Italian Chicken Skewers

This is essentially a marinade utilising some fabulous Italian flavours; and it's absolutely mouth-watering delicious.

This recipe is to make the Italian Chicken Skewers, but just so you know, this marinade also works for roasting a whole chicken or chicken pieces, as well as stirred through just-cooked pasta and as a dip (a la tapenade) or even as a tasty salad dressing.  

The below serves four.

Italian Chicken Skewers

Here's how:

• 3-4 skinleks, boneless chicken thighs

For the marinade:

• 1 tbsp capers
• x3 sundried tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic
• Handful fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 50ml olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 40g Parmesan or Pecorino

Into a blender, place the capers, sun dried tomatoes, peeled garlic clove, basil leaves, dried rosemary, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add the salt and pepper.

Grate in the Parmesan, or if you are lazy, or cannot be bothered, chop it into small pieces and add to the blender or Nutribullet. Blitz well for a minute. When you remove the lid, prepare yourself as the smell is a little intoxicating!

For the chicken, cut into small bite-sized pieces, that will later be threaded onto skewers. Pop into a container that is big enough for all of the chicken and the marinade and has a lid. 

Pour over most of the marinade, but retain 2 tbsp to pour over or brush the meat with post-cooking. Use a spoon to mix the chicken in all of the marinade and ensure every piece is coated. Pop the lid on and put into the fridge for at least two hours. 

If you are using wooden skewers to cook the Italian Chicken Skewers, then place them into water at the same time that you marinate the meat. Make sure they are completely immersed in a roasting tin, or in a pint glass (you may need to rotate if using a glass). This is to prevent them catching alight on the BBQ or under the grill. I strongly recommend investing in some metal skewers though, you can pick some up for less than a fiver and we use ours all the time (plus they are more environmentally friendly too!)

Remove the chicken from the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to cook to allow to come back to room temperature. Now thread the chicken onto the skewers; you want to pack the chicken pieces on tightly if possible. 

Whether cooking on a BBQ or under a grill, make sure whichever one is very hot before you begin cooking and then cook for 4-5 minutes on one side without touching at all. 

Now turn onto the other side and cook for a further 4-5 minutes which should cook them all the way through. To check the meat is cooked through, remove one of the skewers and cut into the biggest sized piece of meat to ensure there is no blood or pink. If there is, then of course return to the BBQ or under to grill for a further few minutes, and check again. If they are cooked through, then remove from the heat, and allow to rest for a couple of minutes. 

At this point, brush each Italian Chicken Skewer over with the remaining marinade and serve. I serve with a Tricolore Salad and over just cooked pasta with a spoonful of the marinade stirred through just like a pesto.

Italian Chicken Skewers

If you love Italian flavours you may like these recipes:

Chicken Cacciatore
King Prawn Linguine with Chilli and Saffron
Vicky's Special Seafood Stew
Mediterranean Pork Belly Strips
Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Three Cheese Topped Pork Lasagne
Tricolore Salad
Crab. Chilli and Asparagus Pappardelle
Walnut and Basil Pesto
Bruschetta Two Ways
Cod in a Mediterranean Tomato and Garlic Sauce
Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup
Seafood Spaghetti with Saffron
Pork Fillet in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Turkey Meatball Bake
Mediterranean Soup
Reduced Calorie Bolognese
Chicken a La Milanese with Spaghetti

Chicken Cacciatore

Legend has it that the traditional version of this dish was made by the wives of Italian’s to greet them after a hard day’s hunting - cacciatore = ‘hunter’s style’.

In my house it is simply a wonderful and delicious dish to greet the entire family after a day of various activities.

The method and ingredients vary depending on different regions of Italy and mine veers towards Northern Italy with the use of white wine over red. I also invariably use smoked bacon when I don't have any pancetta in my fridge, and this works equally well. Recipes are invariably adaptable.

I use economic and flavourful chicken thighs and drumsticks here for a hearty dish, but you could just as easily use breast meat and rabbit is also often used in Italy.

You could serve with any rice, polenta or potato but I love this served on fresh tagliatelle - it's delicious, and the soft buttery ribbons soak up the sauce perfectly.

The below serves 3-4.

Chicken Cacciatore

Here’s how:

• 6-8 chicken pieces (I use thighs and drumsticks) 
• 1 large carrot 
• 3 cloves garlic 
• 5 spring onions 
• 2 rashers of smoked bacon, or 3 pancetta slices (you could also use cured ham such as Prosciutto) 
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes 
• 100g mushrooms 
• 1 large glass of white wine 
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary 
• Sea salt 
• Black pepper 
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• Handful fresh parsley 

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees (if you need to speed up the cooking process then 180).

Now drizzle the olive oil into a pan and place on a medium heat.

Generously season the chicken pieces all over and place into the hot pan to sear. Ideally you want them to be a little brown, turn them over to sear all round.

In the meantime finely slice the spring onions and garlic and place into a casserole dish.

Peel and finely dice the carrot and add to the dish.

Slice the mushrooms and set aside for now.

Also roughly chop the parsley and also set aside.

Once seared, add the chicken to the casserole dish.

Cut the bacon or pancetta into small squares and add to the chicken fat to cook for 3 minutes, turning once. Now add to the casserole dish.

Now add the chopped tomatoes, white wine and rosemary to the dish and stir well.

Give a final seasoning of black pepper, place the lid on top or cover with a tight foil lid and place into the oven for 1 hour and forty five minutes. Cooking at a low temperature for this long, yields really juicy, tender chicken that falls off the bone with a simple prod of the fork. As I mentioned, if you’re struggling for time, you can speed things up and turn the oven onto 180 degrees and cook in 45-50 minutes, but a longer approach gives a better, richer and more intensely sweet flavour.

For the final 15 minutes of cooking time, remove the dish from the pan, add the sliced mushrooms and stir well then return to the oven without the lid.

Serve the chicken cacciatore on top of fresh tagliatelle and throw over the parsley as a final flourish.

Enchanted by Rome - A Travel Guide

For the Easter break, three of my girlfriends and I, traveled to Rome for a four night break - a chance for us to spend quality time together in the enchanting city.

Whilst we certainly had tourist attractions and a slice of culture on our agenda, also featuring on our wish-list was delicious food, great wine and lots of fun - all of which scored highly.

We managed to pack quite a lot into our five days - especially given two of the days saw each of us with a hangover and I’ve pulled out some of our favourite experiences and places to pop onto your must-do/see list if you find yourself in Rome.

Tourist Attractions

The Vatican Museum

Whilst I'm not personally religious, I doubt anybody could fail to be moved by such unfaltering beauty, sculpture, beautiful floor-to-ceiling tapestries and the astonishing attention-to-detail that were created way back before the likes of motorised engines and exist throughout the Vatican. The ceiling paintings are simply stunning and I found each area incredibly moving but nothing more-so than the Sistine Chapel - just astoundingly beautiful. 

Inside the Vatican

Beautiful icon inside the Vatican

Vatican selfie with Stephanie, Jemma and Jade

Obviously we went at an extremely busy time, but it’s apparently always like this – be prepared for huge crowds, and some areas, particularly the Sistine Chapel, you’ll feel slightly like cattle being moved along by the masses. Ensure you’re well covered as this is a religious venue, and prepare to be silent in some of the spaces for the same reason.

Churches

Aside from the beautiful Vatican, Rome has an abundance of churches, each beautiful in its’ own way. The architecture and composition of each is certainly something to behold. My Mum's side of the family are Catholic and so going into a local church in different cities to light a candle is somewhat of a tradition and I did so at the impressive Basillica Santa Maria Maggiore which was only a few minutes’ walk from our hotel.

Basillica Santa Maria Maggiore

Colosseum

The Colosseum, is one of the most recognisable buildings in the world – a huge oval, amphitheatre, built back in 72AD and still standing, almost in entirety today. The venue for gladiator fights and synonymous with that Russell Crowe film, the Colosseum is truly a sight to behold and it’s incredible to see the scope of the place – it’s absolutely huge. It apparently had an average audience of 65,000 spectators for gladiator fights so this should give you an indication of the magnitude. It’s a really beautiful building- we sadly didn’t get inside due to the huge crowds and having other activities planned for the evening we visited, but were able to spend some time here and around the ruins which surround the Colosseum. We acted very much like the tourists we were, and hired a Surrey Bicycle – a four-person bike, which was absolutely hilarious and a great way to move around Rome having plenty of giggles. We foolishly went up a huge hill and then, obviously had to come back down it – which is not necessarily to be recommended, but was great fun and we lived to tell the tale.

Colosseum

Colosseum selfie with my friend Jade

On the Surrey bicycle with Jade, Stephanie and Jemma

Roman ruins

Trevi Fountain

We were lucky to visit Rome during a warm weather spell and our experience at the Trevi Fountain was a cramped one - everyone was clamouring to get to the front and throw a coin in backwards for the mythical luck it brings – a guaranteed return to the city of Rome. Selfies were happening left, right and centre, including us. We grabbed a gelato before heading into this area and joined the masses in just stopping and admiring a beautiful piece of architecture.

Trevi Fountain

Food

Food was one of the biggest highlights for us – from the light and crispy pizzas, a variety of delicious pastas, risottos, and more classical Italian dishes such as tagliata, saltimbocca, osso bucco and the cheese and charcuterie that just made every mouthful delicious. Another more detailed foodie post to come.

Seafood Linguini

Tagliata

Charcuterie

Nightlife

There’s plenty to choose from in Rome, whether it’s a quiet drink in a bustling trattoria whilst watching the colourful world go by, a trendy cocktail in the Piazza Navonna area or a light night dance and drink at Testaccio – the clubbers area. We enjoyed all of these plus Trastevere for beautiful wine surrounded by beautiful people and a cheesy night at Campo di Fiori – a square full of bars then onto Shari Vari, a club in the area in a converted cave. A post with some further details is coming soon.

Drinks by the Basillica Santa Maria Maggiori with Stephanie

Shari Vari drinks and dancing with Jemma, Jade and Stephanie

Getting Around
We actually found the city fairly easy to navigate on foot, and were lucky we had good, dry and fairly warm weather to enable us to do so. We did grab a 3-day Metro pass for around 20 each, but only used it a handful of times as we were so close to most places.

Sleep

We stayed at the DVE Suites on Piazza de Vittoria Emmanuelle – a basic four bed room on a bed and breakfast basis. Due to enjoying the nightlife a little too much, we didn’t make it up for breakfast at all – but it looked great. We paid around £600 with for the four nights between us which was really reasonable in comparison to some other hotels we checked out. It was a fairly basic hotel but had absolutely everything you could want, was spotlessly clean, and the lovely staff were so accommodating and helpful – we just couldn’t fault them.

Rome is a stunning city - with tons to see and do and I wouldn't hesitate to book a return trip. Prices are on a par with London or any other big city, and you can either go upscale or down, depending on your budget. We paid approximately £130 each for flights with Easyjet outbound and British Airways inbound. One thing is for sure, I doubt anybody would leave Rome feeling disappointed. Enjoy!

Truffled Mushroom & Leek Tagliatelle

This is a really quick and simple vegetarian pasta dish perfect for mid-week as it can be made in 20 minutes, is loved by all the family, tastes great and is a good option for Meat Free Monday too.

I used a black truffle oil I purchased in Rome recently, but you can pick this up easily in the supermarket, and whilst it's a slightly expensive, indulgent ingredient; you only need a tiny bit to give a fantastically earthy, rich flavour.

We all enjoyed this - including my 18-month old, Bridget who is living up to my pen-name for her of Toddler Foodie. 

Truffled Mushroom and Leek Tagliatelle

Here's how:

• 250g fresh tagliatelle (can use spaghetti, linguini or any other long pasta)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 leeks
• 200g mushrooms (a mix is great - I used ordinary and chestnut) 
• 125ml single cream
• 50g Pecorino Romano (other hard cheeses such as Parmesan, Cheddar or )
• Pinch black pepper
• Salt
• 1 tbsp truffle oil

Firstly fill the kettle and place on to boil. Now add the olive oil to a pan and place on a gentle heat.

Peel and crush the garlic and slice the leeks and add to the warming oil to gently sauté.

Slice the mushrooms and set aside for a moment. Grate the cheese and also set aside.

Once the leeks have softened; the oil will be beautifully flavoured too. Now add the mushrooms to the pan and at the same time add the boiled water to a saucepan with a pinch of salt and place the pasta in to cook. TIP: Cook for one minute less than the packet instructs and drain.

While the pasta is cooking add to the leeks and mushrooms, the cream and the Pecorino Romano and season generously.

Once the pasta has been drained, add to the pan with the mushrooms and toss to ensure all strands of tagliatelle are nicely coated in the sauce.

Now finally add the final flourish - the truffle oil - drizzle over the whole thing then mix through to ensure an even distribution. Taste to ensure you're satisfied with the flavour - if too subtle add a tiny drop more until you're happy. Enjoy!

Tricolore Salad

There are many glorious salads that make summer eating so wonderful and the tricolore is an absolute classic. Named so after the triple colour or three coloured elements that make up both the Italian flag and of course the salad - it's simplicity doesn't take away from it's fresh, vibrant deliciousness. 

Again, this is hardly a recipe. merely a few ingredients thrown together to make up a big bowl of loveliness that can either make up a meal or act as a side with a versatile range of dishes. 

The one thing that I will advise on here is ensuring you buy the best possible quality ingredients to prepare this - with a dish so simple, there is nothing to hide behind so you don't want brown, bruised avocados or unripe tomatoes, everything needs to be just so. 

So to prepare a salad as a side for four, you need 3-4 decent sized and perfectly ripe tomatoes. Simply wash then slice and add to your salad bowl. Halve a large, ripe avocado and remove the stone, then using a teaspoon, scoop out curls of avocado flesh and add to the bowl. Pull or slice a ball of the best quality buffalo mozzarella and scatter around the salad. The final flourish is to add a generous handful of full basil leaves around the bowl and then to dress. 

Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, be generous as this really does aid the flavour with it's peppery tang. Finally, throw over some coarse sea salt a large pinch will do and some freshly ground black pepper and give a stir or a shake. 

A non-London Lunch: Croma, Manchester

Croma, Manchester is a smart, yet inexpensive little Italian specialising in pizza with a few other delights. I loved this little place while I was living in Manchester as a student, and when I visited the city again recently, I was pleased to find the lunch here is still as good as it was back in 2003.

My suggested lunch would be a classic Americana pizza – topped with pepperoni, mozzarella and tomato, it is always a winner and is a bargain to boot at only £6.85 for a 10-inch, hand stretched pizza that is incredibly satisfying.

Cooked in the on-site pizza oven, the base is exactly as it should be crisp, crunchy, delicious and the toppings are generous too.

I’ve also tried the Roasted Vegetable, Cotto and the Parma which have all been good although I’ve not been tempted by some of their more unusual toppings such as peking duck and tandoori chicken! If you have indulged in any of these ‘alternative’ toppings do let me know your thoughts! I’m much more of a classic when it comes to my pizza.

Now, as I’m always a visitor to the city these days, it always feels a bit like a holiday or a jaunt so I make no apology for the fact that I’m also going to suggest the Croma Espresso Martini which is simply gorgeous – if you have a sweet tooth for drinks like myself then this is for you. It comprises vanilla vodka, which I love anyway topped with Tia Maria and of course an espresso – frankly it is the perfect accompaniment to a leisurely lunch.

Frugal yet Fabulous: Vapiano

On a wonderful weekend in Stockholm with 6 friends last summer we discovered an eaterie that I thought was just brilliant; Vapiano. Something that is almost unheard of - a high-quality and fast food Italian joint that doesn't break the bank. We visited Vapiano on our last day when all of us were feeling slightly delicate after a heavy weekend of drinking and were all suitably impressed.

On our return I googled the restaurant and found that this is a chain which began in Germany and they have worldwide locations - including two here in London.

I was determined to visit one of the London locations which are in Great Portland Street and Southwark and just a couple of weeks ago I finally made it and was again in awe of what is an almost unique and brilliant concept.

Vapiano works in a canteen-style fashion. On entering each person is given a card, and once a table is chosen you go to the various stations, order what you require and swipe the card. You then wait while the dish is cooked fresh before your eyes and in my case nosily converse with the various chefs.

I visited the Great Portland Street site and found there is a designated area for pizzas, around 10 stations for pasta and a whole area for salads.

Both in Sweden and London I opted for pasta and thought it was great you can choose from eight types according to your preference. There are a range of different sauces you can choose to go with your pasta.

The menu segregates certain dishes into groups a, b, c etc and each increases in price - however all offer excellent value for money. The pizza menu works exactly the same way. The lower price bracket is a tiny £6.10 and the highest is £9.10 - personally I think you'd struggle to get a decent bowl of pasta in central London for this amount.

On this occasion I had pappardelle with the 'scampi e spinaci' sauce which included king prawns, spinach and basil pesto in a creamy sauce. Very happily for me, engaging in conversation with the chef while he cooked my dinner, I mentioned that I enjoy spice a lot - so he added a chopped green chilli to my dish and I have to say it was excellent. I also had a tomato and mozzarella salad which was lovely, fresh and flavourful.

I dined with four friends but won't go into detail about their food - only to say that it was all eaten, and all enjoyed. The only minor complaint was that a couple of the dishes were excessively garlicy (something that has been happening to me a lot lately - see post on Les Deux Salons).

There's a very informal atmosphere in Vapiano and when we went on a Wednesday, early evening, it was absolutely jam-packed. The tables are mainly high with stools and each table is equipped with freshly growing basil, and an array of different oils.

For the value it provides the quality of food is excellent and I think the card system is great too. Each person pays their own individual bill on the way out - there's no awkwardness at the end of the meal with people scrutinising who might have had what, and no paying for any sneaky diners who never quite pay their way either. If particularly skint you could choose one of the Group A (£6.10) pastas or pizza and just have the frequently replenished water, if only to still be able to dine out with friends or family.

My meal included the most expensive bracket of pasta and the mozzarella salad - which is actually large enough to share between three as a side dish, as well as a large glass of white wine and I had change from £20. It's the type of restaurant you could eat in at the end of the month when funds are running extremely thin.

I can't understand why there aren't more Vapiano's about - judging from my experiences in both venues, they are far superior, and offer better value than the chains such as Bella Italia and the like that litter almost every high street.

If you haven't already, get yourself down to one of the Vapianos and try it for yourself. Judging from the crowds it 's here to stay and I for one hope it becomes the Italian-style equivalent to Nandos - a cheap yet powerful place to eat good, honest food and enjoy the company of friends. Sure, this isn't fine-dining by any stretch of the imagination but who is to suggest that frugal can't be fabulous.

http://www.vapiano.de/frame.php?section=home&lang=uk