You know that Sunday roast chicken that smells like pure happiness when you take it out of the oven? It’s going to do a double shift – well, a triple one actually! One simple chook can easily be transformed into three quick, inexpensive meals. Consider it the secret weapon of your weeknight meal plan! 

Butter Roasted Chicken

Serves 4-6

A simple and delicious roast chicken that can be enjoyed with your favourite side dishes or shredded for three easy recipes. A large 1.8kg chicken will yield about 5-6 cups of shredded chicken – more than enough for all three! 

Ingredients

¼ cup butter, softened
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and milled pepper
1.6-1.8kg whole chicken 

Method  

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. 
2. Combine butter, spices and lemon zest. Season. 
3. Using your fingers, gently separate the chicken skin from the meat.  
4. Rub the spiced butter underneath the skin of the chicken. 
5. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and lemon juice. 
6. Season the outside of the chicken well. 
7. Roast the chicken for 20 minutes at 220°C, then lower the temperature to 180°C and roast for another 40-50 minutes or until cooked through and golden. 
8. Once cooked, remove the skin from the chicken and place between two baking trays. Roast the chicken skin for another 20 minutes or until crisp and all fat has rendered. 
9. Place the crispy chicken skin on a cooling rack and once cooled, store in an airtight container. 
10. Shred the chicken and use creatively in the following three easy recipes. 

Cook’s tip: Serving your chicken whole? Whip up a vibrant mix of melted butter, chopped parsley, lemon zest and juice, finely chopped sundried tomatoes and some chopped red chilli if you like some heat. Spoon it over the hot chicken before serving for a burst of flavour and colour. 

The coop’s best kept secrets 

Note 1: To check if your whole roasted chicken is perfectly cooked, pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer or knife—if the juices run clear (no pink tinge), it’s ready to serve. 

Note 2: Didn’t use all your shredded chicken? Portion the chicken in cup measurements, pop into freezer-safe bags, and freeze. You’ll have ready-to-go protein for quick soups, salads, or wraps in minutes. 

Note 3: For fuss-free shredding, remove the chicken’s bones and skin, pop the meat into a large bowl, and use a hand mixer on low speed—the mixer will shred it in seconds with minimal effort. 

Pulled Chicken and Jalapeño Sliders

Serves 4-6 as a snack or light meal

Juicy chicken with a jalapeño kick in mini buns bring big flavour, little effort. 

Ingredients

1½ cups shredded chicken
⅔ cup BBQ or Prego sauce
¼ cup pickled jalapeños, chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
Salt and milled pepper
12 brioche slider buns
120g Cheddar cheese, grated 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 
2. Combine shredded chicken, BBQ or Prego sauce, jalapeños and red onion. Season. 
3. Halve the buns and pack the bottom buns with the chicken mixture and half of the cheese.  
4. Close the buns with the top lids and scatter the remaining cheese on the buns. 
5. Pop the buns in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden. 

Chicken, Bacon and Apricot Pot Pies

Serves 4

Smoky bacon, sweet apricot and shredded chicken under golden pastry — cozy with a twist.  

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, grated
200g bacon bits
80g dried apricots, chopped
Salt and milled pepper
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 cups chicken stock
1¾ cup shredded chicken
Flour, for dusting
400g roll puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Handful parsley, chopped
Chicken crisps, chopped, to serve
Salad, to serve 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. 
2. Heat a pan with butter and a dash of olive oil. 
3. Sauté onion for 4-5 minutes, add garlic and fry another minute. 
4. Add bacon and apricots and fry for another 5-6 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and golden. Season. 
5. For the sauce, pot melt the butter in a pot. Add flour and mix to create a paste. Cook the mixture while stirring regularly for about 3-4 minutes until it turns a straw brown colour. 
6. Add stock and whisk to combine. Allow the sauce to boil for about 1-2 minutes. 
7. Combine bacon mixture, sauce and shredded chicken. 
8. Assemble pies by spraying 4 x 12cm ramekins or oven-proof bowls with non-stick spray. 
9. Divide the chicken filling between the ramekins. 
10. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and unroll the pastry. Cut out 4 circles slightly bigger than your ramekins. Place the pastry onto each ramekin. 
11. Crimp the pastry’s sides with your fingers and cut a cross in the middle of the pastry to allow steam to escape, resulting in a crispier pastry. 
12. Brush pastry with egg and pop in the oven to bake for about 35 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. 
13. Garnish the pies with crispy chicken skin and parsley. 
14. Serve the pies with your favourite salad. 

Chicken Satay Lettuce Cups

Serves 4

Nutty satay chicken in crisp lettuce — fresh, fast and full of flavour punch. 

Ingredients

For the satay sauce 

¼ cup smooth peanut butter
1½ Tbsp soy sauce
½ Tbsp fish sauce
⅔ cup coconut cream
½ Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground coriander
Zest and juice of 1 lime  

1¾ cups shredded chicken
1 cup coleslaw mix
Salt and milled pepper
8 lettuce cups
Chicken skin crisps, to serve
½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
Coriander, to serve 

Method 

1. For the satay sauce, heat all ingredients except the lime zest and juice for about 3-4 minutes and stir until well combined. 
2. Turn off heat, add lime zest and juice. Allow to cool. 
3. Combine shredded chicken, satay sauce and coleslaw mix. Season. 
4. To assemble, scoop the satay mixture into the lettuce cups and garnish with chicken skin, chilli flakes and coriander. 

 

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Recipes and styling by: Lichelle May
Photography: Austin Taylor

The post One bird, three fab feasts  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Top of your winter bowls of comfort with our irresistible candied jalapeño chillies preserve. It’s perfect on burgers, nachos, or just by themselves!

MAKES 3 cups // COOK TIME 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS
3 cups sugar
1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
6 tsp mustard seeds
30 jalapeño peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced

METHOD
1. Place the sugar, vinegar and mustard seeds in a pot over medium heat.
2. Boil for 5 minutes, then add the jalapeños and garlic.
3. Boil for a further 5 minutes, then remove the jalapeños and garlic with a slotted spoon and divide evenly between sterilised jars.
4. Continue boiling the syrup for another 5–7 minutes then pour over the jalapeños and seal the jars.

Tip: Wash your hands with hot soapy water immediately after chopping the chillis to avoid rubbing your eyes, nose or skin with spicy fingers.

Recipe & styling: Kate Turner
Photography: Samantha Pinto

Try our candied jalapeño chillies preserve on our wholewheat tortilla pizzas with ham and mushroom.

The post Candied jalapeño chillies appeared first on MyKitchen.

Put a delicious and healthy spin on Mexican dining with these light and fresh fish burritos with lettuce cups and jalapeño dressing!

MAKES 4–6 // COOKING TIME 40 min

INGREDIENTS
For the fish burritos
1 ½ cups cake flour
2 tbsp paprika
¾ cup plain yoghurt
1 egg
500 g hake fillets, cut into 5 cm fingers
Oil for baking
For the pickle
1 green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup beetroot juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the jalapeño dressing
¼ cup plain yoghurt
2 pickled jalapeños
½ cup coriander
Juice of 1 lime
To serve
1 cup brown rice, cooked
Cos lettuce

METHOD
For the fish burritos
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Mix the flour and paprika in a bowl and season generously. Whisk the yoghurt and egg together.
3. Dunk the fish fingers in the flour mixture, then in the egg mixture. Give a second coat of flour mixture, then place on the baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes, flip and bake for another 8. Remove and set aside.
For the pickle
1. Prepare the pickle by mixing all the ingredients together, and allow to stand for 5 minutes.
For the jalapeño dressing
1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
To serve
1. Separate the lettuce leaves and lay out on a platter. Fill with rice, pickle, fish and dressing.

Recipe & styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za

The post Fish burritos with lettuce cups and jalapeño dressing appeared first on MyKitchen.

This delicious bacon and jalapeño cheese ball will add Mexican flair to a decadent platter! Serve it with crackers, a nice selection of preserves and a crisp bottle of wine.

SERVES 12–15 // COOKING TIME 30 minutes plus 2 hours cooling time

INGREDIENTS
8 rashers bacon, diced
¼ cup flaked almonds
¼ cup chopped parsley
500 g cream cheese, at room temperature
1¼ cups grated cheddar
¼ cup finely chopped jalapeños
1 tbsp salad dressing or mayonnaise
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

METHOD
1. Fry the bacon over high heat until it is crispy. Place on paper towel to drain and cool. Once cooled, chop into even smaller pieces.
2. Mix ½ bacon, ½ almonds and ½ parsley with all cream cheese, cheddar, jalapeños, dressing or mayonnaise, and cayenne pepper.
3. Turn out the mixture on to cling film and form into a ball. Wrap up and freeze for 1 hour.
4. Place the remaining bacon, almonds and parsley on a plate and roll the cheese ball in them, ensuring that it is evenly coated. Reshape ball if needed. Place in the fridge for 1 hour
5. Serve the cheese ball with crackers and grapes.

Recipe & styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Kendall-Leigh Nash // HMimages.co.za

The post Giant bacon and jalapeño cheese ball appeared first on MyKitchen.

It seems that no matter where you eat out these days, you’ll see jalapeño poppers on the menu. They are pretty easy to make yourself, and if you ever feel like a plate of poppers at home, this is the recipe you need to turn to.

MAKES 10 // COOKING TIME 45 min

INGREDIENTS
50 g cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup grated mozzarella
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
10 jalapeños
10 wonton wrappers, defrosted
Vegetable oil, to deep-fry

METHOD
1. Combine the cream cheese, mozzarella and Worcestershire sauce. Make an incision down the side of each jalapeño. Stuff 2 tsp of the mixture into each one.
2. Roll each stuffed jalapeño in a wonton wrapper. Wet your finger and run it along the edges to seal.
3. Heat the oil in a pot. Once it is hot enough (test with a piece of wrapper), fry the poppers for 1 minute, until golden and crispy.
4. Drain the poppers on a paper towel and serve while hot.

The post Jalapeño poppers appeared first on MyKitchen.

For us, a big part of the summer is eating hot dogs outside next to the pool, enjoying the weather. But we won’t settle for just any hot diggity dog! And that’s why we’re showing you how to make these gourmet jalapeño relish dogs.

MAKES 6 // COOKING TIME 15 min

INGREDIENTS
2–3 jalapeños, sliced
1 cup corn kernels
1 red onion, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
6 Frankfurters or Russians
6 hot-dog rolls
Mustard, to serve

METHOD
1. For the jalapeño relish, mix together the corn, onion, olive oil, lime zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Fry the sausages for a few minutes until warm.
3. Serve sausages on the rolls, topped with jalapeño relish and drizzled with the mustard.

The post Jalapeño relish dogs appeared first on MyKitchen.