Chicken in a box

These tiny, chicken-filled boxes are the ideal snack for your children and their friends

Method

For the filling:

Sauté the onion in a large pan and add the minced chicken to it. Cook the meat for a few minutes, until it loses its water completely.

•  Add salt and pepper to the mixture and turn off the flame.

•  Add cheese and stir thoroughly.

For the dough:

•  In a large bowl, mix the yeast, flour, salt and sugar together and kneed it with lukewarm water. Cover the mixture with a wet cloth and let it sit in a warm place for an hour or so. By the end of the hour, the dough should have doubled in size.

•  Kneed the dough once again and put it back in a warm place for another 30 minutes.

•  Roll the dough into a rectangular shape and add the chicken filling to it.

•  Once the filling is in place, roll out of the rectangle and cut the dough into tiny square boxes.

•  Coat the boxes with egg on all sides and bake them until they become golden-brown in colour.

How store minced meat

The trouble with minced meat, be it chicken, mutton or beef, is that once it has been minced, its surface area increases, making it more vulnerable to airborne bacteria. This means that minced meat requires extra care when it comes to storage and freshness.

Although it is best to utilise all the meat as soon as possible, raw mince should be kept in the coldest part of your refrigerator or freezer to maintain its shelf-life. If you are not going to be cooking it within a few hours of purchasing, it is advisable to discard the packaging and store the meat in a deep dish, covered loosely with foil. Not only will this protect the meat, it will prevent any blood spillage and contamination of other foods. However, bear in mind that the longest mince should be stored for is two to three days in the fridge. You may also store it in the freezer for up to two months, provided that it is wrapped up tightly.

Chicken and cheese cannelloni

Have some mince left over? No worries! Try out this quick and easy recipe for stuffed cannelloni. Its Italian food at the very best.



Method

•  Preheat oven to 180^o Celsius.

•  In a medium-sized frying pan, heat some oil and fry the onions and garlic until they are soft.

•  Add the chicken mince to the pan and cook it until the meat has whitened. Once cooked, remove the mince from the pan and allow it to cool.

•  Mix the ricotta cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper (to taste) to the cooled mince and mix thoroughly.

•  Cut each lasagna sheet into half and place one tablespoon of the meat in the center of the sheets.

•  Roll up each sheet, making sure two sides of it are sealed securely.

Spread some paste/tomato sauce at the bottom of a large baking dish and arrange the rolled cannelloni over it.

•  Pour the remaining sauce over the cannelloni and sprinkle it with cheese.

•  Bake for about 35 minutes or until the cannelloni becomes golden-brown in colour. Serve warm.

Published in The Express Tribune, Ms T, February 8^th, 2015.