Chicken with feta and olives

Ingredients:

8 chicken pieces
1 onion chopped
25g fresh oregano leaves
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
150g black olives
150g feta, crumbled

Heat olive oil in saucepan and cook the chicken pieces, in batches, for 3-4 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same saucepan, heat the remaining oil and cook the onion and half the oregano leaves for 3 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the tomato paste to the onion mixture and stir for 2 minutes, then add the tomato and the chicken pieces.

Simmer, covered, for 40-50 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the olives and remaining oregano leaves. Top with crumbled feta.

Avocado and tomato soup

Ingredients

2 large ripe avocados
300ml sour cream
1 litre chicken stock
cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, finely diced
1 tbsp of basil
1 tbsp of chives

Mix the tomatoes, onion, basil and chives. Add olive oil, salt and pepper, and set aside.

Cut the avocados in half, remove the peel and lift out the stones. Chop the flesh coarsely and place it in a food processor with 3-4 tbsp of the sour cream. process until smooth.

Heat the chicken stock in a pan. When it is hot, but still below simmer point, stir in the rest of the cream. Gradually stir the avocado mixture into the hot stock. Heat but do not let the mixture approach boiling point.

Season and ladle the soup into individual bowls. Add the tomatoes before serving.

This is like having nachos without the nachos: guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Maybe I should add a bit of green and red chili the next time to spice it out but aside from that, it's a nice filling soup, might be more appropriate for summer.

Chorizo and onion hash

Ingredients

450g chorizo sausages, sliced into huge chunks
450g cooked potatoes, diced
1 bunch of chives
1 onion, finely chopped

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the sausages. Cook until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the olive oil to the sausage fat in the pan and then add the potatoes and onions. Cook over a low heat for 5-8 minute, turning occasionally until golden.

Add the chives and cook for a couple more minutes, until they are piping hot. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

I had leftover chorizo from my chorizo chickpea soup and this is what I made with it. Oh I think I used the wrong kind of potatoes, they were too floury, i need them to be more crisp in this dish.

Cream of onion soup

Ingredients:

1 kg variety of onions, sliced
1 litre of chicken stock

2/3 cup of double cream
1/2 cup of butter

Melt butter in a large pan. Add the onions and stir to coat in the butter, then cover and cook very gently for about 30 minutes. The onions should be very soft and tender, but not browned.

Add the chicken stock and season to taste. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Leave the soup to cool, then process it in a blender. Return the soup to the pan. Add the cream to the soup and reheat it gently until hot, but do not allow it to boil. Taste and adjust the reasoning. Serve with chopped chives.

I think the first western soup I tasted is cream of xxxxxx, (chicken, mushroom) probably from Campbell. I don't recall having tried cream of onion soup or it could be that I am so used to French onion soup that I have always subconsciously ignored this cream of onion soup. But it is fantastic, in a sense it may be better than French onion soup as this way of cooking it brings out the natural sweetness of the onion, whereas for french onion soup, it tends to be slightly overshadowed (perhaps because of my skill and the skill of those who cooked the ones i've tried) by the cognac/brandy and the cheese on top.

Thai Chicken and Glass Noodle Soup

photography by Jeff

We came back last night and I really wasn't in the appetite to eat anything after all that crazy food in Singapore. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by the need to eat something Thai and with glass noodles. And I wanted something simple enough for lunch yet tasty enough to jolt my jetlagged stomach.

Ingredients:
3 sprigs of fresh cilantro
3 cloves chopped garlic
some lemon grass
some crushed ginger
3 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
some pepper corns
salt to taste
2 chicken drumsticks (or any other preferred parts of the chicken)
chinese cabbage - chopped
glass noodles
oil

steps:
1. drizzle some oil into the pot and fry the chopped garlic until golden brown
2. add 2 bowls of water
3. add cilantro, lemon grass, ginger and pepper corns
4. bring to a simmer and add the chicken, cook for 30 min
5. remove chicken and shred into pieces
6. add seasonings and add chinese cabbage
7. when soft, add glass noodles, they cook very fast, so remove after a few minutes and serve.
8. Garnish with chicken and more chopped cilantro.

This is very heartwarming and delicious. too bad I forgot to buy chilli padi otherwise might be nice as an accompaniement

Jeff's score: 8/10

Tomato and basil bruschetta

Ingredients

4 large slices of ciabatta
1 garlic clove, cut in half
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
4 ripe tomatoes
1 tbsp shredded basil

Toast the bread until it is crisp. Rub the cut edge of the garlic over both sides of each bread slice and drizzle oil over each slice.

Roughly chop the tomatoes and mix with the basil. Season well and pile onto the bruschetta

Chorizo and chickpea soup

Ingredients

400g can chopped tomatoes
110g pack chorizo sausage, chopped into thick wedges
140g wedge Savoy cabbage, shredded
1 chili, finely chopped
410g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 chicken stock cube

Put a medium pan on the heat and tip in the tomatoes followed by a canful of water

Pile the chorizo and cabbage into the pan with the chili and chickpeas, then crumble in the stock cube. Stir well, cover and leave to bubble over a high heat for 6 minutes or until the cabbage is just tender. Ladle into bowls and eat with crusty bread

This is now my favourite soup! Add a hard boiled egg on top to balance the taste of the chorizo.