3BM Kitchen : One Pan Chicken with Tarragon, Lemon & Garlic

Is it still only Tuesday?! How is it not already Friday?? If you're having one of those weeks too we have a little day brightening recipe for you... 

This is one of those great recipes that you can chuck together and leave to cook. It takes a little while from start to finish but it's minimal effort to actually make and the end result is fall off the bone tender meat and a sauce bursting full of rich white wine and tarragon flavours. If I could eat this every night I very easily would!

This is a fab dish to serve up to a group of friends for a cosy catch up, you can leave it bubbling away for the majority of the time and it's super easy to make for large numbers! An added bonus is that it goes fantastically with a big glass of wine...

A firm winter weather fav at Mouse Towers... just don't let on how easy it is and everyone will be royally impressed! 

You need...

Olive oil
Knob of butter, plus 1 tbsp
8 shallots (halved if large)
4 chicken legs (we actually used chicken thighs for our recipe)
2 small wine glasses of white wine
300ml chicken stock
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp chopped tarragon
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

How to...

1. Heat a good glug of oil and a knob of butter together in a large, shallow-sided pan. 

2. Over a high heat cook the shallots until browned, take them out of the pan and set aside. 

3. Brown the chicken (do this in two batches if your pan isn’t big enough) until it is a deep golden colour on both sides, adding a little more oil and butter if necessary. (We actually added the lemon zest and garlic here rather than at the end as we're not fans of raw garlic...totally up to your own preferences!)

4. Return the shallots to the pan and add the wine and boil to reduce by half. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. 

5. Reduce to a medium heat and dot the tablespoon of butter into the liquid and add some salt and pepper 

6. Leave the chicken to bubble away, submerged in the liquid and uncovered, for 20-25 minutes 

7. Five minutes before the end, add the cherry tomatoes and tarragon to the pan.

8. Mix in the garlic & lemon zest if you haven't already and serve! We had ours with sweet potato mash and asparagus as there is lots of amazing sauce to be gobbled up! 

9. ENJOY!!!!!

3BM Kitchen: Chicken with Caramelised Onion and Cardamon Rice

At London towers we're officially hit the gym again... With our next holiday booked, we're on a mission of all missions! Visions of beach goddess bikini bodies are back and we will try our damnedest to get there this time!!

 

Back are the days where we wince and cry with every movement as we attempt to clamber out of bed, open a door, walk up stairs...generally any daily activity that involves using your muscles! But of course pain is gain and in a weird way the post gym top to toe ache is comforting as it has to mean something good... surely! 

 

Of course healthy eating goes hand in hand with our new sin-free regime, with the exception of Friday and Saturday! Closer to the time we'll undergo 3BM strict boot camp with no enjoyable elements, but for now we need something to get us through the week and keep our strength up!!!

 

As a reward for all our hard work we cooked up another Ottolenghi storm on Sunday night! We opted for the very comforting chicken with caramelised onion and cardamon rice. 

 

To feed four people you will need....

 

1kg chicken thighs 

2 onions chopped 

2 x Cinnamon sticks snapped in half 

10 cardamom pods 

1/3 teaspoon of whole cloves 

Salt and pepper 

4 x tablespoons Olive Oil 

5g dill, chopped 

5g parsley, chopped

5g coriander, chopped 

550ml boiling water 

25g currants

300g basamati rice

100g Greek yogurt (optional for serving)

 

To Make...

 

 

1. Heat half the olive oil in a large pan (which you have a lid for) add the chopped onion and cook over a medium heat for 10-15 mins. Stir occasionally and cook until the onions until they turn a deep golden brown.

 

2. Once cooked transfer the onions into a small bowl and wipe the pan clean.
 

3. Place the chicken thighs (still with skin and on the bone) into a mixing bowl. Add the remaining oil, cardamon pods, cloves, cinnamon sticks and mix together well with your hands. 

 

 

4. Heat your pan and add the chicken and spices, sear for 5 mins on each side so the meat gets some good colour. Remove the chicken and leave as many of the spices in the pan as you can! 

 

5. Drain away the oil until 1mm is left at the bottom of the pan. Add the rice, cooked onion, currants, 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir well and then return the part-cooked chicken and push into the rice. 

 

 

6. Pour the boiling water over the rice and chicken and cover the pan with it's lid. Cook on a very low heat for 30 mins. 

 

7. Take off the heat, remove the lid and quickly place a clean tea towel over the pan and seal again with the lid. Leave the dish undisturbed for another 10 mins.

 

8. Add the herbs and stir in with a fork, fluffing the rice as you go!

 

9. Taste, season and serve with Greek yogurt if you wish (mix 100g with 2 tablespoons of olive oil).

 

 

10. ENJOY we loveddddd it!!!

Tramshed: Cock or Bull?!

So my Tuesday night consisted of lashings of two of the world's greatest things ... steak and Moët! A good friend of mine was over visiting from Australia, having recently taken the plunge to move out there with her boyfriend indefinitely. On the announcement of her return, I took it upon myself to come up with a master plan to welcome her with open arms back to London. Hmmm, a trip to Tramshed ought to do it...

Image via hyperallergic.com

The grub God, Mark Hix is the mastermind behind the recently opened Shoreditch restaurant. The menu is simple and does what it says on the tin - chicken or beef? That is the only question you'll need to answer when deciding what to chose from the menu because that's all they dish up. We opted to share a 750g portion of mighty-marbled Glenarm sirloin steak, chips and onion rings - the steak doesn't come cheap at £60 but it easily fed three. Wash that down with a glass or two of champers and you're away!

The interior is sleek, smart and arty with a specially commissioned, breathtakingly wonderful Damien Hirst installation dominating the space (as it rightly should!). A cockerel perched on the back of a cow, the piece perfectly plays up to the chicken and steak restaurant USP. Nicely done! Scattered about the 150-seat restaurant is an array of other attention grabbing artwork that can't fail to draw you in...

To top it all off, Tramshed also offers takeaways - the perfect addition to your go to Friday night-in repertoire!

To book call 020 7749 0478

Tramshed

32, Rivington Street,

London,

EC2A 3LX