut into 5cm chunks. Place into a large saucepan. Cover with cold water.
- Bring to the boil over medium- high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 15 minutes or until partially cooked (potatoes should be only just tender when pierced with a skewer).
- Drain potatoes well. Return to saucepan over low heat until any remaining water evaporates. Shake saucepan vigorously to rough up surface of potatoes (this will make them crunchy when roasted). Alternatively, scrape surfaces of potatoes with a fork to create a rough texture.
- Pour oil into a large roasting pan. Place roasting pan into oven for 5 minutes or until oil is hot. Working quickly, add the potatoes to hot oil. Use tongs to turn potatoes to coat in oil; then return roasting pan to oven.
- Roast potatoes for 40 minutes. Turn and roast for a further 30 minutes or until golden and crisp. Season with salt. Serve immediately.
