The Mountain Echo

This is a real winner at any party dinner!

Ingredients
500g unsalted nuts: Macadamia, Almonds, Peacan, Cashwew.
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp chopped Fresh Thyme
1 Tbsp chopped Rosemary
1 Tbsp chilli flakes

Method
Lightly fry nuts in oil until they start releasing their oil then toss and coat your nuts in herbs… et voila!

Jazz up your oats with this little number.

Ingredients
100g Quaker Oats
50g frozen raspberries
20g pistacio nuts
handful of raisins
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
100ml milk
150ml water
Spoon of Creme Fraiche

Method
Soak oats in water for ten mins then add milk and slowly bring to boil, add nuts, raisins, cinnamon and raspberries. Cook for a minute and then add creme fraiche and drizzle over the maple syrup. For extra lead in your pencil add a shot of whiskey or if you are really pimping Hennessy VO!

Mix it up a bit with this off-the-wall chicken

Ingredients
1 chicken
2-3 sticks cinnamon
6-8 Star Anise
185ml Kung Po sauce
1-2 tsp five spice powder
228g Jasmine rice, washed and drained
170ml vegetable stock
85g chorizo
28g dried sliced mushrooms, soaked and chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp sherry
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce

Method
1. Head oil in a wok and fry chorizo and mushrooms. Season with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger and vinegar. Add rice and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

2. Remove rice and place in a pot and add stock. cook on medium-high heat initally and when holes appear in the rice, turn hear down to lowest, cover and allow rice to continnue cooking in its own steam for approximately 10 minutes.

3. Drain soaked rice and mix with cooked ingredients. Spread loosely in a dry shallow dish and steam the rice dry (without any water added) over a medium heat for 30 minutes or until grains are translucent and chewy.

4. When rice is cooked, cool quickly and stuff neck cavity, pressing rice firmly into place and securing neck flap with a cocktail stick.

5. Rub body of chicken with five spice powder and season the skin with a little salt. Place star anise and cinnamon inside the body cavity and cook 30 minutes before chicken is ready. Using a pastry brush, baste the whole chicken with a thick layer of Kung Po sauce.

6. Continue cooking for 30 minutes at 170C.

7. Remove from the over and allow to rest before serving.