Wish You a Tasty New Year!

Wish You a Tasty New Year!

With the festivities, you surely don’t want to compromise with your diet plan, especially when you are surrounded with so much palatable food on the table. To make sure you are on track with your fitness plan, here is a healthy yet delectable option that is sure to satisfy your taste buds. British celebrity chef and proprietor of one of the five restaurants in Great Britain to have three Michelin stars, that was also voted No.1 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in the World in 2005, Heston Blumenthal brings to you a recipe that he specially curated at MasterChef Australia Season 10. 

Roast Chicken:
Ingredients

Chicken Brine (to be done 12 hours in advance or overnight)
-Free range organic chicken......½ kg 
-Warm water.....3L
-Fine salt.....180g
-Leftovers Stock (can use ready-made brown chicken stock)
-Leftover roast chicken carcass.....1
-Some left over roasted parsnip, carrot and onion
-Water.....1.5 L 

Roast Chicken and Gravy:
Pre-brined chicken
-Lemon, rolled and pierced.....1
-Thyme.....¼ bunch
-Unsalted butter, melted.....125 g
-Chicken wings.....1 kg
-Carrot, peeled and roughly chopped    1
-Cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with flat part of a knife.....2
-Skim milk powder.......2 tbsp
-Reserved leftovers stock or ready-made brown chicken stock.....1 litre
-Dry white wine.....200g 
-Dijon mustard.....1 tsp
-Salt and pepper, to season

Buerre Noisette:
-Butter    100 g 
-Royal Blue potatoes, peeled and quartered.....1kg 
-Olive oil, for roasting
-Garlic cloves, crushed with the flat part of a knife    8 cloves 
-Salt to season

Method
1. Prepare the chicken in advance. Combine water and salt in a large pot and stir until salt dissolves. Allow liquid to cool completely, add chicken and ensure that it is completely submerged in the solution. Leave in the fridge for 12 hours or overnight to brine before use.
2. Preheat oven to 90C.
3. For the leftovers stock, place all ingredients into a top pressure cooker onto the stove over high heat. Bring to pressure and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Once ready, remove the pressure cooker from the heat, strain liquid through a fine sieve lined with muslin cloth into a clean bowl and reserve for the gravy.
4. For the Roast Chicken, remove the wishbone and any trussing from the pre-brined chicken. Open the legs of the chicken to allow air to circulate. Cut off the wingtips and parson’s nose (if it has one) and reserve these. Push the lemon and thyme into the cavity of the chicken. Rub the butter over the chicken skin and season well.
5. Place chicken into a heavy based roasting tray along with reserved wing tips, chicken wings, parson’s nose, carrots and garlic. Place into the oven and roast until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken breast reaches 60C, about 3-4 hours. Baste chicken with pan juices every hour.
6. Remove chicken from the roasting tray and place onto a rack sitting over a tray to rest for 30-45 minutes. Reserve roasting tray with remaining vegetables and trimmings.
7. Increase oven to 200C.
8. Sprinkle skim milk powder over the reserved vegetables and trimmings and place back into the oven until caramelised, about 10-15 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, make the Buerre Noisette by placing butter into a small saucepan over low heat and cooking until brown but not burnt. Remove from heat and reserve for the gravy.
10. Remove the roasting tray of vegetables and trimmings from the oven and place onto the stove top over high heat. Add white wine, then scrape and stir the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add the reserved leftovers stock or brown chicken stock and reserved Buerre Noisette and cook until reduced to a slightly thick sauce consistency. Strain through a fine sieve into a small saucepan and set aside. Reserve the roasting tray to roast the chicken before plating.
11. For the roast potatoes, fill a separate large roasting tray with olive oil to 5mm high. Place tray into the oven to heat up.
12. Place prepared potatoes into a bowl under running cold water for 5 minutes to remove all starch from the surface. Place washed potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Cook on high heat until potatoes just begin to fall apart, about 40 minutes.
13. Strain potatoes and turn them out onto a wire rack to dry. Once dry, remove preheated roasting tray of oil from the oven and add potatoes and crushed garlic, ensuring potatoes are spread out in one layer, flat side facing down. Stir gently to coat with the oil. Return to the oven and roast, turning occasionally until golden and crisp, about 30-35 minutes.
14. Remove potatoes from the oven, transfer to paper towel to drain and season with salt. Set aside on paper towel until required.
15. To finish the Roast Chicken, once chicken has rested, place back onto the reserved roasting tray and return to the oven to roast until golden brown, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
16. To serve, cut the chicken into breasts, wings, legs and thighs and warm gravy on the stove over medium heat. Place some potatoes and chicken pieces on each plate and drizzle with gravy.

Ginger & Walnut Carrot Cake
During  the festive season, you are susceptible to binge-eating desserts — either made by your neighbours, your parents, siblings or even yourself! 
But baking can be difficult and here is one helluva easy recipe to follow by none other than Nigella Lawson. Just put it together the way she says and voila!
Here is the recipe of the Ginger and Walnut Carrot Cake that Nigella made!

Ingredients 
-Plain flour.....200 g 
-Baking powder.....1 tsp
-Bicarbonate of soda.....½ tsp
-Ground ginger.....2 tsp
-Fine sea salt.....¼ tsp 
-Soft light brown sugar.....175g
-Large eggs, at room temperature.....2 
-Vegetable oil, plus more for greasing.....200ml
-Peeled and coarsely grated carrots.....200g
-Walnut pieces, roughly chopped or crumbled.....100g
-Crystallised ginger, finely chopped....75g

Icing
-Unsalted butter, softened.....100g
-Icing sugar, sieved.....100g
-Corn flour.....1 tsp 
-Full-fat cream cheese, fridge cold.....100g
-Coarsely grated ginger.....1 tbsp

Garnish
Walnut pieces, roughly chopped or crumbled.....25g 
Crystallised ginger, finely chopped.....25g

Method
1. Preheat oven to 150C fan forced. Grease the sides and line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin with baking paper.
2. Place the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and salt into a bowl and use a fork to mix well.
3. Beat the sugar, eggs and oil in another large bowl until they are completely mixed together. Then gradually add the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl. You’re beating them in to rescue and incorporate any flour clinging to the edges. At this stage, the mixture may seem alarmingly stiff, but the carrots will loosen it up. Beat in the carrots, then fold in the 100g prepared walnuts and 75g of the crystallised ginger, until everything is completely combined.
4. Spoon and scrape into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes. The cake is ready when it is golden brown on top, beginning to shrink away from the edges of the tin and a skewer comes out with just a few crumbs stuck to it. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool in its tin.
5. Meanwhile, for the Icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together in a mixing bowl until creamily combined. Beat in the corn flour, followed by half of the cream cheese. Once that’s incorporated, beat in the remaining half of the cream cheese, careful not to over beat.
6. Place the grated ginger into the centre of a square of paper towel to form a little swag bag, press on it over the bowl to squeeze out the ginger juice into the bowl of cream cheese icing. Cover with cling film and refrigerate.
7. When the cake is completely cold, remove the icing sugar from the fridge and set aside for 20 minutes to soften slightly to a thick but spreadable consistency. Beat the icing briefly to help smooth out.
8. Release the cake from the tin and transfer to a cake stand or plate. Spread the icing on top and swirl a little, then sprinkle the chopped walnuts and ginger on top.

Vegetarian Nachos
Who says that there is nothing for the vegetarians during the party seasons? And who says guests should be entertained with a full-fledged menu? Exchange gifts, put on some melodious music, get the games out and take the chip out with the delectable dip specially curated by MasterChef Australia’s judge and host, Matt Preston.
Quick to make and easy to binge on, here is the recipe for Matt Preston’s flavourful Vegetarian Nachos.

Ingredients
Nachos
-Olive oil.....1 tbsp
-Red onion, finely chopped.....1
-Red capsicum, deseeded and finely chopped.....1
-Garlic cloves, crushed.....2
-Ground cumin.....1 tbsp
-Sweet paprika.....1 tbsp
-Ground coriander.....2 tsp
-Smoked paprika.....1 tsp
-Chilli powder.....1 tsp
-Ground cinnamon.....½ tsp
-Fresh bay leaf.....1
-400g black beans, rinsed and drained.....2
-400g can crushed tomatoes.....1 can
-Vegetable stock.....250 ml 
-Corn kernels (about 2 cobs).....200g
-Plain corn chips.....170g
-Grated cheddar cheese.....100g

Guacamole
-Avocado.....2
-Coriander, stems only, finely sliced, leaves reserved for garnish....1 bunch
-Juice of 2 limes, 
-Zest of 1 lime, 
-Salt to taste
-Nacho Dust
-Ranch flavor corn chips.....50g 
-Cheese and bacon ball.....2 packs

To Serve
Sour cream
Sliced green chili
Coriander leaves
Lime cheeks

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. For the nachos, place a large frypan over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion and capsicum and fry until onion is translucent.
3. Add spices and bay leaf and fry until fragrant.
4. Add black beans, crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has reduced and thickened, about 30 minutes.
5. Add corn kernels and simmer for a further minute. Remove from heat.
6. Spread corn chips over the bottom of an oven proof dish. Spoon over the bean and tomato mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Place in the oven to bake until cheese is melted and golden, about 15 minutes. Turn off oven and leave nachos inside to keep warm until ready to serve.
7. For the Guacamole, cut avocado in half and remove stone. Remove flesh with a spoon, roughly chop and place in a bowl. Add coriander stems, lime juice and zest and salt. Mix until well combined. Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside until serving.
8. For the Nacho Dust, place ingredients in a small blender and blend until fine. Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside until serving.
9. To serve, remove nachos from oven. Serve with Guacamole, Nacho Dust, sour cream and green chili. Garnish with coriander leaves and lime cheeks.

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