Pigeon Cottage Kitchen

Lamb shanks in white wine with fennel

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Janet Davies @pigeoncottage

I don’t often cook lamb shanks because the ones I see for sale usually are so big they look more like sheep shanks. So, when I saw some proper lamb-sized ones at the butchers, I snapped them up so I could make this. Four shanks will feed four adults obviously but an extra one will easily feed a couple of children. It’s a lovely spring dish with the flavours of white wine, tomato, lemon and fennel. The sauce is lovely with mash or some buttered Jersey Royals on the side although, this time, I added a few handfuls of orzo to make a simple one-pot supper dish. It will be delicious, however you choose to serve it.

Serves 4

4 lamb shanks
2 tbsps light olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot peeled and diced
1 head of fennel, chopped
4 whole garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tin of Mutti tomatoes or 4 large fresh ones, grated
500ml dry white wine
500ml chicken stock
The peel of one lemon
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
4-5 sprigs of fresh mint
8 or so cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper

To make…

Preheat the oven to 160C.
Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed casserole, add the lamb shanks and brown them on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Add the onion, carrot, fennel and garlic, season and saute them over a low heat in the lamb fat and olive oil.
Pour in the wine and the stock, add the tomatoes, lemon peel, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and then add the lamb shanks. Cover and cook in the oven for at least two hours until the meat is so tender it falls off the bone. If you’re using the orzo, add it about an hour before the end of the cooking time.
Add the cherry tomatoes and mint towards the end and taste to adjust the seasoning.

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Posted in Meat main courses, Recipes | Tagged bay leaves, chicken stock, fennel, Garlic, lamb shanks, mint, Olive oil, Onion, thyme, tomatoes, white wine | Leave a comment

Chicken with porcini and chestnut mushrooms

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Janet Davies @pigeoncottage

The beauty of this dish is that, although it’s a very simple and easy supper dish to make any day of the week, it’s pretty dinner-party worthy too. I buy the French-style chicken legs (thigh and drumstick), one each is usually enough if you serve it with a little rice or creamy mash and green beans or tender stem. The mixture of dried and fresh mushrooms gives a lovely deep flavour to the sauce and the cream and Madeira add that little bit of luxury.

Serves 4
4 French-cut chicken legs – thigh and drumstick
30g dried porcini mushrooms
250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs Madeira
1 tbsp light olive oil
40g butter
1 tbsp double cream
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 large banana shallot
1 clove of garlic, finely grated
Salt and pepper

To make…

To prepare the dried porcini mushrooms, put them in a jug and cover with boiling water. Soak for about an hour, drain but be sure to retain the stock. Chop the mushrooms very finely and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 160C.
Melt the oil and half the butter in a non-stick casserole. Brown the chicken pieces and set aside. Add the extra butter and fry the chopped chestnut mushrooms until brown. Set aside.
Add the chopped shallot and garlic cook gently for 5 minutes or so until soft and golden. Stir in the dried mushrooms and cook for a moment. Add the chestnut mushrooms. Next, pour in the Madeira, it should evaporate quite quickly. Stir in the reserved mushroom liquor and the cream. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Add the chicken pieces, cover with the lid and cook in the oven for 45 minutes. The chicken should be tender and the sauce thickened. Scatter with chopped parsley before serving.

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Posted in Meat main courses, Recipes | Tagged Butter, chestnut mushrooms, chicken, double cream, madeira, parsley, porcini mushrooms, shallot | Leave a comment

Chicken kedgeree

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Janet Davies @pigeoncottage

I love a traditional smoked fish kedgeree so, when I had leftover roast chicken, this recipe was inspired by that. It’s a great family sharing dish for a brunch or supper and very easy to make. The basmati rice base is cooked with fragrant chicken broth made with the leftover carcass, infused with ginger and curry leaves and then it’s topped with shredded chicken, coriander, boiled eggs and tomatoes. Make it as mild or spicy as you like!

Serves 4
4 medium eggs, boiled
200g basmati rice
1 large onion, sliced
2 tbsps rapeseed oil
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
Leftover shredded roast chicken
2 tbsps chopped fresh coriander
2 cloves of garlic, finely grated
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tsp cumin seeds and fennel seeds
Half a cinnamon stick
1 tsp of your favourite curry powder – I used my Sri Lankan roast spice mix, you could use a Madras or other favourite mix depending on how spicy you’d like the rice to be.
Chicken stock – about 500ml
Leftover roast chicken, chopped
Stock: 1 whole fresh red or green chilli, 1 x 2cm piece of fresh ginger, a handful of curry leaves or a couple of fresh bay leaves, a handful of coriander stalks, water, small cinnamon stick, any leftover chicken gravy or cooking juices, white pepper and salt.

To make…

Cover the rice with cold water in a small basin to pre-soak for an hour, drain thoroughly before using.
Strip all the chicken meat from the leftover roast carcass, shred it and set aside.
Place the chicken carcass, skin, any leftover chicken gravy or cooking juices into a large saucepan and cover with water so it barely covers it. Add a whole chilli, a 2cm piece of fresh ginger, a handful of curry leaves, a handful of coriander stalks, a small cinnamon stick, a dash of white pepper and salt. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat down. Cover and cook for at least an hour. If you don’t have any chicken gravy or juices leftover, add a chicken gel stock cube. It will smell fragrant and delicious. After an hour, taste it and adjust the seasoning if it needs it. Strain it into a bowl and leave to cool. Skim off the fat layer before using. You can make this ahead of time and keep in the fridge for a day until you want to use it.
Put the eggs on to boil for 7 minutes for a jammy-set yolk. Allow to cool before removing the shell. Cut into quarters just before serving.
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan, add the fennel and cumin seeds, the cinnamon stick and allow to sizzle for a couple of minutes. Add the onion and fry gently until soft and slightly caramelised. Add the ginger, garlic, curry powder and cook out for a few minutes. Add the drained rice and stir until the grains are coated thoroughly. Add enough stock so that it covers the rice and add about half a centimetre more. Freeze any leftover stock to use for soup etc. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly, turn off the heat and set aside. The rice should absorb all the stock after about 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover and stir gently to fluff up the rice. I have a wooden fork for this as it gives the dish volume without breaking the grains.
To serve, scatter with shredded chicken and fresh coriander and then dot with the quartered boiled eggs and tomatoes. Take it to the table and let everyone serve themselves. I like a little ‘Foraging Fox’ spiced turmeric mayo on the side (Waitrose).

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Posted in Curry, Recipes, Rice dishes | Tagged basmati rice, cherry tomatoes, chicken carcass, coriander, cumin seeds, curry leaves, curry powder, eggs, fennel seeds, ginger, leftover roast chicken, Onion, water | Leave a comment

Pasta with chorizo and pepper sauce

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Janet Davies @pigeoncottage

This is one of those family pasta dishes that is so quick and easy to make, uses store cupboard ingredients and tastes so delicious that you’ll make it over and over again. This serves 6 people generously but you can just scale it down for fewer people. Sometimes, I make a big batch of the tomato and paprika sauce base and freeze it. I can add the chorizo and red peppers when I defrost the sauce as and when I want to serve it. Great with just a simple green salad on the side.

Serves 6

I bag of pasta. I used Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Caesarecce
2 tins of Mutti chopped tomatoes
1 jar of wood roasted red peppers, chopped
1 whole chorizo ring, skinned and chopped
1 tbsps sherry vinegar
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp light olive oil
1 tbsps whole milk.
Parmesan cheese

To make…

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook until soft and golden. Add the chopped chorizo and allow the fat to render gently for about 8 minutes. Add the vinegar and stir. Add the tomatoes, milk and paprika. Stir and allow to cook down over a low heat.
Cook the pasta according to the instruction on the packet in plenty of boiling, salted water. This usually takes around 12 minutes.
Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce along with the chopped red peppers. Combine thoroughly and add a little pasta water to make the sauce nice and silky.

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To get the latest #TheFridayRecipe from the Pigeon Cottage Kitchen blog, just add your email address to the subscribe box at the top right-hand column of the website.
Follow me on Twitter @pigeoncottage, on Instagram at Pigeon Cottage Kitchen, and the Pigeon Cottage Kitchen page on Facebook.
Click on the link to get your very own copy of my family recipe book, Whats4teaMum?
Book your one to one cookery coaching session here!