Lawang - Afghan braised chicken

Not a single piece left behind for photos.

Ingredients

• 500 ml(2 cups) Greek-style yoghurt
• 1 x 1.5 kgchicken
• plain flour, for dusting
• 80 ml(⅓ cup) vegetable oil
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 4cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbspfinely chopped ginger
• 2 tspground turmeric
• 1 tbspground coriander
• 8cardamom pods, bruised
• 1cinnamon stick
• 185 ml(¾ cup) chicken stock
• 1 bunch coriander, chopped
• steamed basmati rice and lemon wedges, to serve

Instructions

Bring the yoghurt to room temperature while you prepare the chicken. Place the chicken on a board, breast-side up. Using a large, sharp knife, remove the legs by cutting through the thigh joint, then cut through the leg joint to separate the thighs from the drumsticks. Cut through each side of the back bone and discard backbone or reserve it for making stock. Place the chicken, skin-side down, on the board then cut through the breast bone to give two whole breasts, with wings attached. Cut each breast in half on a slight diagonal through the bone, about two thirds of the way up the breast.

Dust each piece of chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Heat half the oil in a large heavy-based casserole  pan over medium. Add the chicken, in batches if necessary, season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook, turning often, for about 10 minutes or until golden all over. Carefully pour off any excess oil and remove the casserole pan from the heat. 

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring often, for 6-7 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add the spices and cook, stirring, for another 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add the stock and bring to a simmer, then pour the mixture over the chicken in the casserole pan. Return the casserole pan to medium-low heat and bring the liquid back to a simmer; the chicken will not be in any way covered by liquid but it will produce extra liquid as it cooks. Cover the casserole, then cook the chicken for about 30 minutes, turning once, or until cooked through. Remove from the heat.

Combine about half the hot cooking liquid with the yoghurt in a bowl and stir to combine well. Pour into the casserole and stir to combine with the liquid in the casserole. Heat briefly and gently, taking care not to let the yoghurt mixture get too hot or it will curdle. Serve immediately scattered with coriander, with steamed rice and lemon wedges.

Farm chicken with polenta

Another traditional recipe from my region. I had a huge craving this week and had to make it. The family loved and although I cooked a lot of food, there's nothing left.

This recipe asks for farm chicken or cock. Since I didn't have any of those at home and my craving wouldn't allow me to wait for the next day, I cooked a regular chicken, but instead of using a pressure cooker, I cooked it for 2 hours in low heat.
The chicken/cock:

1 big pan
2 onions, finnely chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 cubes of chicken stock
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbspoons of soy sayce
1 tspoon of cumin
1 tspoon of pepper
1 tspoon of ground nut meg
1/2 tspoon of safron
1 lime, squeezed
3 chilli peppers, chopped
parsley and chives (as much as you want)
salt
the chicken: dismembered
Put all the ingredients on a pressure cook (if using farm chicken or cock) for 20 minutes. Don't add water or oil.

Polenta

2 cubes of chicken stock
500g of cornmeal
1 onion, finnely chopped
1 tomato, choppoed
2 chilli, chopped
200mL of coconut milk
parsely, chives and spring onions (as much as you want)
salt

Mix all the ingredients with 1/2 littre of  water to boil the 2 chicken stock cubes, 1 tbspoon of butter and 1 tspoon of salt. Add the cornmeal little by little until it is dissolved. Lastely, add the coconut milk and mix it up until it's time to serve (30 min of mixing at least). This polenta tastes very differently because of the coconut flavour. The other ingredients you use to top the polenta and decorate the dish.

Okra and corn stu

6 corn cobs - remove the corn from the cobs
1 tbspoon of oil
250g of chopped okra (about 1cm each piece)
1 onion, chopped
2 cups of water
1 tspoon of paprika
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
parsley, chives and spring onions (chopped)
salt

Cook everything for 15 min. I tend to add a lot of ground pepper for it releases the flavour of the fresh corn.
Serve it all with white rice
 
Pic: http://stat.correioweb.com.br/arquivos/divirta/materias2007/dondurica_interna_menorrr.jpg

super crunchy roast chicken wings

As I said in a previous post, I always buy a whole chicken and cut it myself. Which means I tend to cook my favourite parts and end up with lots of chicken wings in my freezer. I've tried loads of different ways of preparing it but the reception was always lukewarm. Until I decided to roast them as I describe below, which hit a spot here in my house. Ever since then, we look forward to have enough chicken wings to prepare this.

At least 8 chicken wings
soy sauce
1 lime or lemon (I prefer lime)
rock salt

This is as easy as it gets:

Defrost the chicken wings over night and before preparation (while you get the other things in the cupboards), spray them with a lime (or half a lemon). This is to dehidrate the skin and make it crunchier. Put them on a roasting tray and put some soy sauce on them. The sauce is NOT for flavour but to give them a brown irresistible look when roasted. I use one drop on each wing and spread it on the top surface.
Sprinkle them with rock salt.
Roast for 45 min in 180C.

That's it. It should be so crunchy that you can actually eat the tips of the wings, the bones just fall apart.

It's finger food and kids love it (and it's healthier than the fried version). I generally serve it with coleslaw, salad, bread... things like that

Rice noodles with chicken and veggetables tempura

500g of chicken breast
2 cups of flour
1 can of lager (beer)
garlic, crushed or chopped finnely
2 carrots
4 little caulyflowers
1 onion (chopped lenghtwise, about 0.5 -1 cm wide)
any other veggetable you want to use, like pepper, pumpking, etc...
oil (enough to fry)
cold water
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 tspoon of mustard (or wasabi - Japanese horseradish)
1 tspoon of grated radish (optional)
1 pack of rice noodles (I buy mine fresh from Tescos)

Wash the chicken breast under tap water and with a bit of lime or vinegar. Cut it in cubes (not too small, around 1-2cm). Season it with the garlic.
 
In a deep bowl, add the flour and the beer, little by litthe, mixing it with a fork. You want to obtain a thick cream that will cover the chicken easily. You'll probably use about 80% of the beer can in this. It is important to keep this dough very cold, so if you want you can do it inside a tray with ice.
Dunk every piece of chicken in it, making sure there is a generous cover in each. Fry until golden and put it aside, on top of some 4 layers of paper kitchen towel, to absorb the excess of oil. Keep it warm

Peel the carrots and cut them lenghtwise. Cut all your veggetables. Boil them slightely (2 min). Using the same dough as before, cover them all and fry them for 2-3 min. I prefer to put a big chunk of mixed veggetables in the frying pan, so they fry together and make a little "disk" of fryied veggies. Remove the excess of oil on the kitchen towel.
For the sauce, just mix it all together (the mustard, the soy sauce and the radish)

I serve them like this: on a bowl, I put the rice noodles (about 1-2 handfulls) and heat it on the microwave or the hob. I like to add a little boiling water to them after they are hot, and I add about less than 1/4 cup of boiling water - not enough to cover it, just enough to keep it moist and a bit wet. On top of it I put the chicken, on top of the chicken the veggetables tempura and them the sauce.

Serve it hot and it's far easier to eat with chopsticks.

Frango Xadrez (Chinese chicken)

Time of preparation: 45 min

2tbspoons of olive oil
2 onions, chopped in cubes
2 crushed garlics
500g of chicken breast, chopped in cubes
salt
1 green pepper in cubes
1 red pepper in cubes
1 yellow pepper in cubes
1 cup of canned mushroons, halved
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 tbspoon of corn flour
1/2 cup of water
2 tbspoon of roast peanuts

1. On a big frying pan or wok, add 1tbspoon olive oil, onion and garlic and fry until golden
2. Put it on a plate and put it aside
3. Add 1 tbspoon of olive oil to the same pan and fry the peppers and mushroons for 5 min
4 Put it aside
5. Same pan again, fry the chicken until golden
6. Put all the ingredients back on the pan and mix them constantly with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes
7. Mix the soy sauce, the corn flour and water, stirring it well
8. Add to the chicken mix and stirr it until you get a thick sauce
9. Put it on a serving dish and sprinkle with the peanuts
10. Serve it hot

Pic: http://www.plansol.com.br/vilhena/images/receitas/frango_xadrez.jpg

Chicken, spinach and yellow pepper rice

I was expecting some guests this weekend and I set up my mind to prepare them stuffed orange peppers (at my husband's request). Unfortunatelly they couldn't make it and I'm stuck with a lot of orange peppers in the fridge. Googling around to found a recipe that uses the peppers, I came accross this one. Just cooked it for dinner and it's absolutely delicious. Very subtil in the flavours, so we grated some parmesan on top to give it a bit more body, just before serving.

Ingredients


1 tbsp Olive oil
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped
300 g plump short or medium-grained white rice
150ml white wine or verjus
1-1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
125g chicken, cooked
40g spinach leaves
black pepper

Method

1. Place the stock in a small saucepan and bring to simmering point.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the yellow pepper and fry, stirring often, until the pepper has softened but not browned. Add the rice and continue cooking and stirring for 1-2 minutes, until the rice is translucent and shiny.

3. Pour the wine or verjus into the pan of rice and simmer until it has almost evaporated. Add a ladle of the hot stock to the rice and cook, stirring constantly, over a low heat until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock to the rice a little at a time and stirring until the liquid has been absorbed, for about 17 minutes.

4. When the rice is almost done, add the chicken and the spinach leaves and stir to mix evenly. Allow to heat through for 2-3 minutes, then adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Chicken Gumbo Recipe

That's a lot of Gumbo. If you cut the ingredients in half you still get a decent "serves 4" recipe.

2 whole, boned, chicken breasts

6 strips bacon, cut into 2.5cm pieces
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1l chicken stock
6 plum tomatoes chopped
100g sweetcorn (best if from the cob)
300g okra, cut into 1cm pieces
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
70g uncooked rice
1.2l water

Hot Chilli Sauce to season
black pepper to season
Creole Seasoning, to season
parsley to garnish

Fry the bacon in a large pan then remove and set aside. Dredge the chicken in the flour and brown on all sides in the pan. Pour the chicken broth over the browned chicken in the pan and bring to a boil. Add all the remaining ingredients (except the seasonings - last 4 itens on the list above) and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and season before serving (add the bacon back at the end of cooking if you wish).

Pic: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB50dpiBNDBg2rCt5qF7U3vdl3zNk3gNCPNGA9smJPa2ASh541H1n3ysXr5qi3P8JMb0is2Q_ItPzqmXSCh_m06U_d1XXHGtcyEvKKwSrKNtahoFfySFhABZdcibYMESjec6L6Q6ZTqbfV/s400/Chicken+Gumbo.jpg

Chicken rice, Minas Gerais style (Galinhada mineira)

Time of preparation: 2h

This is a big recipe for a gathering, for example.. for just my small family I reduce it by half.

5 cups of long grain rice (I use just 2)
800 g of chicken breast (I use just 150-200g)
800g of chicken parts (wings, thighs, drumstick, etc)  - I use parts of 1 chicken only or even half that

4 tomatoes
3 onions
parsley and chives
3 limes
olive oil
pepper
salt
Prepare the beans as normal, cooking it and put aside. Slice the sausage , fry it and put aside.
Cut the chiken in pieces (about 1-2cm) and season them with salt and garlic. In medium heat, heat up the oil in a sauce pan and fry 2 chopped onions. Add the chicken, moving it constantly. When the sauce dries up and the saucepan botton starts to look dark brown add a bit of water, enough to soften this dry brown sauce and continue to mix it. Repeat this several times. It is important to have patience, for you need to dry it and soften it several times, until the chicken itself becomes darkened (it takes 20 min to 30 min).

Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to caramelise the chicken.

Add the rice, mix it well and cover it with boiling water up to 2cm on top of the rice line. When it boils again, lower the heat. Cover the pan and let it cook in low heat. When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and keep the pan covered.
Slice the tomatos and the onions in small cubes. Add parsley, chives and season with lime, olive oil, black pepper, salt and a bit of water. Put it on a fridge (as if making a vinaigrette)
Serve it all with a good spicy sauce (such as tabasco sauce) on the side.

Chicken breast in spinach sauce

Chicken breast (the recipe asks for 10 steaks of chicken breast, but it's just 2 of us, so I just made 4)
1/2 lime or lemon
salt/pepper
butter

Spinach sauce

1/2 a pack of spinach (supermarket packs) or 1 bunch of spinach, cooked and drained
1 tbspoon of finnely chopped onion
1 clove of garlic, finnely chopped
2 tbspoons of butter
1 tbspoon of flour
700ml of milk (I used less, since I made half the recipe for just 2 people...so I used around 300ml)
salt and pepper
parmesan to sprinkle on top of it all
double cream (about 2 tbspoons) - optional...I made mine yesterday without and it was really good (I didn't have any at home and my spinach wasn't going to last another day)

Blend the spinach and the milk. In a pan, fry the garlic and onion in the butter. Add the spinach and milk mix. In a small glass, mix the flour in a bit of milk. Add to the pan stirring well. Let it thicken and check the salt and pepper. If you are adding the double cream, turn off the hob and add it.

Season the chicken breast with the lime/lemon, salt and pepper. Fry them in butter. Serve the chicken and put the sauce on top. Sprinkle it with (a lot of) parmesan.

Chicken pie

Dough:
4 eggs
1 cup of oil
1 cup of milk
3 cups of flour
1 tbspoon of baking powder
salt


Filling

1/2kg of cooked and threaded chicken
6 tomatoes
1 onion
1 can of peas
1 can of sweet corn
optional: a handful of olives (chopped)
Mix the dough ingredients in the blender. Transfer it to a bowl and add the filling Mix it delicately and transfer it to a greased tray.

Bake it in a pre-heated oven (medium heat) for around 30 min. Check with toothpick (if its clear, its done)

Roast chicken thighs - portuguese style

I cooked this for lunch today and it's soooo easy and delicious we had to repeat. As with most of the posts in this blog, the pic is not mine, I found it on google images, but mine looked just like it. Besides, most times there is no time to take pictures because we just devour it all...And I'm not that good in decorating anyway. There are much more talented people around.

4-6 garden variety potatoes, peeled and in quarters
2 tomatos, in quarters
1/2 lime, divided in 4 pieces (or 1 lime in quarters)
6 garlics WITH their skins (but you can mash them with your hands a bit)
olive oil
rock salt
4-6 chicken thighs (but I used drumsticks too and it's also good)
black olives

Spread the potatoes in an oven proof tray (better if it's a pretty one, for it can be served just like that when done) and do the same to the tomatos. Put each piece of lime in the corners of the tray and spread the garlic around too. Place the chicken pieces in the tray, in a very spread fashion, so that you have chicken...potatoes...chicken...potatoes.
Give it all a good wash with olive oil (remember, portuguese style - the more, the merrier) some pepper if you want and spread rock salt on top of it all.
Roast it all in 180-190 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove it and spread the olives on top of it (I use a handfull and give it another drizzle of olive oil). Roast for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve with some salad

Chicken with Creamed Corn II

My mum came to visit last month and helped with cooking (she does cook very well). She corrected one of my recipes, the creamed corn. I never really got that recipe from her, I just cooked it as I remembered it, using double cream. Apparently she never used cream and all she did was use corn flour. So here's her take on that.

Breast chicken steaks or fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 can of corn or frozen corn (defrosted)
1 can of milk
1-2 tbspoons of cornflour
salt

Blend the corn and the milk for some 15 seconds (more if you don't want little pieces of corn)
Add it to a hob and add the cornflour. Mix it until it boils and then reduce the heat, letting it cook (don't forget to mix it, always) until it reaches the consistency you want (a cream).
Check the salt. Turn off the hob, put the lid on.
Fry the steaks on a hot frying pan. Since I'm pregnant, I'm overcooking them all.

Put the steaks on a plate, the cream on top of them and some parsley (optional) to decorate it all.

Serve it with white rice and broccoli salad

PS: both are delicious, but I think I slightely prefer the double cream one. But it's a close call

Chicken and chorizo rice

Time of preparation: 1h30min

1 chicken carcass
1 chorizo
bacon
3 tbspoons of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves
pepper
salt
1 carrot
parsley
long grain rice
3 cloves of garlic

Cook the chiken, the chorizo and the bacon in salt water. When it boils, add the onion, cloves, carrot, pepper and parsley. Let it cook slowly (about 45 min).
Remove the chicken and remove all the meat from it. Slice the carrot and the chorizo. Chop the bacon.

Sieve the broth and remove a bit of the fat. On another pan, add the olive oil and fry the garlic. Add the rice. Add the broth from the chicken (must be double the amount of the rice). Let it boil. When the rice has absorbed most of the water, but is not entirely cooked, remove it from the hob and put it in an oven proof dish. Put half the rice, add the chicken and then the rest of the rice. On top, decorate with the chorizo, bacon and the carrot.
Bake it untill cooked. Serve it with salad

Roasted chicken stuffed with bacon farofa

Farofa is made of rough cassava/manioc flour and spices and it is what we use in Brazil to stuff chicken. So, in order to make farofa, you need to buy the cassava flour or "farinha de mandioca" as we call it in portuguese.

It is worth, though. I just made it today and people were coming back for seconds and third helpings.

Time of preparation: 2h
8 portions

1 whole chicken - the season here is optional. You can season the chicken the way you preffer.
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbspoons of chopped parsley and chives
1 tspoon of thyme
salt/pepper

Put the chicken in a bowl. Mix all the ingredients in a blender, put them on the chicken, cover it and let it absorb the flavours overnight, in the fridge.


Farofa:

1/2 cup of butter OR 1/3 cup of oil
1 onion, chopped finnely
1 clove of garlic, chopped finnely
chopped bacon (about 3) or loddon (a handful)
2 handfulls of kale
2-3 cups of cassava/manioc flour
2 boiled eggs, chopped
4 tbspoons of chopped parsley and chives
salt
pepper

optional: you can also add 3 tbspoons of sweet corn and 2 tbspoons of raisins, if you want to give it a twist every now and then.

Heat up the butter in high heat. Add the onion and garlic, mixing it thoroughly, until the onion is soft. Add the bacon and fry it untill it changes colour (brown/crisp). Add the kale and wait untill they are softer. Add the manioc flour, little by little, mixing it thoroughly. Add the eggs, and the chopped parsley and chives. If you want to add optional itens, now is the time. Check the salt and pepper.

Turn on the oven (gas mark 7). Fill up the chicken with the farofa, closing the gap by stitching it or with toothpicks. Put the chicken on a baking tray and cover it with aluminium foil. Bake it for 45 min, remove the foil and bake it for another 15 min or until golden.

Chicken with creamed corn

time of preparation: 30 min

1 chicken breast with no bones (or chicken breast steaks)
1 can of sweet corn
1/4 cup of milk
1 cup of double cream
1 tbspoon of corn flour
salt
chopped parsley and chives (optional)


Season and grill the chicken steaks. Meanwhile, put the corn in the blender (with the water) and let it blend for 1 min. Make sure that it is not too liquid (its good to have some pieces of corn).
On a pan, dissolve the corn flour with the milk and let it thicken. Add the corn, let it get hot and at last, turn the heat off and add the double cream. Check for salt.

Put the chicken on a plate and pour the creamed corn on top. If you want, sprinkle with parsley and chives. MUST be served with white rice.

Sweet corn broth

Time of preparation: 2h

6 cobs of corn
1 chicken breast (with the bone for extra flavour, but that is not necessary)
1 tbspoon of saffron
1 big onion, chopped
3 cubes of chicken stock
4 tbspoons of oil
250 of grated cheese (best: muzzarela)
1 cup of chopped parsley and chives
salt
water (enough to cook)

On a big pan, add the oil, 2 cubes of chicken stock, the chicken and more salt (if you think its necessary). Fry it a bit and add enough water to cook the chicken. Let it cook for 45 min, with the lid on.

When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pan, let it cool down and dismantle the whole thing, getting very small fibres of the meat. Don't throw away the water in the pan.
Cut the corn from the cobs and, using a blender, mix small portions of it with the water used to cook the chicken. Add more water, if necessary.
The amount of water must be enough so that the blended corn becomes a cream, slightly thick.

On another big pan, add the rest of the oil, fry the onion, add the saffron and the last chicken stock.

Add the pieces of chicken and cook it until all ingredients have incorporated. Add the blended corn. Let it cook for 20-30 min in medium/high heat, always mixing it so it won't get stuck to the bottom of the pan. Check the salt.

If it is too thick, add water (slowly) to thin it (but don't let it become too thin, it has to be a cream). Serve it in small pots, with muzzarela on the bottom, the broth and sprinkle parsley and chives on top.

Chicken nuggets

How to make it from scratch!!

12 units

1/2 bread (roll)
1/8 cup of water
350 of chicken breast, torn appart
1/2 onion
1/8 cup of double cream
2 tbspoons of parsley
salt

bread crums
oil (enough to fry)

add the water to the bread and mix all the other ingredients (except the bottom 2). Mix it well untill you have a homogeneous mix. Divide it in 12 parts. Mold each nugget (the way you prefer) and put them in the bread crums, frying them in hot oil.

Brazilian chicken soup (Canja de galinha)

This chiken soup is a brazilina tradition. Whenever someone is sick at home, mothers all over the country prepare this easy to digest soup, which helps with morning sickness, nausea, stomach aches, etc.

time of preparation: 1 hour (stove) or 20 min (microwave)

1/2 tbspoon of oil
2 tbspoons of chopped parsley
1/2 cup of rice
3 chopped carrots
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
chicken breast or chicken wings and drumsticks or (my favourite) carcass
1 1/2 litre of boiling water
salt

Heat up the oil and fry the onion, celery and garlic. Add the chicken, the carrots, salt and water. Let it cook (about 30 min). If you are using chicken carcass or wings/drumsticks, remove them from the soup and remove the bones with 2 forks. Return the meat to the pan, and add the rice. Let it cook (generally takes 20 minutes). Serve it with bread.


Microwave:

In a microwave dish, add the oil, onion, celery, chicken, carrots, 1 cup of boiling water and salt. Mix it well, put the lid on and cook it in max potency for 4 minutes. Add the rice and 5 cups of boiling water. Return it to the microwave in max potency for 10 min. Let it rest for 3 minutes and serve it.

Chow Mein

Time of preparations: 40 min
4 portions

1/2 broccoli head
4 packs of noodles (the cheap ones)
2 tbspoons of corn flour
50ml of shoyu
1 onion, chopped lenghtwise
6 leafs of chard, chopped
1/2 head of cauly flower
400ml of chicken stock
1 carrot, chopped lenghtwise
100g of peas
oil (enought to fry)
300g of chicken breast, chopped in small pieces

In a wok, heat up the oil and fry the chicken. Add the cauly flower, the peas and the carrot and let it cook for 3 min. Put in a bowl. Put the wok back on the fire, with the chicken stock and let it boil. Add the chicken and the cooked vegetables, plus the broccoli, chard, onion and the shoyu. Cook it for 5 minutes and add the corn flour, dissolved in a bit of water.

Meanwhile, after cooking the noodles (following the instructions), drain it and fry them in hot oil. Put them in a big bowl and cover with the cooked veggies and chicken. Serve it hot.

First class chicken (Frango nota 10)

This recipe was the most requested in 2008 on a brazilian show like GMTV. We tried and it is absolutely delicious. But I got to warn you, it is caloric.

Time of preparation: 40 min

1kg of chicken breast
salt and pepper
2 cloves of garlic, grated

24 slices of honey cooked ham
24 slices of muzzarela (but cheddar works too)

500ml of tomato sauce mixed with 200ml of water

500ml of double cream
1 can (medium size) of sweet corn

200g of cream cheese, or requeijao, if you can find it (a brazilian cream cheese)
100 g of parmesan, grated

1/2 cup parsley, finelly chopped

Cut the chicken breast, making small long chuncks, with the length of the slice of ham and the width of your finger. We are looking to make little cannellonis here, rolling the chiken breast in the cheese and ham. Season these chunks of breast with salt, pepper and the garlic.

To make the cannellonis: take 1 slice of ham and cover it with 1 slice of cheese. paralell with the longest side of the cheese, place one breast chunck and roll it (lenghtwise): the ham should be the outter part. Repeat the process with all the other chicken chuncks.

In case you haven't yet, mix the tomato sauce with the water and put half of that mixture in an tall oven-proof dish. Put the cannellonis on the bottom, very close together, in the mix of tomato sauce and water. When you finish it, dump the rest of the tomato sauce/water mix on top of it all.

Place the oven-proof dish in a tray with water and place it in a pre-heated oven (gas mark 6) to cook for around 25 min.

Meanwhile, in a blender, mix the double cream and the sweet corn (drained) and blend it for 10 seconds. The aim here is to keep some chuncks in the sauce.

Take the oven-proof dish out of the oven (leaving the oven on) and spread the corn cream on top of the cannellonis and the sauce. On top of the corn cream, spread spoons of cream cheese (it can be irregular, for the cheese will melt and spread). Generously sprinkle the parmesan and the parseley and bake it to brown/melt. Serve it with white rice.