3BM Kitchen: Chickpea Curry

With the bitter wintry London weather finally setting in, all Mini Mouse and I feel like doing at the minute is hibernating. Hiding away from Jack Frost, wrapped up in cosy cashmere with a big hearty dinner ... well that's exactly what we did yesterday night! As Mondays are notoriously THE worst day of the week, as soon as 5.30pm struck we skidaddled out of work, zipped in and out of dawdling tourists on Carnaby Street, hopped on the central line and we were home in a jiffy!

 

So what culinary delight did we whip up I hear you ask! Well fellow Mice let me tell you it went down a treat, some would say a rip-roaring success! A divine, light and healthy chickpea and tomato curry with a kick. Designed to be of the veggie variety but we threw in some extra chicken for good measure - why not! Seriously delicious and so quick and easy to make...

Ingredients - serves 2:

 

1 tsp of cumin
2 tsp of chopped coriander
1 tbsp of coconut oil
1 white onion
2 inches of grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic

1 chicken breast
400g of tomatoes
400g can of chickpeas
Half a fresh red chilli
1 tsp of garam masala
salt and pepper

1. Kick the recipe off by getting your prepping arse in gear! Get your chickpeas ready to go and your ingredients sliced and diced...

2. Next dry fry the cumin and coriander in a pan...

3. Finely dice your onion and add to the pan with your coconut oil - sauté for five minutes

4. Throw your crushed garlic into the pan with your ginger and add a good few twists of cracker pepper, stir for a minute

5. Next add your tomatoes, chickpeas, chilli and garam masala - allow to bubble away and cook for 30 minutes

6. Serve up! Done & done...

3BM Kitchen : Fresh Figs, Goats Cheese, Prosciutto & Truffle Honey...

I simply love truffles! Shaved on top of a dish as a finishing touch, infused in pasta or oil or my new obsession - truffle honey!

I first sampled the amazing flavour whilst holidaying in Barbados and since then, whenever I spot it on a menu I need to look no further! You may have seen on the blog that earlier this year I spent a week in Florence and Tuscany, and during m trip, when I wasn't on the hunt for a bottle of the best truffle oil for Middle Mouse, I mostly whiled away the days gorging on fresh truffle pasta...paradise!!!

So you can imagine my excitement when I ripped open a jar of truffle honey from one of best friends for my birthday! Since then I have been brainstorming recipes that I can use my new honey in...I thought truffle honey on toast may be taking it too far, but if I could have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner I would in a heartbeat! it is SERIOUSLY delicious with a capital D!

One evening after a long day at work Middle Mouse and I thought why not be slightly extravagant and kick off a Wednesday evening with G&T's and a starter of fresh figs, goats cheese, prosciutto ham and truffle honey?! We couldn't think of any reason not to so here goes.....!

You need...

- Fresh figs - 2 per person ( or as many as you can get your hands on - the only place I could find them was Harrods food hall...see I did say extravagant!!) 
- Goats cheese
- Truffle honey 
- Prosciutto ham (2 slices per person)
- Sea salt

How to...

1. Preheat the grill 

2. Slice the figs in half length ways and place on a baking tray

3. Slice up the goats cheese and place a piece in the middle of each half 

4. Place under the grill for 3 minutes (keep an eye as they can turn quickly and start to burn)

5. Once browned remove from the grill, drizzle with the honey and sprinkle with sea salt

6. Serve with prosciutto on the side and ENJOY!!!!

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!!!!!