March appears to be disappearing at a rush with Palm Sunday next weekend. Then it’s Easter and everyone will be on holiday for a week or two!
Last weeks menu had its high and lows. Spatchcock chicken was a definite success, so much so that we had it again for friends over the weekend. Roast chicken in under an hour is brilliant – and meant that we could start cooking lunch late after church and still serve proper roast dinner to friends at 1.00! I’ll tell you more about how it went below.
The Thai Green fish curry wasn’t such a success (although not a disaster either) – probably because I’m still having problems getting my family to eat fish (don’t they know what’s good for them?!)
So here is this weeks menu – yes, more fish (they will learn!) And this week I’m going to make a definite effort to add more fruit…
Monday
Salmon and roast vegetables with pasta
(Using up the leftovers from the Salmon tray-bake yesterday)
Homemade yoghurt with peaches
Tuesday
Prawns with Sofrito and baby corn
(which will be something like this)
Tarte Tatin
(this is just so delicious – and it is fruit)
Pear Tarte Tatin
Wednesday
Mackerel fillets with Orange and Watercress salad
…at least I have the basis for it here!
Baked Bananas
Thursday
Homemade Pizza Homemade Pizza – something with lots of cheese!
(I have to go out and the children will have to get their own supper)
Sliced Mango
(Yep – they’ll happily eat this – and prepare it themselves – and they’re on offer in Sainsburys – so everyone wins)
Friday
Bacon and Tomato Pasta sauce – it’s hard to make pasta look good in photos!
Warm apple and pear fruit salad with ice-cream
I hope you have a good week!
I’m linking this up to Mrs M’s Menu Planning Monday – a great fund of ideas for meal planning.
Roast Spatchcock Chicken
(Serves 4)
(Start to finish time – probably around an hour)
Directions
There are numerous websites where you can watch videos on how to spatchcock a chicken. I found this one very clear and easy to follow. The idea is to flatten the chicken out so it is the same thickness all over and cooks quicker.
So, having watched the videos I got out my kitchen scissors and this is how it went:
Placed chicken on a board breast side down with tail end facing. 
With a pair of fairly sturdy kitchen scissors, cut along the right hand side of the backbone cutting through the ribs to the other end. It took a bit of brute force to crack through the ribs.
Then cut along the other side of the backbone to remove it completely.- Turned the chicken over, spreading it open and pressed down on the breast bone in the middle to flatten it completely to try and end up with a chicken that is the same thickness all over.
Again this seems to take a fair amount of pressure (and more bones cracking) to do it effectively. 
I skewered the chicken to keep it together and flat, but you don’t necessarily need to do this for roasting it.- Peel 4 large potatoes, thickly slice (about 1cm thickness) and place in roasting tray. Peel and coarsely chop 4 medium carrots and an onion. Season and scatter over some sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Add a tablespoon or two of oil and give it a stir so all are evenly covered. Spread out in an even layer on the bottom of the tray.
- Place the chicken on top of the vegetables and cover the breast with strips of bacon if you wish.
- This took about 50 minutes roasting in the oven at 200ºC. Although obviously it will depend on the size of your chicken and you need to check its properly cooked before eating.
- The potatoes should be cooked in the same time, but I found they benefited from 10 minutes or so at the top of a hot oven whilst carving the chicken, to give them a chance to crisp up a little.
Then:
Just remember to let it stop steaming before taking photos!
2 Responses to Spatchcock Chicken and a Weekly Menu plan