Chicken Fritters

Tonight I needed to cook dinner, I really couldn’t be bothered and I had next to nothing in the cupboard.
But I did have half a cooked chicken and some dry goods.

I thunk and thunk and wondered what the outcome would be of making a crispy batter and shallow frying the chicken.
This is what I did and jolly nice it was too with a nice spicy aftertaste.
This serves 4 as usual.

CHICKEN FRITTERS

Dinner from bugger all

Utensils:
1 x medium mixing bowl
1 x whisk
1 x large frying pan
1 x fish slice
1 x slotted spoon
Kitchen roll / paper towel

Ingredients:
4 small chicken breasts or the equivalent cooked chicken
If using raw chicken – ¼ pint chicken stock
4oz self raising flour
½ teaspoon parsley
¼ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garam masala
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ pint milk
vegetable oil for shallow frying

Method:
If using raw chicken, poach lightly in the chicken stock until cooked through and drain
Cut the chicken into chunks or strips
Put all the dry ingredients together into the bowl and blend well
Gradually whisk in the milk until it forms a thick paste
Put the chicken into the paste
Heat the oil in the frying pan until it is very hot
Fish the chicken bits out of the batter with a slotted spoon
Fry quickly in batches in the hot oil turning until the chicken is golden brown on both sides
Drain on the kitchen paper and blot to get rid of any excess oil
Serve immediately

Yorkshire Pudding, Toad in the Hole and Meringues

Toad in the Hole is a lovely dish; filling, tasty, nutritious and very simple to make.  Yet again, you will be using storecupboard ingredients, making a basic Yorkshire pudding mixture with added sausages.  The only problem is that you are then left with one egg white at the end.  I therefore increase the mixture slightly so as to be left with two egg whites which can be made into meringues ready for tomorrow’s pudding.

Incidentally, my grandmother (who was from Lancashire) used to make sweet Yorkshire Pud.  Add 2oz white sugar in with the flour and then sprinkle the baked pud with sugar just before serving.  Has anyone else come across this?

I will give you the standard Yorkshire Pudding recipe with the increased quantities in brackets.
All recipes serve 4 unless otherwise stated.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Utensils:
1 x large bowl
1 x measuring jug
1 x whisk or hand blender or food mixer

Ingredients:
4 oz / 120g plain white flour (5 ½ oz/160g)
½ tsp salt
2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk (2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks)
¼ pint / 5 floz milk (6floz)
¼ pint / 5 floz water (7floz)
a little oil for greasing

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 220 / 425 / 7
Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre
Beat in the eggs and egg yolks to form a thick paste
Gradually whisk in the liquid until the batter achieves the consistency of thick cream
Leave to stand for at least 20 minutes
Place a roasting tin with the oil in it in the oven until a drop of batter sizzles in it
Pour the batter into the tin and bake for about 25 minutes or until it is well puffed up and golden brown

TOAD IN THE HOLE

Utensils:
1 x large ovenproof dish
1 x large bowl
1 x measuring jug
1 x whisk or hand blender or food mixer

Ingredients:
1 quantity of Yorkshire Pudding batter
8 good sausages

Method:
Preheat the oven to 220 / 425/ 7
Place the sausages in the dish and place in the oven for about 15 minutes until browning nicely
Remove from the oven and drain off any excess fat.
Quickly pour on the batter and return the dish to the oven
Cook for about 25 minutes until the batter is puffed up and golden brown.

Serve with dark green vegetables.  I really like Savoy Cabbage with a rich gravy to which you have added a dessertspoonful of redcurrant or cranberry jelly.

MERINGUES

Utensils:
1 x medium bowl
1 x baking sheet
greaseproof paper to cover the baking sheet
1 x electric mixer

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
3 ½ oz / 100g caster sugar (ordinary sugar will work but the texture will be slightly coarser)

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 100 / 200 / ¼
Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks (and look like shaving foam)
Whisk in half the sugar
Fold in the rest of the sugar with a metal spoon
Put the greaseproof paper on the baking sheet
Put 8 blobs of the mixture equally on the baking sheet
Bake for 1 ½ – 2 hours or until the meringues are dry and crispy
When completely cold, sandwich together with whipped cream
Add some fruit to turn them into health food