Donal Skehan - Home Cooked

Sprinkle the cooked chicken breast with parsley and serve with the mushroom sauce and some rice, pasta or salad leaves.

CHILLI & TOMATO CRAB PASTA

I love taking one ingredient and really making it the star of the dish. In this recipe, crab hits the big time! Paired with the heat of chilli and the freshness of lemon juice and zest, it makes a pretty incredible pasta dish. You can buy crab meat quite easily nowadays and for a speedy supper it does save you the hassle of buying a crab, cooking it and then tearing out its insides. Hey, I’m all for shortcuts if you can take them!

SERVES 4

Sea salt

300g spaghetti or linguine

3 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

2 × 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

75ml white wine

150g cooked white crab meat

3 tbsp single cream

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 heaped tbsp capers, drained and rinsed

Good handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish

Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

Bring a large pot of water to the boil over a high heat. Season with salt and pop in the pasta. Cook as instructed on the packet until al dente and then drain.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and fry for about 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and wine and bring to a steady simmer. Cook for 10 minutes and then stir through the crab meat, cream, lemon zest and juice and capers. Allow the sauce to bubble away for 2–3 minutes and then tumble in the pasta.

Mix through until the pasta is coated and serve in generous mounds on warmed plates, garnishing with the parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

THAI RICE NOODLE SALAD

Anyone who has ever travelled to Thailand will remember the wonderful balance of flavours from sweet to salty and spicy to smoky. I like to think this salad captures all this. There are so many wonderful textures and flavours from the roasted nuts, fresh crunchiness from the vegetables and then super sweet heat from the chilli and ginger dressing. This makes a really exciting midweek dinner.

SERVES 4

250g rice vermicelli noodles

3 Baby Gem lettuce, leaves separated

2 large carrots, peeled and finely sliced

½ cucumber, peeled lengthways into ribbons

6 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

60g salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Large handful of coriander leaves

Large handful of mint leaves

Large handful of basil leaves

FOR THE CHILLI AND GINGER DRESSING

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla)

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

Soak the noodles in a bowl of boiling water according to the packet’s instructions until they are tender. Drain the noodles, rinse under cold water and set aside.

For the dressing, whisk together the lime juice and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl until it has dissolved. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, chilli and ginger and mix through. Then add the noodles, vegetables, peanuts and fresh herbs. Toss to combine and then serve.

BRAISED CRISPY CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SPRING ONIONS, BABY GEM & PEAS

True comfort food in a matter of minutes; that’s what this dish is all about. Crispy chicken in a white wine sauce with wonderful braised greens and a pop of zesty citrus freshness, it really doesn’t get better than that for a speedy midweek supper.

SERVES 4

1 tbsp olive oil

100g smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped

6–8 boneless chicken thighs with skin on

1 tbsp butter

Grated zest of 1 lemon

75ml white wine

A few thyme sprigs

50ml chicken stock

200g frozen peas

6 spring onions, trimmed and sliced in half

4 Baby Gem lettuce, sliced in half

Heat the oil in a large high-sided frying pan over a high heat. Add the bacon and fry until crisp. Then add the chicken thighs and fry on each side until they are also golden and crisp. Add the butter and allow it to foam, then stir in the lemon zest and fry it in the butter.

Pour in the wine and allow to sizzle for about 30 seconds before adding the thyme sprigs and chicken stock. Add the peas to the liquid and then nuzzle in the spring onions and Baby Gem lettuce. Cover with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Serve straight away as it is or with a little rice to stretch the meal.

BEER BATTER FISH WITH PEA MASH & ROSTI POTATO CAKES

This has to be one of my absolute favourite dinners. It’s basically fish and chips, but with a great twist using crispy rosti potato cakes instead of the more laborious chip. I shallow fry my goujons rather than using a deep fat fryer, with oil I keep in a bottle specifically for this purpose. When you’re done and the oil is cold, just fill the bottle up to use again next time.

SERVES 4

Sunflower or rapeseed oil, for frying

500g skinless fish fillets, such as haddock, cod or hake, cut into goujon-sized pieces

3–4 tbsp plain flour, plus 75g for the batter

200ml cold beer

Lemon wedges, to serve

FOR THE ROSTI POTATO CAKES

600g waxy potatoes, peeled

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Sea salt and ground black pepper

1 tbsp butter

FOR THE PEA MASH

1 tbsp butter

200g frozen peas

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Good handful of mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4.

To make the rosti potato cakes, grate the potato into a clean dry tea towel. Gather the towel around the potato and form a small ball. Squeeze it over the sink to remove the starchy liquid. Heat the oil in a 20cm-diameter non-stick ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Season and press the grated potato into the pan so that it coats the base. Dot little lumps of butter over the top and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the pea mash, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat until it is foaming. Add the peas and cook for about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the oil and mint leaves and then mash with a potato masher until the peas are roughly smooth. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper to taste and keep warm. For the goujons, fill a high-sided frying pan with 2.5–5cm of oil and place it over a high heat. It needs to be very hot when you start to fry. Coat the fish in the 3–4 tablespoons of flour, shake off the excess and set aside.

Place the 75g flour in a large mixing bowl, make a well in the middle, pour in a little beer and mix through. Add the beer and mix until you have a smooth batter. Season with ground black pepper and then drop a little of the batter into the hot oil; if it floats and puffs up, it’s hot enough.