Easiest Chicken dinner for beginners and experienced cooks alike.
Almost famous
This dish was inspired by a true event that took place while I was out on the town, I would have changed the names and of people, but what for?
About three weeks ago I went into the city with my friend @eve Israeli to check out the Black Friday Sales (Black Friday, what could possibly go wrong?). We decided to have a quick cup of coffee before embarking on a shopping frenzy. We sat down and ordered our beverages and when the waiter left, a young woman sitting at the table across from us said to me, “Excuse me, but are you Nava, from Nava’s kitchen?”
I felt pretty chuffed at being recognised and feeling like a celebrity, but I tried to pretend that this is not the first time it’s ever happened: just another day in the life of the uber famous, and I said very casually, “Yes, I am.” (I’m like Oscar Wilde, these pearls just roll off my tongue, unscripted).
The young lady said,” I follow you on Facebook and I just love everything you do!”
Being the modest person that I am, I said, “No, it’s nothing, there are people so much better than me!” But she persisted in her expressions of unbridled enthusiasm, and well, who am I to argue with my public?
Meeting a fan for the first time ever, I thought to myself, I can so relate to Margot Robbie!
We took a selfie and I thought it would be nice to have a chat and so I turned the conversation to something we’d both find interesting -- me -- and asked, “So have you cooked any of my dishes?”
And she said, “Oh no, I don’t cook I just look at the photos. They are so great!”
“And that was enough to make you join?”
“Oh no. My partner’s mum, is your friend Marina Sokol, she made me join!”
And I said, “Pardon?” (More of my razor wit!).
“Marina said I HAVE TO FOLLOW YOU on Facebook, even if I don’t cook. At least If I wanted to marry her son. And I wasn’t allowed to leave the house before I followed you…”
Well, you know what they say about fame, it’s a fickle business, you’re popular one day, forgotten the next. But looking on the bright side, it’s good to know that my friends aren’t fickle.
I have great friends like Marina, who if she can’t rustle up fans for me, is willing to make the occasional forced convert on my behalf…
How does this recipe tie to this story? This encounter inspired me to make a super duper easy, and flavoursome dinner for this poor girl who had to follow me to stay in the circle of trust.
As soon as I got home, I headed straight to the kitchen, and tried to think like a non-cooking person, but I couldn’t find the right hat, so I decided to use simple ingredients that most people have heard of and keep the herbs and spices to a minimal, but at the same time make it flavoursome and give it a wow factor . You know the kind I’m talking about, the compliment you get when someone who has been to dinner at your home, and you tell them it took you 10 minutes to make this dish and they’re like, “No way, this incredible tasting dish only took 10 minutes to make, I don’t believe it!” And if you’ve never had that reaction, make this dish and you may be able to write a new chapter in your life…
Pear and rosemary chicken
Ingredients
4 chicken Maryland
1 cup white wine
Fist full of rosemary leaves only (the man down the road from me grows them in his back yard and puts them in a bucket on his front fence with a sign saying “please take me”. Well, I’m spoken for but I do help myself to the herbs and boy, is that some good rosemary!)
4 large semi-ripe pears, cut into thick slices (or thin it’s up to you)
4-5 Bay leaves
Rubbing mixture
ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ teaspoon ground cardamon
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon oregano flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup of walnuts or hazelnuts
2-3 tablespoons honey
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C
arrange sliced pears evenly in a large roasting dish. If you don’t have room, then just place the pears on top of each other. Pour wine on top and scatter bay leaves and sprinkle rosemary leaves all over the dish.
In a small bowl, mix the oil, garlic, cardamon, parsley flakes, oregano flakes, salt and pepper.
Rub the mixture all over the chicken pieces and place the chicken on top of the pears.
Cook the chicken for 50 minutes then add walnuts or hazelnuts and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove the dish from the oven and while the chicken is very hot, drizzle honey all over the chicken.
Serve with rice. So YUM!