new year - new beginning

I have always been a great lover of starting afresh - the new year has never filled me with dread at all. I am a great thrower-away of things - physically and mentally - and it is only recently that I'm beginning to realize that this may not always be the best way to go at things. While I would not want to lose my enthusiasm for starting projects I have been trying to use this enthusiasm to reinvigorate existing projects rather than constantly starting afresh on something new. All this by way of explaining that - yes this blog may have seemed dead for the past months but here I am - I am not abandoning it but reviving it. And how!

The recipe that follows is one given to me by a dear friend (and great cook) Isabel Sleight. I had it at her house one book club evening and wow! I love it. Chicken, butternut squash and cranberries - the ingredients are promising but I tell you the combination of these caramelising, sweet flavours offset by the tartness in the berries - it is a marriage made in heaven. Not to mention that - it is easy, it can be prepared ahead and most people I have served it to (and I have served it 3 times in the past month) adore it. A winner all round if ever there was one! I serve it with a green salad (light vinaigrette with a bit of mustard in it) and green beans (not tooo al dente with some butter and freshly grated nutmeg). For an easy pud, do Nigella's Barbados cream and stewed fruit - recipe to follow. I tell you - stick with me for an easy life!

Here goes:

For the cranberry sauce:
350g. fresh cranberries
4-6 oz demerara sugar
juice and rind of an orange
rind of a lemon
1 glass port / Madeira / marsala - sticky sweet wine, in other words.

Put all this together in a small pan, bring to the boil and then leave to simmer until it has thickened. I find that I don't put all liquid (orange juice and port) in immediately but instead wait to see if it needs loosening once the cranberries have released their pectin and it's all thickening. It is good when the sauce is nice and thick!

For the chicken:
3-6 tbs olive oil or lemon oil
8 large chicken thighs
180 g. cubed pancetta
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cubed fairly small
1 large red onion, finely sliced
2 tsp dried majoram
300 ml read wine
1 level tbs plain flour
2 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes
1-2 loaves of ciabatta
8 tbs freshly shaved Parmesan

1. Heat oil and brown seasoned chicken pieces on both sides. Don't crowd the pan - do it two batches to make sure they don't steam. Take out the chicken and keep on the side.
2. Put some more oil in the pan and add the pancetta, onion and squash. Over a moderate heat, brown all of this gently - it is worth taking the time to ensure all these ingredients are cooked and the squash is beginning to caramelise.
3. Add the chicken to the squash mixture, add the majoram and cook it for 1 minute. Keep back 2 tbs of the wine and add the rest to the pan, letting it bubble for 5 minutes.
4. Blend the flour with the reserved wine until smooth, stir this into the pan with the tomatoes (drained, reserving their liquid) and cranberry sauce.
5. Lower the heat, half-cover with a lid and let the whole lot simmer for 30-40 minutes. If I'm preparing this ahead, I tend to only give it 30 minutes. Keep checking that there is enough liquid - add some of the tomato juice or some wine to moisten it all if you feel it needs it.
6. Preheat the oven to 220 (fan 200 degrees). Put the chicken stew in an ovenproof dish. Cut the ciabatta into very thin slices and arrange them on top of the chicken, sprinkling them with (lemon) oil, the parmesan and some black pepper.
7. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Et voila! Barbados cream to follow!