Roast
Chicken Part I –Sandwiches and Wraps
This is for when you happen to have some roast chicken and
you’re not too sure what to make of it. Any roast meat makes for a great
sandwich. If you’re one of those people who doesn’t eat bread, firstly -
really? And, secondly, a wrap is a great option too, and can be a nice change.
All the ideas I’m about to give are incredibly simple, I’m not trying to
reinvent the wheel here. However, I found that in developing my own cooking
it’s often those simple ideas which I have built on to create the food that I
now love. I’m showing what I like to do, so that maybe you can end up creating
your own, even better food. In which case, I’d be very happy and only a touch
jealous. Also, I’m not going to give precise measurements, use your eye and
common sense to figure out how much of something you want. Just keep on tasting to see where you need to adjust
certain ingredients.
Chicken Mayo
This takes me back to Sunday night suppers
when I was a child. My mother would make a big Sunday lunch and for supper we
would make chicken mayo toasted sandwiches from the leftover roast. The taste
of that juicy rosemary chicken with the mayo still makes me smile. Yes, it’s a
classic and one that’s very difficult to get “wrong”. It’s dead easy too, just
shred some chicken, mix with mayo, season with black pepper (and some chilli
flakes if you’re in the mood for a kick) and a squeeze of lemon. There, done!
Variations: Play around with what
you’ve got in your kitchen. Chicken Mayo is so adaptable that the combinations
are seemingly endless. So feel free to add herbs or spices to the mix. I’m a
particular fan of thyme and paprika, but you could add rosemary or chives with
some garlic salt. Don’t be afraid to try new things, it’s the only way you’re
going to discover what you like and you’ll be surprised at what you come up
with.
Chicken, humus and avo sandwich /wrap
I love the combination of avo and
chicken – actually that on its own, between some nice brown bread, makes a good
enough sandwich for me. But adding humus to any sandwich or wrap is always a
winner. Shred chicken, slice or mash half an avocado, season avo with salt and
pepper, then assemble on bread/wrap with homemade or shop bought humus.
Nifty Trick: I’m not really one
to make humus, as I’m not particularly good at it, but one day I did have a can
of butter beans in my cupboard that had been sitting around for far too long.
I’ve seen people like Nigella make bean dips, and since I didn’t have any humus
I thought I would apply the same idea to the beans. I crushed two gloves of
garlic in a pestle and mortar, added half a can of butter beans, seasoned with
salt, pepper, paprika and lemon juice – if I had fresh coriander I would’ve
added that, but it was still pretty good without it. Its flavour was milder
than a regular humus but still well worth a try.
Sweet potato chicken wrap
I particularly like this one because sweet potatoes take a short time to
cook and are hardy vegetables that keep for a relatively long time. For this
recipe I would use the orange sweet potato variety. Chop half a sweet potato
into small cubes (this will probably end up being too much, but I either have
it on the side or the next day), drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then bake in the oven at 200 °C
for twenty minutes or until tender. While the potatoes are in the oven, fry
some onions (I’d go for red, but if you only have white that works too) with a
clove of garlic, until tender, and mix in shredded chicken. When potatoes are
done, assemble all the ingredients in the wrap and top with some feta cheese.
Variation: I know I sound like a broken record, but don’t be afraid to experiment
with whatever you have at hand. Got some
green leafy things lying around? Throw that on too. Oh, you’ve got pesto?!
Can’t go wrong with that!
