{tinza's tiny good things #10}

{roast chicken at Chota House}

 Last night I cooked myself a lovely roast chicken! Sometimes I like to cook a big meal--the kind I would do if I were entertaining--even if it's just for 1. Because the truth is: we should do things for ourselves just as much as for others.... and why shouldn't you, just because you're in lockdown or you're living on your own?
More than ever it's important to eat well and remember the #tinygoodthings.
I did the same for Easter Sunday, and cooked up a big roast lamb.

The good thing about roasts is they make so many yummy leftovers...& the great thing about roast chickens is the broth, which I use in bolognese, risottos, stews: the list is endless!
x
L

{à manger-beef stew}

This stew is a play on a number of stews...and very much  a bit of mixings of stuff I felt like eating! Because of that I don't have a handle really on proportions...but the idea is there & I'm sure you can follow if you are anything of an amateur cook!
It's really yummy comfort food and a perfect dish for autumn or winter.
Preheat oven to 180C
cooking time: roughly 1 hour

Ingredients
strips of beef
a large leek
about 8 small potatoes
a few mushrooms
a teaspoon of flour
a dash of wine
salt, pepper
rosemary
thyme
handful or 2 of parsley
teaspoon of vegetable or beef stock (the powder kind)


1. I like my potatoes nice and roasted so I do them separately and add them in at the last minute. So first step, boil potatoes (cut into roasting size or slightly smaller) for about 4 minutes. Drain them and keep the water. Place them on a roasting tray with oil & salt and place them in the oven.

2. cut up the leeks, the mushrooms and place in a casserole with parsley. Add some salt, pepper, fresh rosemary & thyme & stock. Add in the beef strips (I had about two handfuls worth). sprinkle with a bit of flour. Then stir, and then add in about 2 cups of the potato water... and add a dash of wine.

3. Place in oven and cook around 20 minutes without lid. Then stir, put on lid, and check on potatoes (rotate a bit to make sure all parts get nice and crispy).

4. After another 20 minutes, check to see how everything is doing. You might add in some more wine if things aren't looking too brown...or add about a quarter of a teaspoon of marmite to brown it up (& make it tasty). Place potatoes on top of the stew and remove lid; cook a little longer until everything looks well done (about 10-20 minutes).

5. ENJOY!

{garnish with fresh parsley and some freshly grated parmesan}

xo
L

{dark chocolate tart recipe}

I'm not a big fan of dessert, but I like really dark chocolate... The other weekend we celebrated my cousin Charley's belated birthday so I decided to make a dark chocolate tart.
I followed this recipe from the Dough Puncher, which in pics looks like this:

{dough puncher chocolate tart}

I couldn't get graham crackers in the Uk (well I ordered them-a whole box was going to cost me 6 quid-gulp, but then they were out anyway). So instead, I just used some butter tea biscuits. They were good, but I should've used an extra one or 2 as there wasn't enough of them to mix with the butter... I also used Lyle's golden syrup for the glaze--this also seemed to be a little stingy--not enough to really go around on the tart...

but all in all, if I must say, it was delicious! It's really rich though so you don't need very big pieces per person. I also added rock salt on top, which added a nice dimension to it.

{mixing the chocolate}

{I love my pink mixer!}

& voilà...I stencilled 'choo' with a top hat, moustache & bow tie on top:

& then we ate hearty!
xo
L