Roast Chicken

You will Need

roasting tin  
1 chicken
butter
optional
ingredients		 fat - to baste
herbs
garlic
lemon

Method

The chicken needs to be unwrapped and patted down with a paper towel.  The inside cavities (one inside the bones, the other inside the neck) should be checked for packets of giblets (cooked plastic bags don’t taste great).

Place the chicken breast upwards in the roasting tin.

Chicken dries out quickly in the oven, so it is a good idea to stuff the main cavity as this helps keep it moist.  Stuffing can be put in either cavity.  If you don’t have stuffing you could use a lemon or two, cut into quarters so the flavour gets out (or even a couple of potatoes).  These would only go into the main cavity.  You can add a few sprigs of fresh herbs to the cavity for flavour if wanted. Thyme goes well with chicken.

Smear butter over the skin, particularly around the creases (e.g. where the legs and wings join the body).  For a garlicky flavour cut thin slivers from a garlic bulb and using a sharp knife slide them under the skin.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and cook for 40 minutes per kilo (and sometimes an additional 20 mins though not always necessary). Baste regularly with the juices from the bottom of the pan to keep the meat moist.

Scones

Ingredients

225 g self raising flour
40 g butter
150 ml milk
1½ tbsp caster sugar
pinch salt
flour, for rolling out

method

  1. Put the flour in a bowl with the butter and rub in the butter to “breadcrumb” texture.
  2. Stir in the sugar and salt, add the milk and mix to a smooth dough.
    Add in more milk if it feels dry.
  3. Turn out onto a floured board and roll to 2cm thick.
  4. Cut into rounds and place on a greased baking sheet.
  5. Bake at 220°C for 12 to 15 minutes.
  • Eat hot with butter or cold with cream, jam and strawberries.

Cheesy Veg. Pie

Very, very easy.  The only thing to remember is to thaw out any frozen or chilled ingredients beforehand.  Although things like frozen peas and corn can be added directly to the boiling water.

Ingredients

1 packet flaky pastry, at room temperature 
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
½ litre milk
lots of grated cheese
assorted veg. defrosted/peeled/chopped into bite sized pieces
(peas, corn, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, potato etc.)

Method

  1. Prepare all the veg. depending on the types chosen.  Peel and chop potato, carrots, etc. into bite sized pieces.  Chop up broccoli or cauliflower and the like into florets.  Defrost frozen peas and sweetcorn and so on.
  2. Simmer the veg. in a pan of salted water until lightly cooked. This can all be done in the same pan if tipped in at different times (e.g. root veg first, then florets, then smaller podded veg). Drain the veg.
  3. Make a cheese sauce, by melting the butter in a pan and cooking the flour in it. Then, add the milk slowly, mixing all the time to avoid lumps. Finally, add in the cheese and stir until smooth.
  4. Pour the drained veg. into the sauce and stir well. Tip into a casserole dish
  5. Roll out the pastry to roughly fit the top of the casserole. Score 2 or 3 short lines through the pastry in the centre to allow the steam out, then place on top of the cheesy veg mixture
  6. Bake for 20 to 25 mins at 200°C