I leave summer produce in my garden for as long as possible before planting for autumn and winter. The vegetables and herbs of summer are my most preferred. Despite this, as autumn advances, the light changes and dulls, and the air cools I notice a mood shift. It has begun this week for me. I have begun to think about dense, warm food with soft flavours and textures instead of crisp, fresh raw ingredients. I pulled out my pressure cooker this week and purchased some hind shanks at the butcher today.

The season’s pumpkin harvest are piled up in the kitchen, the bok choi and other winter vegetables are starting to gain strength in the garden.  A rainy day and a  cool night was the right time try the first of this year’s pumpkin.

Our diet and meal planning is seasonal based, according to what is available from the garden. This year it has also become influenced by more restrictive choices I can make for additional ingredients and additions to meals. I have been diagnosed with the digestive disorder SIBO and am a diet that has low/no sugar, grains, and many other things too long a list to write out….I prefer to cook one family meal rather than multiple versions so attempt to suit everyone’s preferences and needs. My dietary restrictions mean that the flavour of marinates can be difficult to balance when the sugar component is removed.  Recipe trials, testing and many failures occur in the bid to find family recipes everyone enjoys eating.

This recipe was a great success.  I pictured this meal in my mind at the start of today and was puzzling about what sort of sauce to make to go with it – until my son sniffed and snorted, coughed and then sniffed again and then again.

Ginger and turmeric became an obvious choice. An immune boost to keep the cold bugs away. Fresh stems are always on my kitchen bench ready to use in meals. Coconut Amino is a soy sauce substitute. You can purchase it from wholefood, or health food stores.

This is my recipe for baked chicken with ginger and turmeric paste. I hope you enjoy it.

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Seasonal baked chicken recipe with fresh ginger paste

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

55 mins

 

Baked chicken with ginger and turmeric paste with Autumn vegetables

Course: Main, Main Course

Keyword: baked, chicken

Servings: 4 people

Author: Kyrstie Barcak

Ingredients

Ginger Paste

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot finely sliced
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped
• 3 cm fresh ginger finely grated
• 1 cm fresh turmeric finely grated
• 1 pinch white pepper
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 piece spring onion finely chopped
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp Coconut Aminos

Chicken Bake

• 4-6 chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200 grams pumpkin cut into slices or cubes
• 1 red capsicum small
• 1 bunch asian green (bok choi)
• 100 grams haloumi cheese sliced into strips

To serve

• fresh coriander leaves
• spring onion chopped

Instructions

1. To make the paste, add the oil to a pan with the shallot and garlic. Cook gently for a couple of minutes and add the ginger and turmeric.

2. Keep the heat low, stir and add the pepper, salt and spring onion.

3. Add the water and coconut amino and stir for a minute until it thickens. Remove from the heat and set aside 4 teaspoons to use for cooking the chicken. Reserve the remainder for serving.

4. Set the oven to heat to 180 degrees celcius (fan forced)

5. To a baking tray add slices of pumpkin and capsicum. Brush with olive oil and place into the oven to cook.

6. Bake the capsicum for 20 minutes and remove and the pumpkin for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through

7. Add the chicken to another baking tray and drizzle with oil and a teaspoon of ginger paste to each piece and rub in. Cook for 25 - 30 minutes along side the pumpkin and capsicum. Keep remain paste aside to serve.

8. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the slices of haloumi. Cook each side until golden, remove and cut into squares.

9. Use the same hot pan and add the bok choi until it wilts and place onto serving plate

10. Add the pumpkin, capsicum, baked chicken and haloumi to the plate and drizzle with additional sauce, fresh coriander and spring onion. 

Have you begun to change the family menu to align with the new season? Are you craving different types of food at the moment too?