It’s been my day off today so I am feeling relaxed and in the mood for cooking!  After the gym and the shopping trip I was definitely hungry so an old favourite for lunch- seafood salad.

I make many different versions of this but today I used some prawns and mini scallops.  I begin by adding a tbsp harissa paste to a frying pan and swirl around for a minute.  I then add the seafood and stir fry until cooked through.  Before throwing on top some salad leaves I give it a good squeeze of lemon juice, a little salt and pepper and then eat it very quickly!

For dinner I made a variation of a Lorraine Pascale recipe for chicken which went down very well and will become a regular feature on the French Thomas dinner table.  Here’s the recipe.

Chicken, Apple and Cider Casserole

2 chicken breasts

6 chipolata sausages

1 sprig rosemary

4 sage leaves

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 red onion

1 eating apple

300ml cider

• heat some olive oil in a saute pan, season the chicken and brown on both sides.  Remove from the pan.  Do the same with the sausages.
• fry the red onion with the garlic for a couple of minutes until softened.  Add the herbs and apples and saute for a minute of two.  Return the chicken and sausages to the pan.
• Add the cider and bring it to a boil.  Turn down, cover the pan, and pop in the oven for 30 mins.
• After 20 mins cooking time take the lid off the pan so that the chicken browns up nicely and the sauce reduces a little.

We ate this with some quarters of potato tossed with a little olive oil and roasted in the oven for the same time as the casserole.  It was all very tasty, the sausages really add a layer of flavour which makes the dish come together.  The apple becomes soft and almost savoury- delicious!

Friday is my late night so no dinner- boo hoo!