Bringing treasures together to create a visually stimulating ‘story’ never fails to give me pleasure, something to do with the old retail days no doubt, therefore finding fabulous blogs featuring people who share this passion is always exciting. This lovely collection thanks to Alex Berlin, an interior designer who makes her living creating unique, welcoming, aesthetically pleasing homes, this one hers. Muted greys, touches of pink and gold appealing to both masculine and feminine.
While in Prague my lovely friend Anne-Maree felt a burning desire to cook a nosh for her partner Steve in their little apartment on Xmas day, just as her Dad had so many years before. This was a journey of familial enlightenment, a revisit to ancestral foundations therefore a pub nosh just wouldn’t have the same resonance.
Problem was, a trawl through the local supermarket revealed all but empty deli shelves, a humble chorizo sausage, a few chicken thighs, a red onion. Ever the creative, our girl got to work throwing the goodies plus a few spuds, lemon zest and a capsicum into an oven bag then into a convection micro-wave oven and voila – Christmas lunch! Didn’t exactly know how to work that oven, but that’s another story…
As it turns out, her instinct had taken her to a perfect duplication of Nigella Lawson’s ‘Spanish Chicken’ recipe. A beautifully tender and heart warming dish originating from a Brit’s creativity, brought to life by an Aussie, served up on a snowy winter’s day in a beautiful city in the Czech Republic.
I had the very good fortune to taste Anne-Maree’s version last night…seriously super and oh so easy! Here’s the Recipe:
• Throw a tad of olive oil into a roasting pan and toss chicken thighs in, skin side down
• Add sliced chorizo sausage, a chopped red onion, zest of an orange, touch of dried oregano, skinned capsicum quarters and a few baby potatoes cut into wedges, a spot of sea salt and grind of cracked pepper
• Pop pan into oven at preheated 220c for 1 hour or so, taking care not to let the chicken over cook and dry out
• Serve with greens or just by itself
Choose ingredient quantities according to the amount of hungry people your planning to feed.
A robust dish such as this deserves a Semillion or a lovely chilled Rosé.
Thanks as always for your wonderful hospitality Anne-Maree & Steve!
