Food & Drink

Chicken souvlaki

Prep:45 mins Cook:40 mins plus at least 3 hrs marinating

Serves 4

Marinate the chicken for these Greek-style spiced kebabs as long as possible to soak up all the flavour and make it really tender. Serve with warm bread, salad and tzatziki.

Ingredients

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

For the marinade

• 4 tbsp olive oil • 2 tsp dried oregano • 1 tsp dried mint • 1 tsp ground cumin • 1 tsp coriander • 1 tsp sweet paprika • ½ tsp ground cinnamon • zest and juice 1 lemon, plus 1 lemon cut into wedges to serve • 4 garlic cloves, crushed

For the pitta wraps

• 250g strong white bread flour • 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast • 1 tsp golden caster sugar • 2 tsp olive oil, plus a little for greasing

For the tzatziki

• ½ cucumber • 200g Greek yogurt • small bunch mint, finely chopped • 1 small garlic clove, crushed • juice ½ lemon

To serve

• 1 butter or round lettuce • 4 large tomatoes, seeds removed, chopped • 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced

You will need

• 4 long metal skewers

Method STEP 1

Tip the chicken into a large bowl and add the marinade ingredients, along with 1 tsp salt and plenty of black pepper. Mix well, ensuring each thigh is well coated. Cover and chill for at least 3 hrs, or up to 48 hrs if you have time.

STEP 2

A few hours before you want to eat, make the pitta. In a bowl, mix the flour, yeast, sugar and 1/ 2 tsp salt with your fingertips. Add 150ml lukewarm water and 2 tsp olive oil, and combine to a dough. Tip onto a work surface and knead for 8-10 mins (or use a tabletop mixer for 5 mins). Clean, then lightly oil your bowl, return the dough and cover loosely with cling film. Leave to rise for 1 hr or until nearly doubled in size.

STEP 3

Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Roll out to circles, as thin as you can. Cover with sheets of oiled cling film and leave to rise for 15-20 mins.

STEP 4

To make the tzatziki, halve the cucumber lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Finely chop, then combine with the remaining ingredients, along with a pinch of salt. Chill until ready to serve.

STEP 5

Heat the grill to its highest setting. Line a roasting tin with foil and find 4 metal skewers long enough to sit across the top with a little space underneath. Remove the chicken from the fridge, take one thigh and thread it over 2 skewers, so it has a skewer through either side. Thread another piece of chicken on top, leaving a slight gap between each piece; you should fit 6 thighs on each pair of skewers. Position the skewers on top of the roasting tin and set aside while you finish the pittas.

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STEP 6

Heat a large frying pan (or two if you have them) over a medium-high heat and brush the breads with oil. Gently lift one into the pan. It should sizzle, and bubbles should appear on the surface after 1-2 mins. When the underside is golden, flip it and cook for another 2-3 mins. Continue until all the breads are cooked, wrapping them in foil as you go. Keep the bread warm in the bottom of the oven while you cook the chicken. Alternatively, cook on the barbecue for 5-8 mins, turning occasionally.

STEP 7

Put the chicken under the hot grill and cook for 15-20 mins, brushing with oil and any juices from the bottom of the tin regularly, and turning halfway through cooking. Once cooked, remove from the oven and rest for 5 mins.

STEP 8

Cut through each pair of skewers to make four kebabs and serve in the warm bread, with lettuce, tomato, red onion, lemon wedges and tzatziki.

Chocolate ice cream

Prep:20 mins

plus at least 6 hrs freezing

Serves 6 - 8

Forget the faff of ice cream makers and custard – this fudgy chocolate ice cream not only tastes divine, it’s easy to make at home too.

Ingredients

• 200g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces • 500ml double cream • 340g can sweetened condensed milk • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 3 tbsp organic cocoa powder, sifted • 50g milk chocolate chips • sea salt flakes, to serve (optional)

Method STEP 1

• Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of just-simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn’t touch the water, or do this in the microwave in 20-second bursts until smooth and glossy.

Leave to cool slightly. Pour the cream, condensed milk and vanilla into a second bowl and beat for three minutes using an electric whisk until slightly thickened and the beaters leave a trail in the mixture when lifted across the bowl. Be careful not to overwhip, as you don’t want the mixture to be too stiff – as soon as the beaters leave a trail, it’s ready. chocolate and cocoa powder into the cream mixture until thoroughly combined, ensuring the spatula is reaching the bottom of the bowl so all the chocolate gets mixed in. Fold in most of the chocolate chips, reserving a small handful. Scrape the mixture into a 1-litre freezerproof container, then scatter over the reserved chocolate chips. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hrs until firm but scoopable. Will keep frozen for up to a month. To serve, scoop the ice cream into chilled bowls or ice cream cones and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt, if you like.

Whisky cocktails

TRY making these favourite whiskey cocktails with these easy recipes. We’ve got a warming hot toddy, a classic old fashioned and even a winter whiskey sour.

OLD FASHIONED

A traditional whisky cocktail with bitters, soda water and a simple orange garnish. Serve in a tumbler with plenty of ice.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tsp sugar syrup or 1 tsp granulated sugar • 1-2 dashes

Angostura bitters • splash of water • 60ml Scotch whisky or bourbon • soda water (optional) • orange slice • maraschino cherry (optional)

METHOD

• Put the sugar, bitters and water in a small tumbler. Mix until the sugar dissolves if using granulated. Fill your glass with ice and stir in the whisky. Add a splash of soda water if you like and mix. Garnish with the orange and cherry.

IRISH WHISKEY OLD FASHIONED

Add a twist to an old fashioned and use elderflower cordial in place of the usual orange. It’s a sophisticated cocktail to add to a dinner party.

INGREDIENTS

• 40ml Irish whiskey • 10ml elderflower cordial • 10ml Sauternes • ice • pared lemon zest, to garnish

METHOD

• Put everything except the lemon zest in a tumbler and give it a quick stir to combine and dilute. Garnish with the lemon zest to serve. • Mint julep • Whiskey cocktails don’t come much more refreshing than a mint julep. Serve over mounds of crushed ice and top with freshly picked garden mint.

INGREDIENTS

• 65ml bourbon • 10 mint leaves • 12.5ml 2:1 sugar syrup (see tip, below) • ice , cubes and crushed • For the garnish • a big mint sprig and a straw • Method • Shake the bourbon, mint leaves and sugar syrup with ice and strain into a highball glass or julep tin filled with crushed ice. Churn gently with a long-handled spoon and top with more crushed ice. Garnish and serve. • Ramune iced coffee • Get a kick of coffee and subtle hint of honey sweetness in this simple whisky cocktail made with punchy bittersIngredients • 100g honey • 30ml Japanese whisky (we used Suntory Toki) • 3 dashes of coffee bitters • ice • lemon peel twist, to garnish

METHOD

For the honey syrup

STEP

1Put the kettle on to boil. Pour the honey into a heatproof bowl, stir in 100ml boiling water until combined and leave overnight until completely cooled and syrupy. Will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.

FOR THE COCKTAIL STEP 1

Pour the whisky and 15ml of the honey syrup into a stirring glass, measuring jug or pint glass. Shake over three dashes of the bitters, then fill the glass with ice. Stir with a bar or other long spoon for 10-20 seconds (the longer you stir, the softer the taste of alcohol – stir longer for more dilution).