Orange and Clove roast Chicken with Pears and Butternut Squash / Frango assado no forno, com Laranja, Cravinho, Pêras e Abóbora (butternut).

This recipe is an aromatic combination of flavours and textures.

A one pan meal that it's super easy to prepare but when you bring it to the table, your family or guests will think you spent hours in the kitchen.

The recipe is from Marte Marie Forsberg and her truly, truly amazing debut cook book "The Cottage Kitchen".

Of course I don't feel the need to introduce Marte Marie as, every blogger and/or foodie raves about her work. Both, as a passionate cook, a blogger and a very talented photographer.

The book is divided by "seasons" and every chapter features recipes with the best seasonal ingredients of course. All the recipes, descriptions and, of course, photos are incredibly mouthwatering and you just want to be in the kitchen and cook everything from the book. Well, at least, that's how I feel about it...!!

I have lots of recipes marked down in the book to be tried and I've already made two of Marte Marie's no knead breads and this chicken recipe that I'm posting today.

I chose to share this recipe first, because it features orange and oranges are Marta's ingredient of the month.

I've made this recipe before Marta announced the ingredient of the month so, good thing that I didn't post it here before, because now, it can go straight to Marta's January table.

Hope you try it and enjoy it because it's so aromatic, full of flavour and delicious that you'll only be able to describe it if you taste it!

Rice with Chicken, Farinheira and Chorizo / Arroz de Frango, Farinheira (e chouriço).

“Enchidos” is the Portuguese word for our (many) varieties of cured and/or, dried sausages.

Different kinds of Chorizos, Alheiras and (my favourite of them all), Farinheiras, they all belong to the very ancient and cultural Portuguese tradition of cured or dried sausages and they’re mostly the reason why I can’t, ever! be a pure vegetarian.

Farinheira is a Portuguese smoked sausage made mainly from wheat flour, pork fat and seasonings.

It has a yellow/brown colour and it was invented by Portuguese Jews, in order to have "something" hanging on their smokehouses (faking the consumption of pork), to save them from the Inquisition. It is made with flour, which gives it its name, red pepper paste, paprika, wine and, nowadays, pork fat!

If you never tried a "Farinheira" before, you should run to your nearest Portuguese delicatessen and buy one but, you have to try a very good quality one, like the one I used in this rice, or else, you’ll be disappointed...

One of the things we can't ever leave behind, is any kind of "enchido" and, almost all of our traditional Portuguese dishes include some kind of "enchido" or cured meat.

I'm not complaining. I'm a true lover of this kind of food and all kinds of chorizo, "enchidos", bacon, prosciutto and relatives, they're all on top of the list for my "desert Island food"...

We (Portuguese), we love our "enchidos" as much as we love our rice and, you think of any combination using rice, you name it, and I bet, we will have a traditional recipe for it. From duck rice, shellfish rice, razor clams rice, octopus rice, to salted cod rice, we have them all covered and in a very delicious and traditional way.

"Prato do Dia - Dish of the Day" is the debut cook book from our most beloved Portuguese celebrity cook Filipa Gomes.

Prato do Dia, the name given to the book, is also the name of one the most popular cooking shows in Portugal (24Kitchen - Fox TV) and Filipa Gomes is its hostess.

Her straightforward, flavourful and delicious recipes are a success and her unpretentious way of life and approach to food, are absolutely inspirational.

I’ve had the honour to receive an advanced and signed (by the author herself), copy of the book and honestly, I'm totally in love with it.

Simple, divided in chapters like, Starters and Snacks, Fish and Shellfish, Meat and Desserts, the book is a delight to flick through and full of mouthwatering, simple and easy recipes for every day of the week.

I’m so honored and delighted to have a signed copy of Filipa's book and so thrilled to cook from it!

The recipe I'm sharing today, is the first recipe, tried and totally approved from the book and, as it is so full of Portuguese references and so special and close to my heart, it got to be cooked in one of my beloved "black clay" dishes. A very ancient, manual and traditional, Portuguese pottery from Bisalhães, a village in the North of Portugal.

Georgian Chicken Soup / Sopa de Galinha da Geórgia.

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan.

Georgian cuisine often marries western techniques with eastern flavours and to find out more about its uniqueness, you should read this amazing and very interesting article.

To create this chicken soup, Christopher Kimball was inspired by a traditional Georgian recipe called "Chikhirtma".

As we love (specially the kids) chicken soup here at home, this recipe was one of the first ones I've marked down to try from Christopher Kimball's "Milk Street - The New Home Cooking". The book of the month for the online #rainydaybitescookbookclub!

As soon as I started reading the recipe, a similar soup came up to my mind. The Greek Avgolemono soup. A soup that we loved a lot and that is also finished with eggs and lemon juice.

This Georgian soup I'm posting today is rich, full of flavour, creamy and so comforting for these cold days that, if you try it, I can assure you'll be making it over and over again.

Thai Red Chicken Soup / Sopa de Frango com Caril Vermelho Tailandês.

Here it is, another Jamie Oliver, "5 Ingredients - Quick & Easy Food" recipe.

A fabulous Thai red soup with poached chicken, that made the delights of the family on a coolish Scottish day.

Easy and simple, like all the recipes in this book (as I wrote here), this recipe is a "must try" one!

Crispy Chicken, Curried Spelt Salad and Raita / Frango assado, com Salada de Espelta de Caril e molho Raita.

This is a fabulous recipe that I made a couple of weeks ago and that was very delicious.

Actually, the spelt salad was a delightful surprise and I highly recommend it and if you leave out the chicken, this can easily be transformed onto a vegetarian or vegan meal.

I used Sandra curry powder mixture in this recipe. A homemade mixture that is so so fantastic, that since Sandra offered me a jar of her curry powder for the first time, I never went back to shop bought curry powder again.

Sandra loves her spices and all the spice mixtures she makes are amazing. I've already told her that she could be rich and famous selling her spices because she really is a "Spice Queen"!

This recipe is from Tom Kitchin new book "Meat & Game". About Chef Tom Kitchin, I've already told you here how much I love this Chef!

As for the book, the name says it all. A book full of very mouthwatering meat and game recipes and this one was the very first one I tried and we all loved it.

Harissa Chicken with Leeks, Potatoes and Yogurt / Frango assado com Harissa, Alho francês, Batatas e Iogurte.

Second and last recipe challenge of the month and also a "Cook the Cover" challenge for May's Rainydaybites Cook Book Club.

Deborah asked us to cook this fabulous one sheet meal and I'm glad she did because, not just I love all the ingredients in this recipe, I also love the fact that there's almost no washing up after.

The combination of ingredients, as you might guessed by the title, is absolutely incredible and the textures and flavour are, both, absolutely fabulous.

Another great hit from Melissa Clark "Dinner: Changing the Game" book which, by all means, I'm loving to bits!

Smoky Paprika Chicken with Crispy Chickpeas, Roasted Lemon and Kale / Frango com Paprika Fumada, Grão de Bico Crocante, Limão assado e Kale.

By the amount of chicken recipes that I publish, you might well already guessed that we love chicken here at home. Well, it's true!

This recipe, from Melissa Clark "Dinner: Changing the Game" cook book is a stunner!

The chicken is moist inside, with a perfectly crisp skin outside. The combination of the lemon, kale and crispy chickpeas is totally genius and the whole dish is absolutely delicious and full of textures and contrasts.

As you Know, this month we are cooking from Melissa's book for the Rainydaybites Cook Book Club and of course, this recipe had to be shared because you'll be in love with it if you get to try it and, it's also super easy to put together.

Roasted butterflied chicken / Frango assado no forno.

Today I'm leaving you a simple and easy roasted chicken but all the goodness is in the dried brine.
As I wrote here and here, brining the chicken is a method that will give you tender moist meat every time.
This brine method is a dried one but it works as perfectly as the wet brine.
According to J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the author of "The Food Lab" book, from which we are cooking this month for the Rainydaybites Cook Book Club, salting the poultry under its skin and letting it stand for a period of 24 to 48 hours in the fridge, has much the same effect as brining.
At first, the salt draws liquid out of the meat, but then it dissolves in the extracted liquid, forming a concentrated bird juice brine right on the surface of the bird that then goes to work at dissolving muscle fibers the same way as a regular brine.
Eventually, as the muscles fibers get more and more relaxed, the liquid is reabsorbed. Over the course of a night or two, the salty solution can work its way several millimeters into the bird's flesh, helping it retain moisture and seasoning it more deeply.

Congee with Chicken, Ginger and Poached Egg / Congee com Frango, Gengibre e Ovo Escalfado.

Congee is the Chinese name for rice porridge but it is also known as okayu in Japan, juk in Korea, and jok in Thailand. They all and each have their own unique variations but, it always begin with rice and a liquid (usually water) and sometimes, a little salt.

From this basic start, flavors and textures can be added after, such as kimchi and salted fish (Korea), or pork with fried garlic and scallions (Philippines).

Congee can even be sweetened with sugar and served with fruit, such as pears or apples.

Another variation is to make congee with chicken and ginger.

More than a bowl of good food for the body, Congee also nourishes the soul!!

This recipe is another delicious one from Shu Han Lee "Chicken and Rice" cook book.

It is my second recipe from this fabulous book and I cooked it for Marta and her ingredient of the month which is the RICE!

It is so, so delicious and comforting that you just want to eat the whole pot by yourself.

Extra Crunchy Southern Fried Chicken / Frango frito à americana.

Who wants KFC when you can have extra crunchy fried chicken at home? I'm not mad about this kind of food but my teenager son adores fried chicken so, he was really happy the day I made this recipe.

I confess that fried food is my nemesis in the kitchen as I'm very bad at frying stuff so, when Deborah suggested this recipe as the first recipe challenge of the month for the Rainydaybites Cook Book Club, I thought that it would be disastrous...

Actually it went very well and I can assure you that this is the best fried chicken I've ever eaten.

The interior of the chicken is moist and tender and the exterior is super crunchy and fabulously flavoured with the spice mixture from the marinade and coating.

As I mentioned here, this month we are cooking from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Food Lab cook book and the experiments and explanations for every recipe are a joy to read and learn.

Just so you have an idea, for this recipe, he cooked more than 50 chickens in order to achieve the perfect fried chicken, which, as you can imagine, is a lot of chicken...

Vitnamese Ginger Chicken / Frango Vietnamina com Gengibre.

A delicious chicken meal from Melissa Clark new book "Dinner". A book full of different and delicious suggestions. No bread, baking or sweet treats included. Just savoury delicious dinner (or lunch), suggestions. Another great book that I'm very pleased with and that goes directly to my category of the "well spent money" books!

I truly love Asian flavours and combinations and this meal was very tasteful. The chicken, grilled, full of flavour, tender and moist, was a real delight to eat.

Chicken with Marsala, Olives and Blood Oranges / Frango com Marsala, Azeitonas e Laranjas Sanguíneas.

Chicken and blood oranges, a fabulous combination of flavours and ingredients that works heavenly and I know (and told you) it works and it is absolutely delicious because of this Eva Flores recipe that I published a few weeks ago.

Today's suggestion is from Diana Henry "A Bird in the Hand" book.

I love Diana Henry books and this one is all about chicken recipes and all of them incredibly interesting and super appetizing.

Last here I posted the very delicious recipe of Chicken with Morcilla and Sherry that was absolutely to die for and although I made this blood orange recipe last year too, I didn't have the opportunity to take pictures of it so, now that the blood oranges are in season again, I had to make it again and post the recipe here because it's so, so delicious!!

Give it a try and you'll be impressed with such a clever combination and even if you can't find blood oranges, try it with regular Navel oranges because I'm sure, it will be as good.

Blood Orange Roast Chicken / Frango Assado com Laranja Sanguínea.

Today I'm sharing this fabulous recipe with you all.

Blood oranges are in season now and at its best so, we have to use them as much as we can and you know, I love blood oranges and here on the blog, under the "blood orange" label, you can find a fair amount of blood orange suggestions.

As for this recipe, If you can't find blood oranges, you can use Navel oranges.

Remember that in this post I wrote that I would tell you more about Eva Flores "Adventures in Chicken" book in another post? Well, this is the post!

Everybody knows Eva Flores and her fabulous work and blog Adventures in Cooking right? So, no need for introductions!

Eva Flores book is, as I expected, an absolute delight. Recipes and photos that are to die for!! Actually, I can't ever think about Eva Flores without thinking and relating Eva and Mónica Pinto, as I find their work so similar, great and gorgeous...

Anyway...

Eva Flores first book is all about chicken. Chicken in many ways and with many flavours...

I've already made a lot of recipes from the book and some are in the queue to be published and others, I'll have to repeat them because (as I told you here, I lost the photos in the PC that broke).

Of course you might be thinking that there's nothing special about a book full of chicken recipes, but actually there is! and what makes Eva's chicken recipes different from another dozen of chicken recipe books?

I tell you what! What makes them different is that all the chicken recipes are delicious and specially the roast chicken ones! The chicken is always flavourful, moist and super delicious!! Chicken breasts, that were something that were always leftover here at home, are now being battled to be the first to be eaten. Why? Because as I said, they're moist and delicious and they're not dry and boring!

Now, you might be wondering what's the secret for those juicy and tasteful chicken breasts but for me, there's no secret!

Remember this post? This Donna Hay recipe? Well, the secret is the same, which is: Brining the chicken and, of course, a good free range bird...!

I knew that already, because in his book "In Search of Perfection" and about brining a chicken, Heston Blumenthal wrote: "Brining is a great way of tenderising the flesh and helping it to stay moist at the same time. The salt alters the proteins in such a way that they old on to moisture more effectively. The result is a much juicier chicken".

Actually and as I also wrote here, before I read this Donna Hay recipe and all the Eva Flores chicken recipes that I tried,  the best roasted turkey I ever made or tasted, was precisely a Donna Hay brined turkey and that's the only one I now make every Christmas!

Just try brining your bird before you roast it and you'll see. There's no coming back! Let's go for the recipe then!

Roast Chicken and Quinoa Salad with Tangerines and Pomegranate / Salada de Frango assado e Quinoa, com Tangerinas e Romã.

Another fabulous recipe for Marta and her "ingredient of the month" - January, the month of Tangerines!!

This recipe is slightly adapted from a book that I adore to bits! Eva Kosmas Flores "Adentures in Chicken" cook book!

A book from which I already cooked lots of recipes but, unfortunately, I can't share them with you straight away as all the photos are in the PC that broke and therefore, lost...

Of course, I'll make them again to share with you, because they're all so delicious that it will be a real pleasure to taste all those flavour combinations again but, until then, I'm sharing this one. A salad, that I slightly adapted by using quinoa instead of bulgur wheat but that was, at the same, absolutely delicious!

About the book, I'll give you more details in another post because there's some fabulous things to say about it and I want to talk about it with you, but in a different post. For now, here is the recipe for this amazing salad that I really think should have a place on Marta's January table.

Roast Chicken with Chestnuts and Cabbage / Frango assado com Castanhas e Couve.

Chestnuts are the ingredient Marta has chosen for November and although I had two or three suggestions selected to prepare for Marta, with all the constrains I had this month, it was not possible for me to prepare all of them and therefore, here is the only one I was able to prepare and it is a very delicious one.

The recipe is from Mimi Thorisson new "French Country Cooking" book and if you are a Mimi lover and if you loved her 1st book, believe me, this second one is 1.000 times better!! An absolute delight from which I have lots of pages selected for the recipes to be tested.

This chicken was the first one and that's the one I'm sharing today because the combination is great and very appropriate for #martaingredientofthemonth.

ingredients (serves 6):

for the chicken:

1 whole chicken, about 1.5kg

60g salted butter

fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 bunch of fresh thyme

1 small onion, halved

1 bay leaf

8 peeled cooked chestnuts

for the cabbage:

1 head savoy cabbage (dark green leaves discarded), cut into 2.5cm strips

570g peeled, cooked chestnuts

75g unsalted butter

fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

80ml chicken stock

80ml dry white wine

method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Take the chicken out of the fridge, at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Rub the chicken with the salted butter and season generously inside and outside with salt and pepper.

Put the garlic cloves, thyme, onion halves, bay leaf and chestnuts in the cavity.

Put the chicken in a roasting tin and roast for 50 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a big plate and reserve.

Increase the oven temperature to 200ºC.

Keep all the roasting juices in the roasting tin and add the cabbage, chestnuts and 4 tablespoons (60g) of the unsalted butter.

Season with salt and pepper and toss everything together. Put the tin in the oven and roast for 10 minutes.

Pour in the stock and wine and stir to combine.

Brush the chicken with the remaining 15g butter to gloss the skin and return to the tin.

Put the tin back in the oven and roast for a further 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through.

Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

__________________

Castanhas foram o ingrediente seleccionado pela Marta para o mês de Novembro.

Um ingrediente que adoro e para o qual havia já seleccionado umas 3 receitas para preparar para a Marta e para o seu mês das castanhas.

Contudo, e com todas as condicionantes que tive este mês, consegui preparar apenas esta sugestão e não posso deixar de a partilhar (mesmo com fotos feinhas), pois sempre paticipei no #martaingredientofthemonth e não vai ser este mês que vou falhar.

A receita, uma combinação que resulta na perfeição e que é absolutamente magnífica, é do novo livro da Mimi Thorisson, o "French Country Cooking".

Para os que, tal como eu, são apaixonados e fãs da Mimi fica a mensagem: se gostaram do primeiro livro dela, não deixem de comprar este, pois na minha modesta opinião, é 1000 vezes melhor que o primeiro e por cá, já está cheio de post it's, pois são muitas as receitas que vou querer experimentar deste livro delicioso.

Posto isto, fica então a sugestão para a querida Marta e para todos os que a quiserem testar.

ingredientes (para 6 pessoas):

para o frango:

1 frango inteiro, de preferência caseiro, com cerca de 1.5kg

60g manteiga com sal

sal fino e pimenta preta moída na altura

4 dentes de alho, inteiros e com a casca

1 raminho de tomilho fresco

1 cebola pequena, cortada ao meio e com casca

1 folha de louro

8 castanhas cozidas e descascadas

para a couve:

1 couve lombarda (folhas exteriores mais escuras descartadas), cortada em tiras de cerca de 2.5cm.

570g castanhas cozidas e descascadas

75g manteiga sem sal

sal fino e pimenta preta moída na altura

80ml caldo de galinha

80ml vinho branco seco

preparação:

Aquecer o forno a 180ºC.

Tirar  frango do frigorífico cerca de meia hora antes de o cozinhar.

Esfregar o frango com a manteiga com sal e temperar, por dentro e por fora, com sal e pimenta a gosto.

Colocar os alhos, o tomilho, as metades da cebola, as castanhas e a folha do louro, na cavidade do frango.

Colocar o frango numa assadeira e levar ao forno por 50 minutos.

Findo esse tempo, retirar o frango da assadeira, colocá-lo num prato e reservar.

Aumentar a temperatura do forno para 200ºC.

Na assadeira onde se assou o frango e ao molho e todos os sedimentos que lá ficaram, juntar a couve, as castanhas e 60g de manteiga sem sal.

Temperar de sal e pimenta e envolver tudo muito bem.

Levar a assadeira ao forno por cerca de 10 minutos.

Findo esse tempo, retirar a assadeira do fono, adicionar o caldo de galinha e o vinho e mexer tudo muito bem.

Pincelar toda a superfície do frango com os restantes 15g de manteiga e colocar o frango de volta na assadeira, sobre a mistura de couve e castanhas.

Levar ao forno por mais 10 a 15 minutos, ou até o frango estar bem douradinho e completamente cozido.

Deixar o frango repousar por 15 minutos antes de servir.

Recipe / Receita:

Chicken katsu curry burger / Hamburger de frango com molho de caril katsu.

First of all, I start by saying sorry to the ones that try to comment on my blog but can't find the comments box.
Blogger and Google+ together are a disaster and the amount of messages I received this week from people that was complaining that they couldn't comment on my blog was a nightmare.
I didn't do any changes at all!! It's just that Blogger and Google+ combination that definitely doesn't work!!!
So, if you really want to comment, you need to click directly on the post title instead of trying to comment from the blog link. Annoying I know and I'm getting tired of this but, until I decide to change, theres nothing I can do...
Saying that, let's go to today's suggestion!

Coconut and turmeric chicken curry with roasted pumpkin / Caril de frango, com coco, açafrão das índias e abóbora assada.

This curry was marked down to be tried since the day I bought Simmone Logue fabulous "In the Kitchen" book, from which I already made this fabulous cake and this delicious salad.

As the super talented Maria Midões challenged us to work together with asian recipes this month, I couldn't waste the opportunity to present this recipe to Maria and, maybe (who knows), be lucky enough to see the recipe reproduced and styled by Maria herself.

I love this kind of fragrant asian food and this curry exceeded all my expectations, as the combination of flavours, textures and aromas, is just incredible and utterly delicious!

ingredients for the curry paste (serves 6):

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger

1 lemongrass stem, pale part only

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 large red chilli

2 red asian shallots, peeled

method:

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have a paste.

for the chicken curry:

500g pumpkin (jap or kent - I used butternut squash), peeled and cut into large chunks

6 tbsp vegetable oil

270ml coconut milk

270ml coconut cream

6 kaffir lime leaves

800g skinless free range chicken breast fillets, sliced into strips

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp light brown sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

juice of 1 lime, plus extra lime wedges, to serve

250g cherry tomatoes, cut in half

6 kale stalks, leaves roughly chopped

3 tbsp fried shallots (shop bought or deep fry it yourself)

45g fresh coriander, roughly chopped

method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the pumpkin on the baking tray and drizzle with 2 tbsp of the vegetable oil.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and bake for 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.

In a large heavy based saucepan, heat the remaining vegetable oil over medium high heat.

Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until the oil has split out of the paste.

Turn the heat down to medium, add the coconut milk, coconut cream and lime leves and cook gently for a further 5 minutes.

Add the chicken strips to the pan, mixing the sauce through, then cook with the lid on for 8 minutes. It is very important at this point that the sauce is just thinking over very slowly as you want the chicken to poach gently so it is lovely and tender.

Stir in the fish sauce, sugar, salt and lime juice and check the seasoning.

Add the pumpkin, tomatoes and kale and cook for 5 minutes.

Serve the curry sprinkled with the fried shallots and coriander, with lime wedges and steamed rice on the side.

__________________

Este caril estava marcado para ser reproduzido e testado, desde o dia que comprei este livro lindo da Simmone Logue, o "In the Kitchen". Deste livro, se bem se lembram, já fiz este bolo maravilhoso e esta salada divina.

A receita foi sendo adiada e outras lhe passaram à frente, mas assim que vi este desafio da nossa super talentosa Maria Midões, pensei logo que seria esta a receita que iria preparar para o desafio de receitas asiáticas da querida Maria Midões.

Caso tenha a sorte de a Maria seleccionar esta receita, cozinhá-la e fazer o styling da mesma, à boa maneira e com o extremo bom gosto a que a Maria já nos habituou, ficarei super feliz da vida e muito vaidosa.

Caso isso não aconteça, aconselho-vos a reproduzir esta maravilha, pois é absolutamente delicioso, aromático, picante, mas ao mesmo tempo, fresco e, sobretudo, completamente viciante.

Todos os ingredientes são facilmente encontrados numa boa loja de produtos asiáticos.

ingredientes para a pasta do caril (serves 6):

1 colher chá de açafrão das índias (curcuma)

1 pedaço de gengibre fresco (tamanho de um pulgar)

1 talo de lemongrass, parte clara

2 dentes de alho, descascados

1 malagueta vermelha (red chilli)

2 chalotas asiáticas, descascadas

preparação:

Colocar todos os ingredientes no copo do robot de cozinha e processar até obter uma pasta.

para o caril de frango:

500g abóbora (jap ou kent - eu usei squash), descascada e cortada em pedaços grandes

6 colheres sopa de óleo vegetal

270ml leite de coco

270ml creme de coco

6 folhas de lima kaffir

800g peitos de frango (do campo ou frango caseiro), sem pele e cortados em tiras

1 colher sopa de fish sauce

1 colher sopa de açúcar mascavado claro

1/2 colher chá de sal

sumo de 1 lima, mais gomos ou quartos de lima extra, para servir

250g tomate cherry, cortados ao meio

6 folhas de couve kale, picadas grosseiramente

3 colheres sopa de chalotas crocantes (caso não queiram comprar, cortem chalotas em rodelas super finas, fritem na fritadeira e escorram sobre papel absorvente, foi o que eu fiz).

45g coentros frescos, picados grosseiramente

preparação:

Aquecer o forno a 180ºC. Forrar com papel vegetal um tabuleiro de ir ao forno.

Colocar a abóbora no tabuleiro, regar com 2 das colheres de sopa do óleo e temperar de sal e pimenta.

Entretanto, num tacho de fundo espesso, sobre lume médio a alto, aquecer o óleo restante.

Adicionar a pasta de caril e cozinhar, mexendo sempre, por cerca de 5 minutos, ou até o óleo se separar e o molho ficar com aspecto de que talhou.

Baixar o lume para médio e adicionar o leite, o creme de coco e as folhas de lima. Cozinhar delicadamente, por cerca de 5 minutos.

Adicionar o frango, mexer tudo muito bem e cozinhar, tapando o tacho com a tampa, por cerca de 8 minutos. Atenção que este passo tem de ser delicado, pois o molho tem de cozinhar delicadamente e sem ferver, por forma a que o frango fique cozido, mas macio e suculento.

Adicionar o fish sauce, o açúcar, o sal e o sumo da lima. Mexer bem e rectificar os temperos, se necessário.

Adicionar a abóbora assada, os tomates e a couve e cozinhar por mais 5 minutos.

Servir o caril polvilhado com as chalotas crocantes e os coentros picados e acompanhado dos quartos de lima e de arroz cozido.

Recipe / Receita: