Sauteed chicken

Absolutely the easiest way to cook chicken, and one of the most delicious :)

1. Heat a non-stick pan for a few minutes.
2. Put one boneless chicken fillet skin side DOWN, into the center of the pan.
3. Sprinkle over some freshly chopped herbs and black pepper.
4. Cook on medium heat until the skin is golden and crunchy.
5. Turn over and cook the meat side for a few minutes.
6. Take out of the pan and leave it to sit on a warm plate for a few minutes.

NOTES:
1. Please use a non-toxic pan. If you don't have one, don't heat your regular teflon pan to high heat.
2. You MUST put the skin side down first. This way you don't need any oil at all and the skin will be crunchy.
3. You can skip the herbs, or change them for grated lemon rind, etc.
4. & 5. Don't cover the pan or the skin won't be crunchy. That means it is better to choose a flat fillet, not a thick one. Flat fillets will cook quickly and evenly.
6. Resting meat at the end is very important.

In this photo I'm serving the meat with mango chutney. It is breaking three of my rules: imported, unhealthy, and processed :(  But the ingredients are only spices, mango and sugar. Sometimes it is okay to be bad if the main dish is very good!

This chicken is very nice cold or in a lunch box.

Pork patty

 Hamburger patties are easy to make but they usually include breadcrumbs and milk. I only want to use meat, vegetables and spices. If you make small patties there is a risk they will be dry - the answer? Make a big one!

1. Roughly chop 1 brown onion.
2. Put the onion, one clove of garlic, pink peppercorns, and fresh herbs into a food processor.
(chives, sage, rosemary, thyme). Whiz until onion is very small.
3. Remove onion.
4. Put two small packs of 100% pork mince into the processor and whiz until sticky.
5. Put the onion back in and add one egg. Whiz 10 seconds.
6. Heat olive oil in a pan.
7. Lightly cook one apple, green negi leek and thyme. Remove.
8. Put the meat mix into the pan in one big patty. Press the middle down.
9. Cook on both sides until done.

I cut it into quarters and we ate a quarter each for dinner. The other two quarters went into our lunch boxes for the next day.

It does take a few times to get used to eating this type of meat patty instead of one made with breadcrumbs. My type is "meatier" but is still very juicy. Of course, it is healthier and lower in carbohydrate.

Apple is very good with pork. Many people would have some kind of apple sauce, but real apple is simpler, faster and healthier. Cooking it with the green part of the negi leek gives it a nice savory fragrance. The apple is also nice cold in a lunch box.


When cooking, I try to use the least number of items. In this case, just a knife, cutting board, food processor, one bowl, and one pan.

Cook the vegetables in the pan first, while preparing the meat. (I cooked green beans in water in the pan before adding oil and cooking the apples.)