Variation: Spicy Chicken fingers

I'm always making some kind of chicken fingers.  They're simple to make, quick and easy.
So I keep making different variations to keep myself entertained. Plain chicken fingers would be boring.
I've made Honey Turkey Fingers, Pesto Chicken Fingers and now I've added a Spicy Chicken fingers to my collection as well.

It's exactly like making the pesto chicken fingers except you use hot pepper sauce, or a chilli paste

instead of a pesto sauce.  I used a couple of tablespoons of my Calabrian spicy sauce to coat my chicken and then dredged them in my bread crumb mixture and then cooked them as per usual.  Quite simple and fast.
I served it with a light and spicy potato salad and a lovely green salad with feta, tomatoes, red onions and a mix of greens (made by my friend and kitchen assistant Endira).
They were tender and full of flavor and I absolutely love the color! The spicy sauce when cooked under the bread crumbs added a beautiful red tint to the chicken fingers.

Recipe: Ravioli with a Spicy Spinach Butter Sauce

For the moment I am not going to tell you how to make fresh ravioli.  I've done it before, and it's gone pretty well, but for the last few days I've been pretty sick.. and therefore lazy.  When I don't feel well, I definitely don't cook with a lot of effort.  But very, very soon, I'm going to make fresh ravioli.

As it stands, I had frozen Spinach, Mushroom and Ricotta Ravioli waiting to be used.  All they needed was a sauce of some kind and some of my favorite ravioli are served with butter sauce.  I came up with a fresh and spicy Spinach Butter Sauce to compliment the spinach in the ravioli.

Spicy Spinach Butter Sauce (for 6 ravioli or my single serving)
1 cup fresh spinach
1 tbs butter
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbs of the salted boiling water (after the ravioli has been cooked)

If you're making ravioli, like I did, start making your sauce as soon as the ravioli hit the water. This sauce is super easy and should take about 5 minutes or less to cook.

Roughly chop your fresh spinach and then in a small saucepan over medium heat sauteè your spinach in the butter with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  When the butter is completely melted and the spinach has just begun to wilt add your cayenne and salted water. Cook down for another minute or so (but don't overcook the spinach) and then while still on the heat, toss in your ravioli or pasta.

The beautiful finished product.

Coat well and then serve while still hot.

Recipe: Jalapeno infused olive oil

1 whole jalapeno sliced finely, discard half the seeds
1/2 cup olive oil


This is super easy to do, and is great for anyone who loves a little extra spicy. After slicing the jalapeno or any other spicy pepper of your choosing. Add the thin slices to a small sauce pan with the olive oil. The more olive oil you use, the less concentrated the spice will be. Cook the concoction on a low heat until the peppers are tender.

Pour into a small glass continer and seal. Pour over anything that you would like to make spicy. Like pizza, salads or sandwiches, spicy dip, anything at all!

Recipe: Spicy Chickpea Stew

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp paprika

1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes (the ones I used were almost overly ripe)

1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tsp sugar

1 quart vegetable broth

salt and pepper
pasta

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.

2. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic begins to brown (2-3 minutes).

3. Add the spices and cook for one minute.

4. Add the tomatoes, beans, chickpeas, sugar, broth, a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste. Stir well.

5. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 30 to 45 minutes. Add more liquid if the broth evaporates too much.
6. Boil water with some salt. Cook pasta according to package instructions.

7. Crush about half of the beans and chickpeas, then stir the soup well before serving.
8. Pour the soup into a bowl and serve with a small helping of pasta on top.  Decorate with a sprig of parsley or basil (I didn't have either, so my plate had no decorations).



This came out absolutely delicious!  Thanks to Oh, Mishka for the wonderful idea!!
(spicy moroccan chickpea soup recipe)
I haven't been to the supermarket in ages so I had to get a little creative. I used Mishka's recipe as a base and then adapted it to what I had in my kitchen!   Next time I might add some potatoes to the mix as well. 
I ate it with a piece of foccaccia on the side with cream cheese to counter the spicy.  SOooo Delicious!!!

~Raspberry Truffle