Hunk Food: Pizza and Not Fried Fried Chicken

Some were kissing, others were singing Auld Lang Syne. And some were whispering a promise to themselves, a resolution that with the first Proud of the year, they’ve probably already broken. The promise? Quit the junk food and eat healthily. Here at The Tab we’d like to make your life just that little bit easier, so we’ve come up with hunk food. It’s junk food, but it’s homemade and it’s healthy.  And to be honest, it’s a bit hunky too. Hunk food lets you enjoy all your favourites without having to queue up, pick up the phone or fork out extortionate amounts for some dough with a few toppings on (Domino’s, I’m looking at you).

Here are two recipes to make some delicious, homemade junk food that’s good on the purse and guilt free, so tuck into these classics with a smile on your face.

Pizza

Who has time to make dough? An excellent substitution is to invest in flatbreads, which you can get in most of the biggish Sainsbury’s for £1.25. The brilliant thing about flatbreads is that they’re flavoured; you can buy garlic and parsley or tomato and cheese, so you get a base that tastes better than your boring Pizza Hut deep pan. Use a pasta sauce as your tomato base, and then top with anything you fancy! Buy individual vegetables if you’re not going to use up/ can’t afford a whole packet, top your pizza with cheese and stick it in the oven for 15 mins or until your cheese is melted and your veggies are done. Knowing exactly how your pizza is being cooked will prevent the extra unnecessary oil that always turns up when you order one, and why spend £13.99 for something that costs about £4?

Not Fried Fried Chicken and Chips

I love a bit of fried chicken. I do not love the greasy fingers and the calories it comes with. So here’s the alternative, with ridiculously fast crispy chips.

You will need:

–          1 pack chicken thigh fillets (these are incredible. £3.50 a pack with enough meat for at least two servings, and thigh meat is without a doubt the tastiest meat on the chicken.) There’s six fillets in the pack, but three is enough for one hungry person.

–          3 slices of bread (white bread is fine, but if you’re feeling extremely healthy like I was, brown bread tastes surprisingly good too) You could buy shop bought breadcrumbs, but it’s probably more cost effective to make your own.

–          1 large potato

–          1 egg

–          A few tablespoons plain flour

–          Salt, pepper, herbs (any)

–          Salad/ peas/ anything green (it might be healthier than junk food, but you still need your vegetables)

How to make:

1. Turn on your oven to a high temperature. Take out your chicken thighs, and flatten them with a rolling pin/end of a knife/bottle of wine.

2. Wash the potato and prick with a fork to prevent explosion, then put into the microwave for 4 minutes (this is 4 on a powerful microwave, it make take more if yours isn’t as macho).

3. Whizz up the bread in a food processor to make crumbs and spread them out onto a plate. Mix them around with salt, pepper, herbs, and if you want to be fancy, some spices. I tried allspice, but it just depends on what you’ve got.

4. Whisk your egg into a bowl, and in another bowl spread out the flour.

5. This is when the production line begins. With each fillet, cover in flour, then in egg, then in breadcrumbs, and put onto a tray covered with a baking sheet. Repeat. Repeat.

6. Take out the potato. Jump around a bit because it will be really hot, and drop it onto a chopping board. Taking care not to burn your fingers, cut the potato into chip/ wedge shapes. Put them on a foiled tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs. Stick both trays in the oven.

7. After about five minutes, turn over your chips and chicken and put them back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the chips are crispy.

8. While they cook make your vegetables/ salad and when the chicken and chips are done, put your feet up, open a beer and get ready to enjoy some tasty hunk food.

On next week’s hunk food menu: Kebabs and Burgers