Roast Chicken; Part II aka Banh Mi Sandwich

The roast chicken dinner from my last post left me with two uneaten chicken thighs. As you know I am not a big fan of leftovers as such. I just don't want to eat something that I've already had the night before... But roasting chicken has a big draw for me for an additional reason to that erstwhile meal: Homemade chicken soup! Therefore I never through away chicken bones or carcasses. If I know I will not be able to make the soup in the following days I freeze them and get round to it later on. But that is a tale for a different time.

I took the meat off the bone of those two thighs and froze them separately since I knew I would be out of town for a couple of days. I had seen a recipe of these Vietnamese sandwiches on the foodgawker App and knew this was something I wanted to try. It sounded easy enough except for the pickled carrots. But I soon discovered that this could be made with ingredients found in every household.
This is what I did:

Pickled carrot:
1 cup of hot water
1 tablespoon of vinegar
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
2/3 of a tablespoon of sugar
1 carrot, cut into juliennes

Mix the water, vinegar, salt and sugar so the last two can dissolve. Put the mini carrot sticks into a jam jar of appropriate size, top up with the brine you've just made and put on a lid. It's that easy.
I used red wine vinegar (seriously, who keeps distilled white for anything other than cleaning purposes?), you can use whatever you have or like.

This jar should be left for three to five days.

The sandwich:
One baguette sliced in half, a little bit of mayonnaise, the leftover chicken, sliced cucumber, your pickled carrots, some slices of spring or red onion and some fresh coriander*. I won't give any quantities as it comes down to your taste and sandwich making abilities (i.e. how much can you fit in). The finished composition is fresh and satisfying. I will be eating this again for sure.

*Dear people-who-hate-coriander, don't whine, substitute! It's a recipe, not the European Convention on Human Rights. You are allowed to adapt and diverge. Use any fresh herb you fancy: Basil, parsley, chives... I would especially recommend mint.

Chicken with Lemon, Herbs and Maple Sirup

This is a dish that was drawn together by the necessity of a low maintenance dish that didn't need to many complicated ingredients (e.g. anything I had lying around the cupboard was fair game). The finished result was a real hit for the dinner party guest and myself. Will definitely be putting this together again very soon!

Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs, with bone and skin on
ca. 15 gr of butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 pickled lemon, just the rind finely chopped* (substitute with fresh zest)
2-3 sprigs of thyme, finely chopped
4-5 sprigs of sage, only roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of maple sirup (Maybe a little more for later on)
salt
pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. While it is heating up you can add all of the ingredients (except for the chicken) into a small bowl and let the heat from the oven melt the butter. You  want the butter to just melt and this will only take a few minutes.
2. Put your chicken thighs into a baking dish and spread the sauce over them with a brush. Make sure the thighs are covered with it on all sides. Put them into the oven and let them roast for 40-45 minutes.
3. I pulled mine out ten minutes before they were done and drizzled them with an additional teaspoon of maple sirup per thigh.

Side dishes
Forked potatoes: Cook the peeled and diced floury potatoes until thoroughly soft. Drain them well and let them dry out in the pan for a minute. Crush them roughly with a fork and add salt, chopped spring onions and a little olive oil to taste.
Spring greens: Fry off one finely sliced garlic clove in a little olive oil. Add a couple of handfuls of frozen peas and two defrosted spinach cubes (or fresh). Give it a stir, put a lid on top and let it warm through. Season to taste.


*Making your own preserved lemons is really easy and so quick. My apologies for not having posted the directions yet. This will soon be remedied. They are fantastic to cook with and can to my current experience be added to any dish you would add zest to; stews, roasts, soups, etc.

Pink Rhubarb

The color of this wonderful plant is enough to make you buy it on a whim. Especially if you come across it early in Spring when nothing else is yet as luminous and enticing in the produce section.
That is certainly what happened to me.

I had the presence of mind to grab a packet of puff pastry too and just followed my usual blue print for a delicious fruit tarte.

I did take the extra step of stewing the rhubarb first... It might have been tender enough to skip it in hindsight but I didn't want to take any chances.

Ingredients:

3 stalks of rhubarb (Of course I went for the pinkest ones to be had)
2 tablespoons of sugar
ca. 1/2 a cup of water

Puff pastry, go for the unrolled one as it will rise better
2 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of ground almonds (If you are allergic you can substitute these with crushed cereal, for example Special K)

1. Chop the rhubarb roughly and add the sugar and water in a pan. Let it come to the boil and then simmer until tender with the lid on. It takes 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Roll out your pastry to fit your tin. Measure it generously as Puff pastry tends to shrink in size while baking. If you feel so inclined you can sprinkle a bit of sugar into the tin before placing the pastry on top. This will give you a lovely caramelized crust. Spread the ground almonds evenly, these will help soak up the additional moisture in the fruit.
3.With a slotted spoon transfer your cooled rhubarb out of the pot and onto the pastry. Sprinkle with sugar.
4. Bake in the middle of your oven for ca. 25 minutes. In the meantime cook your remaining stewing liquid to a sirupy texture.
5. Serve your rhubarb tarte with a coulis of the sirup and a dollop of whipped cream.

Perfect Easter snack

Or lunch.
Or dinner!

You need:
Bread (toasted pita is a treat)
Butter
Radishes*, sliced
Cress, although it is also tasty without
A hard boiled egg, sliced
Salt to taste...

Assemble and enjoy!
*Keep then in a little bowl of water in the fridge, to keep them crunchy longer.