If you have visitors this weekend, here are two impressive but simple and tasty courses to dish up to your guests.
Crispy Chicken with Eggplant & Tomato Sauce
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Ingredients:
1 x 400g can Ardmona Diced Tomatoes
6 chicken cutlets (chicken thigh with bone and skin intact)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 eggplant, cut into 3cm pieces
½ cup of dry sherry
40g raisins
20g pine nuts, toasted
Parsley, chopped to garnish
Salt and pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Heat oil in a large oven-safe sauté pan over medium heat.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Sear chicken, skin side down, for 6-8 minutes until crisp and blistered. Turn to seal on the other side for 2 minutes then remove from the pan.
To the same pan, add eggplant and season with salt. Sauté for 8-10 minutes until softened and golden.
Add the garlic and raisins, and toss through the eggplant. Then deglaze the pan with sherry before adding the can of tomatoes.
Clean the can out with 200ml of water and also add to the pan. Nestle chicken skin side up in the sauce. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
Once out of the oven, garnish with pine nuts and parsley to serve.
Recipe by Justine Schofield
Plum, Orange and Almond Cake
Ingredients:
700g jar of plums in juice, drain, reserve juice
50g unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup brown sugar
150g unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped
¾ cup caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
3 eggs
1¼ cups almond meal
1¼ cups self-raising flour
1 cup buttermilk
Extra 2 tbsp caster sugar
½ vanilla pod, halved lengthways
Greek yoghurt, to serve
Method:
Preheat oven to 160℃ fan-forced.
Line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake pan with baking paper.
Cut plums in half and remove the pips. Drain plums well on absorbent paper towel.
Pour melted butter over the base of prepared pan and swirl to cover. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Place plums, cut-side down, over base.
Beat butter, caster sugar and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, until combined. Stir in almond meal. Stir in sifted flour and buttermilk in two batches until combined.
Pour over plums and smooth surface. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into centre of cake, covering with foil if over-browning.
Stand for 1 hour before inverting onto a plate then inverting again onto a clean serving plate.
Boil reserved syrup, extra sugar and vanilla pod for 8-10 minutes or until reduced and thickened to syrup. Brush or drizzle syrup over cake and serve with Greek yoghurt.
Recipe and photo: https://spc.com.au/