Spiced Chicken Pita's with Fix and Fogg Smoke and Fire Peanut Butter.

Are you a peanut butter fan? I most certainly am. On toast, crackers, fruit toast, hot cross buns. Toasted sandwich with banana and peanut butter, and best of all, SATAY. So when Fix and Fogg released their new Smoke & Fire Peanut Butter I was so intrigued. 
One taste and all I could think of was eating it with a chicken pita and slaw, trust me, it did not disappoint. 

In this recipe I have marinated the chicken in a lovely spice blend. I use whole seeds, which I lightly toast in a dry pan and then grind in a mortar and pestle. This is how you'll get the best and freshest flavour from the spices, but you can buy the pre-prepared ground spices if you wish. 
To make the slaw a little lighter in fat and flavour I've made a mix of garlic aioli and plain yogurt. The yogurt adds a subtle tang which accompanies the spice of the rub and Fix and Fogg perfectly.  

Ingredients (Serves 4): 

• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil 
• 400 grams free range chicken
• 1/4 cabbage
• 2 carrots
• 1/4 red onion
• 1 heaped tbsp garlic aioli (or any good quality mayonnaise)
• 2 heaped tbsp plain yogurt 
• 1-2 tbsp lemon juice 
• 4 large pita pockets 
• 4 (or more) tbsp of Fix and Fogg's Smoke & Fire Peanut Butter

First make the marinade. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan until fragrant. Remove to a mortar and pestle and grind. Combine with smoked paprika, salt, and oil in a non-metallic bowl. Slice the chicken into strips, add this to the spice mixture and coat well. Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes. 

To prepare the slaw finely shred the cabbage and onion (I used a food processor because I'm lazy, but a large sharp knife will do the same trick). Peel and grate the carrots. Pop all the veggies into a salad bowl and add the aioli, yogurt, and lemon juice. Use two large spoons to toss it all together well, you want the dressing to be lightly coating everything. Cover and set aside in the fridge till serving. You may want to give it another quick toss before serving in case the dressing has settled in the bottom. 

To cook the chicken, heat a large heavy based frying pan. Because the marinade has oil already I don't bother oiling the pan. Place the pieces of chicken in the hot pan and turn them after a few minutes, then continue cooking till cooked through. 

Warm the pita according to packet directions (or a quick pop in the toaster if they will fit). Spread a heaped spoonful of Fix and Fogg's Smoke & Fire Peanut Butter inside each pita pocket before filling with slaw and pieces of chicken. 

TP's Hawaiian Chicken Burgers

As a lover of the BK [Burger King] Hawaiian Chicken burger, who's actively trying to 'be healthy' and avoid fast food, this was the perfect home made indulgence. 

The man of the house, who shall be known as TP, created these delicious mouth watering temptations on a whim, but they will be on household repeat for sure. 

Burger

• 2 - 3 large free range chicken breasts (500 grams) 
• 3/4 c flour
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper 
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 1 tsp turmeric
• oil for cooking - rice bran works well as it has a high heat temperature
• 6 rashers of rindless free range bacon 
• Can of pineapple rings, drained 
• 6 pack of burger buns, sliced

Preheat oven to 220•C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Arrange 6 rashers of bacon on tray, and bake for 15 - 20 mins till at your preferred crispiness. * You can also bake the chips while the bacon is cooking.

Place the chicken between two pieces of cling film and pound with a rolling pin to flatten out.

Remove cling film and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 6 roughly equally sized pieces.
Combine flour, cayenne, chilli flakes, mixed herbs and turmeric in a bowl. Coat each chicken piece liberally in this mix.

Heat 1/2cm of cooking oil in a frying pan. Fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side, till cooked through. You should be able to fit three pieces of chicken in the pan at the same time. Once the chicken is cooked, reduce heat to low and arrange the pineapple rings in the same pan, turning once.

I also like to flick the oven onto grill for a few minutes at the end of cooking, to toast the buns - cut side up - just be careful that they don't burn.

Slaw 

• 1/2 green cabbage, finely shredded
• 4 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1/3 cup whole egg mayonnaise - I go for full fat, but low sugar variety. 
• 2 pineapple rings, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients using two large spoons to incorporate the mayonnaise well. This does take a little time, so be patient. Taste and season with a little salt if required.

To serve: 

• Sweet Chilli sauce - optional - for the burgers
• Sliced tomatoes
• Thick cut oven roasted potato chips. We bought Pam's thick cut, which are just potato and canola oil, no added flavourings or salt. * Bake while the bacon is cooking
• Tomato Sauce - for the chips 

To assemble 

Smear a little chilli sauce on the bottom half of the burger bun, and smear some mayo on the top half. Layer on top of the chilli sauce, cheese, followed by chicken, bacon, pineapple, tomato and a large spoonful of slaw on top. Top with the bun lid and serve alongside extra slaw, chunky fries and tomato sauce. 

Spark'n Barbeque'n Pulled Pork

Thanks to friends who have a love of hunting, my freezer is full of legs of wild pork. Initially I cooked this as per my friends instruction in an oven bag with a tin of pineapple. It was pretty good, but as always I was keen to try something new this time. It seems the craze in some of the new restaurants around town is BBQ Pulled Pork... so I figured I would give it a go for myself. 

It turns out that the sauce is made and stirred through separately, so the meat itself if much like any other slow cooked meat. I was planning to use a slow cooker, but the leg wouldn't fit, so I did it in an oven bag in a really low oven all day instead.

I wanted to make sure it had the added sweetness that the pineapple gave as pork, particularly wild pork, can be quite rich, so I cooked it with Old Mout Cider, I choose their Scrumpy because it's got a slightly higher alcohol content and  has a strong apple flavour. 

The BBQ sauce recipes I found however mostly consisted of the base ingredient ketchup... why would I use a sauce to make another sauce? Doesn't seem to make sense to me, so I made my own one up, using more of the delicious Scrumpy, See Here for yourself.

Apple Cider Pulled Pork served with Buns, Coriander and Lime Rice, Coleslaw and BBQ sauce. (See below for Rice and Coleslaw recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 leg free range or wild pork 
• Large oven bag or slow cooker - my leg of pork wouldn't fit in the slow cooker
• 1 1/2 c Apple Cider - I used Old Mout's Scrumpy 
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika 
• 2 tbsp ground cumin - I toast the seeds in a dry pan, then grind in a mortar pestle for the freshest flavour
• 2 tbsp oregano 
• 2 tbsp salt 
• 1 cup of BBQ Sauce

Method

Trim the meat of any large chunks of fat. Mix onion, spices and cider, put in bottom of oven bag. Add pork, spooning some of the mix on top so it's at least been coated. 

Seal oven bag and place in 120 degree oven for 6-7 hours. Meat should fall off the bone. Don't worry you can't really overcook it, so if in doubt, leave it longer. 

If using a slow cooker, just put all ingredients in on low for 7 hours. 

Once cooked, allow to cool slightly then put meat, bones, and cooking liquid into a large tupperware and chill overnight. 

The next day skim any fat from the surface (the liquid should be jelly-like now that it has cooled, this is what you want, just skim the solid orange/white fat from the surface if there is any) remove the meat and bones from the liquid. Put  jelly/liquid into a heavy pot and simmer on a low heat for 30-40 mins until nearly completely reduced, stir occasionally so it doesn't stick. 

Meanwhile, shred the pork meat using two forks. Discard any bones. 

Once the cooing liquid has reduced, allow it to cool, then stir it through the shredded meat. Stir through 1 cup of BBQ sauce. Then set aside. 

To serve, gently reheat meat on the stovetop, on a low heat. 

Serve with more BBQ sauce, Coleslaw, Buns, and the Coriander Lime Rice. 

Coriander and Lime Rice

This rice makes a great side dish full of aromatic mexican flavours. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/4c Brown Rice
• 1/4c of Black Rice 
• Zest and Juice of 1 lime 
• 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves

Method

Rinse rice and soak in a pot with 3 cups of water, lime zest and coriander seeds. Leave covered 2-3 hours.

Remove lid, place on high heat till simmering, stir gently, cover, reduce heat and leave for 20-25 mins, till water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and leave 10 mins. 

Remove lid, fluff with a fork, add lime juice, olive oil, salt and fresh coriander. 

Serve warm or cold. 

Coleslaw

I make coleslaw with a light vinaigrette, you can use mayonnaise if you prefer, or just serve with mayo on the table like I do. For ease, I also make coleslaw in the food processor, a good old knife will do fine if you don't have a processor. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 red cabbage
• 1/4 white cabbage
• 3 carrots peeled 
• 2 tbsp chopped chives
• 3 tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil of your choice) 
• Juice of 1 lemon or lime
• 1 tsp salt

Method

Peel Carrots. Chop vegetables so they will fit into the hole in the top of the food processor. 

Using the large slicing blade process the cabbages. 

Next use the grater attachment and grate the carrots. 

Place all ingredients into a large serving bowl, toss together with chives, oil, salt and lemon juice.