Same dish with different flavours...

[WhitefieldFoodie Profile]

I have realised that every week I do a one pan chicken roast dish but tend to do all manner of flavours.

One is chicken and potatos with chilli, garlic, loads of olive oil, rosemary and the whey from mozzerella and this has gone all the way through to harissa chicken and butternut squash.

But it's all a full, free range chicken jointed up marinaded laid on spuds or other veg and wanged (technical term) in the top part of my oven for 25/mins with the grill/bottom elements both on.

Does anybody else have a go to process for an easy meal they just slightly tweak flavour wise but it's always the same process?

[jeral Profile]

Most veggie dishes I make that are quick tend to be stir fried or simmered a large frying skillet, so could be Indian or Chinese flavourings, herby, tomato garlicky or creamy like mushroom strog or okra, baby sweetcorns. Does that count as it's basically the same process of hob cooking?

When I used to cook chicken, I'd likewise joint it so the segments could be marinated differently (tikka, yoghurt, ginger/soy, velveting, Kiev-ing, schnizel) but as the cooking method usually differed also it wouldn't qualify for this thread.

PS: Congrats to you both

[Alexandria Profile]

Uncertain if this qualifies however the main ingredient is the same ..

Linguini or Spaghetti:

Puttanesca
Marinara
Carbonara
Pesto
Pecorno Sardo or Reggiano Parmesan & Butter
Italian Evoo & garlic with air dried red horned shaped 1 inch chili pepper



Hope you had a lovely time in Benidorm & Playa San Juan.

[wargarden Profile]

sounds like the deference between:
drenched chicken and chicken a la Maryland
drenched chicken uses giblets and stock in sauce
chicken a la maryland uses bacon on top and milk in sauce
both are pan fried chicken dredge in seasoned flour

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Like Member 461 I often turn to a quick pasta

Sometimes I turn to oriental noodles in soup or variations on a Singapore noodle theme

Or a stir fry with rice or noodles

I usedto do a lot of variations on a theme of pork or occasionally lamb chops a bit like the chicken bake but I seem to have got out of the habit.

[Binky Profile]

I have been racking my brains to think of something, but all I can come up with is pasta dishes or various vegetable bakes (mixture of veg and different toppings - breadcrumbs, cheese or nuts).

Soup is pretty much the same procedure whatever the ingredients are. Does that count?

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I suppose my quiches turn out a bit like that. Pastry is always the same; egg custard is always the same; added cheese is always the same. BUT the fillng tends to be what ever I´ve got in the fridge. Could be leek and bacon, or mixed veg, or broccoli and anchovies, or simply a pepper and courgette layer.

[Binky Profile]

ooh, karadekoolaid, you have reminded of an absolutely delicious onion quiche that we bought from a boulangerie in Normandy.

It was warm from the oven, and with a lovely cake from their display case and a drink from the fridge, it made one of those perfect picnics that stay in the memory banks.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Yes kka you have reminded me that I too make slightly random quiches and frittatas, consistent in method but varying quite a lot in detail and outcomes

I’ll probably make more of the sort of bake/gratin Binky mentions now I’ve found out how easy they are in the combi oven

WFF I don’t want to annoy Tiff by adding a great tome to your collection, but this is related to what Nikki Segnit does in her latest book Lateral Cooking (her first was The Flavour Thesaurus). I don’t own it, but I’ve seen it and heard her talk about it more than once and I suspect you’d like it. What she does in each chapter is to take a very simple starting recipe and work through all the variations in increasing complexity, so bread starts with a flatbread made with just flour and water and then goes through all the breads you’d expect. It’s all very carefully worked out and tested so if the bread chapter starts with a recipe for 500g of flour then all other bread recipes use that unit, so you can get a feel for the proportions of ingredients

[Joanbunting Profile]

I guess I do ring the changes with a basic quiche or omelette base also with things I cook a la Lyonaise ie in foil on a bed of sliced potato and onion - can be fish, chicken lamb or pork with a variety of herbs and seasonings.

[jeral Profile]

Binky, I've just remembered that there's a method on the internet somewhere of making French onion soup in a microwave, i.e. eliminating the laborious stirring for 45mins bit. Might be a good way of preparing and caramelising onions ready for such a quiche if home made.

[Binky Profile]

the interesting thing is that the onions weren't caramelised. Well cooked to be sure, but still pale/golden rather than brown.

[Joanbunting Profile]

Jeral you don't need to stir the pot for 45 mins to make onion soup. You just need a heavy pan over a low heat and stir from time to time.

[Amyw Profile]

I did read a newspaper article , from possibly Diana Henry recently about how anyone can learn to cook. You just need to master a basic technique or knowledge then start mixing it up by subbing different ingredients , changing the protein element, or the spices/herbs/flavourings to extend their repertoire.

A few examples I can think of I do

Tonight I’m doing a stir fry using pork loin steaks beaten out . It could have as easily been chicken , prawns or beef strips . I’m using a stir fry veg mix which I lazily almost do and my holy trinity of garlic , ginger and chilli and a bit of soy sauce , which always feature in my stirfrys . Having rice tonight , though sometimes will be noodles , or just the stir fry on its own . I normally add a bit of honey with pork and sesame oil. I could add coconut milk , lime leaves, rice wine vinegar , Chinese cooking wine or some curry paste . Will see how I feel later .

Roast chicken - cooking time and technique is always the same . Normally I use lemon garlic and thyme to flavour mine but I’ve gone Indian , Asian and Moroccan before .

Risotto - always features arborio rice , onion, garlic , stock and wine and the same cooking method . Could go chicken and mushroom , seafood and fennel , pea and mint , or just loads of cheeze

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

Nigel Slater's book Appetite is a bit like the Diana Henry article. all the recipes include variations on the same theme. but there are probably loads of other books doing the same sort of thing.

My tomato based pasta/pizza sauce changes according to what i have in the fridge, veg rack or freezer. It sometimes gets turned into a shakshuka or Med Veg bake/gratin as well.
As do soups, quiches and frittattas like others have already mentioned. Also meatball mix also easily becomes burgers or meatloaf, and again the meat or poultry can be changed providing it's available in minced form!

I have made a barbecue sauce that goes with all kinds of meats and poultry.

[Binky Profile]

Sorry to be a lazy old t@rt, but what is shakshuka?

I have come across that word several times on this website but am none the wiser!

[Amyw Profile]

Basically eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce , usually with peppers. Middle Eastern fish , great for brunch . There’s also menemen which is Turkish and hueveros rancheros which is Mexican and all along a similar vein .

I’m no expert as to what’s correctly authentic but I would usually serve huevos rancheros with a tortilla and add things like avocado and chorizo to it sometimes and use more middle eastern spicing for shakshuka. Love them all though, big egg fan !!

[Amyw Profile]

Oh and also eggs in purgatory which is Italian , knew I’d missed one !!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

C an of worms Binky!

Translated on menus quite often as baked eggs, which imo is wrong

All around the western and southern Mediterranean you get dishes of eggs and veg cooked together the versions best known to people of our age are the Basque piperade (eggs scrambled with an onion, pepper (capsicum) and tomato stew and huevos flamencos, a similar stew with added pimentos and the eggs poached (or baked if you must) in the stew

I first had shakshuka (by name) cooked by a Bedouin in Sinai. Almost indistinguishable from Basque piperade with softly scrambled egg. Very good. We later did a dance that I had learned in Thessaloniki in Greece and he regarded as local - this stuff travels

Shakshuka also crops up in the Maghreb - Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, the Berber region. The Berbers definitely poach the eggs in the spiced veg stew, almost any kind of veg stew can be used, so sometimes it’s almost huevos flamencos, sometimes it’s not. Arto der Haroutunian gives a number of recipes in North African Cookery, including one based on a spiced cauliflower stew.

Popular hipster brunch, especially in the Israeli version (poached)

Here’s a slightly unusual green Israeli version, I haven’t made it but I trust Honey and Co
https://www.patricianiven.com/journal/2016/3/31/honey-cos-incredibly-delicious-green-shakshuka-in-this-weekends-ft-magazine

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Oh and also eggs in purgatory which is Italian , knew I’d missed one !!

Good call, I forgot that too