A Pretend Chef

Serves 4 (with sides)   My kids go nuts over these stuffed chicken breasts. Serve them with a large salad, or if the weather is chillier, some roast vegetables. I have teamed them with a broad bean and herb salad as well as a simple rocket salad (Baby rocket mixed with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar). Ingredients 650 to 700gm of chicken breast fillets (2 to 3 fillets) 200gm sliced prosciutto (about 8 to 10 thin slices) 100gm baby spinach finely chopped 100gm Feta cheese 10 to 12 pitted black Kalamata olives, chopped Small handful, toasted pine nuts Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh oregano, finely chopped 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil Pepper for seasoning stuffing Method Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan forced) Toast the pine nuts in a pan over a low heat. It’s important you keep stirring them and don’t let them burn. As soon as they start to brown lightly, pour them out into a bowl to cool. For the stuffing mix the spinach, oregano, oli...

Serves 4 I prepare this salad as a dinner for my family during the week as it’s easy to do and is super heal thy. You can do so many variations on this with whatever happens to be in the fridge vegetable drawer. For instance I've added chopped capsicum, sprouts, spring onions etc. It’s a good recipe for experimentation. Leave the olives out if you are not a fan. I sprinkle mine with some dried chilli flakes to add some heat. Ingredients For Salad Mix 2 x free-range chicken breasts (approximately 600gms to 700gms) 1.5L chicken stock (or slightly salted water) 1 x 400gm tin of chickpeas (rinsed well and drained) 1 x large head of broccoli cut into small florets (use the main stem as well, cutting   away the hard outer skin and dicing the core) Handful of black, pitted Kalamata olives 1 tspn. cumin seeds 2 x cloves of garlic sliced 2 x tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 bunch continental parsley (finely chopped) 1 bunch coriander (finely ch...

I usually serve these dishes along with the Balinese Tamarind Chicken (see my post from November 7, 2009 - http://apretendchef.blogspot.com/2009/10/balinese-tamarind-chicken-ayam-panggang.html ) and always with some jasmine or basmati rice. You can prepare the shredded chicken and salad dishes in advance, earlier on the day (refrigerating the chicken dish up until a 1/2 hour before serving). The satay beef dish is a recipe I picked up from a local restaurant that use to be situated down a side street in Seminyak in the 90's before it became the bustling tourist precinct it is today. I was able to talk the restaurant's owner, Enda, into letting me into his kitchen for 1-on-1 classes over a few days. The shredded Chicken and vegetable salad are both traditional Balinese dishes that were taught to me at the Hotel Tugu along with the Tamarind Chicken dish. The amount of chilli used in each dish is up to your personal taste. The amounts noted in these recipes are mild to ...

This is a variation on a recipe from the the beautiful Tugu Hotel at Canggu Beach in Bali http://www.tuguhotels.com/bali . Canggu is located approximately 15 minutes drive north of Seminyak and is relatively isolated compared to the busier Seminyak , Legian and Kuta districts, although new development sites with villas and hotels were springing up when we last visited the area in mid 2008. We spent a couple of very relaxing weeks at Tugu Hotel in 2007. The hotel houses a massive private collection of South East Asian antiques, with over 1,000 pieces on display throughout the hotel and grounds. Located on the hotel grounds is a traditional Balinese kitchen and dining area, the " Waroeng " http://www.tuguhotels.com/bali/dining%20waroeng%20tugu.htm . In here they hold cooking classes covering traditional Balinese and some east Javanese dishes. The meal we dined on the evening of our private class is still one of the best meals I've ever had in Bali. Below is a shot of...