The finished dishes for famished diners – rustic and ready to be eaten!

Thanks to clear and sunny winter weather – such a welcome change after last week’s torrential rain – we spent most of the day playing tourists in our city of Sydney. My family and I enjoyed ferry rides across a spectacular harbour, followed by time spent exploring the Maritime Museum. This vast and well organised museum features indoor and outdoor exhibitions, including a permanent display of enormous decommissioned Naval ships, replica 18th century sail boats and even a submarine, which visitors can explore up close.  

At the end of our excursion we returned home tired, but in jovial moods and in need of a tummy warming home cooked meal for dinner. So while the kids fed and played with the dog and then under the supervision of their father, showered and snuggled into pj’s, I set about preparing our evening’s meal. 

The following two dishes plus the platter of fresh tomatoes and crisp cucumbers, only took 55 minutes to make, from the time I turned on the oven to preheat, to when I laid the aromatic food onto the dinner table. Not bad for a healthy and hearty feast for 7 of us, which was finished off faster than the total cooking time by my eager eaters.  

Dessert? Well, there is always room for this and tonight it was super simple – Maggie Beer’s strawberry studded ice-cream with fresh fruit salad. I am not usually tempted by ice-cream (yes that sounds unusual to some) and I would rather have a home made slice of cake or Italian shortbread biscuit instead. However, there are 2 ice-cream and gelato brands that switch on my frozen dessert tastebuds each time. One is the Maggie Beer range, especially the strawberry and passionfruit varieties; the other is hand made gelato from Trovatino Cafe in Wareemba. I store cartons of their products at the very, very back of my fridge to avoid being tempted too often. 

Spanish Chicken to serve 2 adults and 5 children, or 4 – 5 adults

Chorizo is a Spanish pork sausage with a distinctive smoky, paprika flavour. It can be either mild with a hint of chilli or heady with spiciness. In Australia it is readily available from supermarkets and good Continental grocers. Do NOT substitute with any other type of sausage for this dish, otherwise the overall flavour will be compromised and your diners will be disappointed. 

Ingredients
1 x 1.8 kg plump chicken cut into quarters with the backbone removed (buy the best chicken you can find, either organic or free range for optimum flavour and nutrients)
extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic bulb, cloves separated and crushed lightly with the skin on
1 Spanish onion, sliced into semi circular rings
10 dried bay leaves
1 lemon – use the juice and finely grated rind
1 teaspoon Spanish sweet paprika
2 x chorizo sausages (mild if cooking for children, but you can use a spicy version if this dish is for adults only)
sea salt and ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup white wine

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees fan forced. 

Using a heavy based baking pan, (I used a cast iron Le Creuset) place this on your stove top and warm up about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium heat. Add the garlic cloves, onion, bay leaves, lemon rind and sauté for about 5 minutes. 

Add the chorizo which has been chopped into 3 cm thick slices, along with the paprika and stir until you can smell the aroma of the chorizo sausage. Take care not to let the paprika burn otherwise your chicken will taste bitter. 

Add the lemon juice and chicken pieces, browning each side of the chicken and seasoning with a decent grind of salt and pepper


Pour in the white wine, allow to bubble for a minute then put the uncovered dish into the oven for about 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. You can check by inserting a skewer into the thigh piece and if the juices that run out are clear, this means your chook is cooked. 

Serve drizzled with the pan juices, sticky onion and garlic pieces and crisp chorizo alongside the Capsicum Scented Potatoes and a platter of freshly cut juicy tomato wedges and thick cucumber slices. 

Capsicum Scented Potatoes to serve 2 adults and 5 children, or 4 – 5 adults

This dish is designed to cook alongside the Spanish Chicken for the same amount of time, which means less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the meal and good conversation. 

Ingredients  
7 large potatoes
2 red capsicums
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste

Wash and peel the potatoes and capsicums. Cut them in half lengthwise and then into thick slices.

Place another baking pan onto the stove top over a medium heat and splash in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and about 1 teaspoon of sea salt. 

Add the sliced potatoes and capsicum and fry until the potatoes start to change colour and catch at the bottom of the pan. Place the pan into the oven at the same time as the chicken and cook for about 35 minutes.