Food & Wine

Me Come Dine With

Sticky Chinese chicken traybake

Prep:10 mins Cook:40 mins plus marinating Serves 4

Flavoured with honey, hoisin sauce and Chinese five-spice, this one-pan chicken dish makes a cheap and easy midweek family meal

INGREDIENTS

• 8 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in • 4 tbsp hoisin sauce • 2 tsp sesame oil • 2 tbsp clear honey • 1 ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder • thumb-sized knob of ginger, grated • 2 garlic cloves, grated • bunch spring onions, chopped • 50g cashew nuts, toasted • cooked brown rice, to serve

METHOD

STEP 1

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Arrange the chicken thighs in a large roasting tin and slash the skin 2-3 times on each thigh. Mix together the hoisin, sesame oil, honey, five-spice, ginger, garlic and some seasoning. Pour over the chicken and toss to coat – you could now marinate the chicken for 2 hrs, or overnight if you have time. Roast, skin-side up, for 35 mins, basting at least once.

STEP 2

• Stir through the cashew nuts and sprinkle the spring onions over the chicken.

Return to the oven for 5 mins, then serve with brown rice.

Quick sausage bolognese

Prep: 5 mins Cook:15 mins Serves 4

flavour to a simple dish

INGREDIENTS

• 6 good-quality sausages , skins removed • 1 tsp fennel seed • 250g pack mushroom, sliced • 150ml red wine (optional) • 660g jar tomato pasta sauce (we used Loyd

Grossman’s tomato & chilli) • 300g penne • grated or shaved parmesan, to serve

METHOD STEP 1

• Heat a large, wide frying pan, then crumble in the sausage meat and fennel seeds (there’s no need to add any oil). Fry for a few mins until golden and the fat is released, stirring well to break up the meat. Add the mushrooms and fry for a few mins until beginning to soften.

Stir in the wine now, if using, bubble for 1 min, then add the tomato sauce and heat through until bubbling.

STEP 2

• Meanwhile, boil the penne.

When ready, drain and tip into the sauce. Mix well until completely coated, then divide between four plates, finishing with a little parmesan.

RECIPE TIPS

• Using the meat from goodquality sausages is an easy way to get lots of flavour into mince dishes without having to add extra herbs, spices and seasoning.

The best wine for spaghetti

HERE are some wine and spaghetti pairings that will leave everyone happy enough to sing Puccini around the dinner table.

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE (Spaghetti and Meatballs)

WINE PAIRING: Chianti

WHY IT WORKS: There is absolutely no reason to get too complicated when it comes to spaghetti and meatballs. It’s a quintessential Italian dish, so go with the date you brought to the prom with a quintessential Italian wine.

Come on – it’s a classic. Everyone with a grandmother who’s even a quarter Italian has their nonna’s meatball recipe available at all times. These same people will fight you if you even suggest that it isn’t the single greatest meatball recipe in creation and for all eternity.

This rich, dark red complements the herbs and tomato sauce beautifully, while those heavier tannins are going to scrape your tongue clean of greasy beef with every sip.

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA

WINE PAIRING: Soave

WHY IT WORKS: In addition to a nice bit of acidity that slices its way through fat, Soave’s got an unexpected bit of salinity to it, as well.

Loaded with eggs and bacon, Primavera Carbonara should probably have a “do not operate heavy equipment after consuming” warning label anywhere it’s served. It’s rich and incredibly filling: so the wine that goes with it is going to need to cut right through that.

This pairs perfectly with a dish that sports some serious sodium. It’s light and graceful: the opposite of how you’ll feel after you finish a bowl of Primavera Carbonara. Plus, it’s generally pretty inexpensive!

SPAGHETTI ALL’ARRABBIATA (Spicy Spaghetti)

WINE PAIRING: Primitivo

WHY IT WORKS: A lighter-bodied red with a cinnamon-like sweetness which should compliment the spice in this classic pasta.

For when you prefer your spaghetti with a little spice! Arrabbiata sauce is known for the heat of its chili peppers. And like a lot of spicy foods, this can mean a pleasant tingling sensation, or a 5-alarm emergency. You need the right wine to appreciate those flavors.

Primitivo (aka Zinfandel) is a multi talented wine: especially when it comes to spicier foods. It’s fruity-spiced flavors help bring out all the complexity in chili pepper.