1 pound feta cheese
Flaked dry red chilli
Dried oregano
Dried parsley
Bay leaf
Dried lemon thyme
Dried purple basil
Freshly ground black pepper
Fennel seeds
Remove the feta cheese from the pack and pat as dry as possible with
kitchen towel. Press the flavours into it. Pack the cheese tightly into a jar
and cover with olive oil. It will keep in the fridge for up to two months.
Tips: Don’t use bought dried herbs, instead make your own by drying
leftover fresh herbs on a baking sheet. Leave them somewhere warm;
e.g. on top of your boiler, washing machine, or oven and they will dry
within a week. Or put them in the oven at 200 to 225 degrees for 1 hour.
Uses: On a big plate, covered in fresh basil – served with lots of other
salads. As a cheese course, with crusty bread and fruit Don’t throw away
the oil – use it in your dressing
Roasted Hamilton Poussin Wrapped with Streaky Bacon and Stuffed with
Potatoes and Sage
4 poussin chickens
12 rashers dry-curled streaky bacon
1 pound potatoes, peeled
Handful fresh sage, thyme or rosemary (all are good)
12 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup white wine, plus 1 cup
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
Preheat your oven and an appropriately sized roasting tray to 425 to 450
degrees. Boil your potatoes in salted water until perfectly cooked (don’t
overcook). Drain and allow to cool. Remove any fat from inside the
chicken cavity. Wash and pat dry with kitchen paper. Slice your potatoes
thickly, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add your
freshly torn herbs and enough olive oil just to coat. Toss over and then
stuff your chickens with the potatoes. Place them into the tray with about
12 cloves of garlic and cook for 30 minutes. After this time the chicken
should be looking as handsome as its inventor and the skin should be
crisp and golden.
At this point lay your streaky bacon snugly over the breast meat and add
a 1/2 cup of wine to the pan to get some sticky marmitey juices
happening. Cook for another 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the
oven. Take them out of the tray and allow them to rest for 5 minutes
while you make a quick bit of gravy. I normally remove as much fat as
possible from the tray before placing on gentle heat. Splash the
remaining 1 cup of white wine into it. Then boil up and scrape away all
the goodness from the sides of the tray. Simmer this for a couple of
minutes until tasty. It’s not a thick, robust gravy, just a tasty gesture.
(Another nice option at this point is to add a little cream to the gravy
which works really well.) Served with something nice and green like
steamed spinach and the potatoes pulled out from the chickens.
Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Marinated Feta Cheese Salad
