Rose Harissa

I love huge, bold flavours that grab you by every sense and leave a lasting memory on your palate. Just the thought of this harissa is enough to make my mouth water. I promise you it will make pretty much any meal a whole lot more interesting; these flavours are best friends with grilled meat and are perfect for a BBQ.

I made this harissa as part of a middle eastern style BBQ with Tzatziki and some beautiful prawns which were marinaded in sumac, lemon, garlic and coriander. The prawn recipe is courtesy of Sabrina Ghayour. Her book, Persiana is the most beautiful recipe book I own and is my go to place for inspiration.

Ingredients:

• 4 fresh red chillis
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon dried rose petals
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• Salt

Method:

• Place the rose petals in a small bowl and add a couple of tablespoons of warm water to soak.
• Put a dry frying pan on a medium heat and add all the seeds.
• Toast them for a minute or two – give them a couple of shakes and don’t walk away while they’re toasting! You’ll know they are done when your kitchen starts to smell gorgeous.
• Tip the seeds in to a pestle and mortar and bash to a fine powder.
• Chop the stalks off the top of chillis but leave the seeds in.
• Put the everything (including the soaking water) in a food processor and blend to a paste. If you prefer, you can bash everything up in your pestle and mortar until you have the consistency you want. You can add a bit more tomato puree to make it thicker, or a few drops of water to loosen.
• Taste and add some salt if you think it needs it but go easy as the flavours will mature further over a few days or even hours.

The harissa is perfect to eat straight away but it’s even better the day after. Just store in an airtight container in the fridge and it will keep for a couple of weeks.

Garlic Spatchcock Chicken with Creamy Orzo and Rocket

This is a really easy tea with notably very little washing up! We have served this as a crowd pleaser for friends in the past but tonight I’ve made it for two. You can add your own twist with different vegetable sides or by using a regular soft cheese if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 1 medium chicken (around 1.4kg)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 5 tablespoons light olive oil
• 250g orzo pasta
• 150ml half fat crème fraiche
• 100g soft goat’s cheese
• 2 lemons
• 70g fresh rocket
• Small bunch of parsley
• Salt and fresh black pepper

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 200 degrees.
• Flip the chicken so the breast is facing down then use a strong pair of scissors to cut down the back bone. Once you’ve cut all the way down turn the chicken over and use your hands to push down until you hear a crack and you feel the bird flatten out.
• Place the chicken in a large roasting tin.
• Bash or blend the garlic with the oil until completely smooth (any pieces of garlic will burn in the oven) then pour over the chicken and rub in all over.
• Season the chicken on both sides with plenty of salt and pepper then roast for 1 hour basting 2 or 3 times with the juices from the tin.
• Once the chicken is out of the oven, cover loosely with foil while you prepare the orzo.
• Cook the orzo in plenty of boiling, salted water for 7 minutes then drain keeping about a mug full of the cooking water.
• Add the crème fraiche, goat’s cheese and juice of 2 lemons then mix well. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
• Allow to simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes then taste again. Adjust flavourings to your own preference (salt, pepper, lemon) then stir through the rocket and turn off the heat.
• Roughly chop the parsley and stir through the orzo.

How you eat this is down to you! I removed the breasts and legs from the chicken then served on top of the orzo but this could work equally well in the middle of the table so people can help themselves. If you’re making this for a crowd chicken thighs would be ideal on or off the bone. I don’t tend to cook chicken breasts but if you prefer them, a griddled breast sliced on top of the pasta would also work well.

Party in Your Mouth Roast Chicken

My mouth had a party, here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium chicken
• 2 large white onions
• 100g butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• Big handful of any fresh green herbs! (I used chives, parsley and coriander because they’re in my garden, but pretty much any combination will deliver freshness and flavour – ask me if you’re not sure!)
• 2 lemons
• Salt
• Black pepper

It’s easier to make the butter in a food processor but you can do this by hand if you don’t have one (Christmas is coming, so stick one on your list).

Method:

• Pre-heat your oven to 210 degrees of gas mark 7.
• Mash or blend the butter with 2 cloves of garlic, the juice and zest of lemon, herbs, oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Carefully slide a spoon underneath the skin of the chicken breast to make a pocket for the butter. Take your time so you don’t rip the skin.
• Score each chicken leg once with a sharp knife.
• Push a tablespoon of butter under the skin of each chicken breast, then push the mixture up the breast so it gets right under the skin.

• Rub the rest of the butter all over the chicken using your hands.
• Half the other lemon and push the halves in to the cavity of the chicken.
• Slice the onions and lay them out on the bottom of the roasting tin, then bash the remaining garlic cloves and throw them on top. Give the onions a good season with salt and black pepper, then drizzle a bit of oil over the top.
• Sit the chicken on top and season with a bit of salt, then cut a lemon in half and push in to the cavity.

• A medium chicken will take about an hour, but during the cooking time, take it out and tilt the tray so the juices gather at one end. Spoon this juice over the top of the chicken a couple of times during cooking – it will give even more flavour and keep the breast moist.
• Once the cooking time is up, take the chicken out and cover loosely with foil for at least 15 minutes.
• You can make a gorgeous gravy by adding some water, stock or wine to the roasting tin. Let it bubble away to deglaze the tin (I do this by putting the roasting tin directly over a couple of the gas hob rings). Add some flour to thicken or just use some gravy granules if you’re in a rush.
• Tuck in!

Spiced Up Soup

It’s getting cold now, so time to reignite our love of warm, winter food. This recipe uses some pre-chopped vegetables which saves time, but of course you can buy them loose and chop them up yourself. If you don’t have a hand blender, you can pick one up for about £5 in the supermarket; you’ll be surprised how often you use it.

Ingredients:

• Two supermarket bags of soup mix (carrots, swede, leeks and onions)
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• 2 tablespoons medium curry powder
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• 2 chicken stock cubes
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Handful of fresh coriander
• 1 medium red chilli

 Method:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan then tip in all the vegetables and sweat them down on a low heat for about 10 minutes..
• Add the garlic, curry powder and cumin and stir well to ensure everything is coated.
• Crumble in the stock cubes and add enough water to just cover the vegetables.
• Cook on a low – medium heat for 15-20 mins until the vegetables have completely softened, then blend in the food processor or using a hand blender until you reach your desired consistency (we like to very smooth).
• When you’re ready to serve, roughly chop the coriander and stir through, then slice up the red chilli and sprinkle over the soup.

To make a complete meal, serve with warmed garlic and coriander naan bread.

Mash!

Probably a little weird to start with this, but I don’t really like mash. It’s often over cooked and under seasoned and I also find the texture a little bit samey and repetitive, which is why I’m always thinking of new flavour combinations to make it more interesting (like this jalapeno and cheese mash).

Although it’s a simple concept, mash is easy to get wrong so I’ve also given you a basic mash potato recipe which never lets me down. Allow for 2 large or 3 medium potatoes per person as part of a main meal.

• Peel the potatoes and cut in to equal pieces at least 3cm by 3cm. It’s important to keep the chunks fairly large or the potato will disintegrate and your mash will be gloopy with all the starch.
• Throw the potato pieces in to a large pan of boiling water, seasoned with a teaspoon of salt.
• Put the lid on and turn down the heat to a simmer.
• After 15 minutes, check progress by sticking a sharp knife in to one of the potato pieces When you’re happy they are cooked through, drain the potatoes in a colander then immediately put the drained potatoes back in to their cooking pan and leave the lid off for a good ten minutes while they dry out a little.
• For perfect mash, invest in a potato ricer (about £10) which gives a very smooth texture, but if you don’t have one, mash until your arms hurt and no lumps remain.

At this point, the potatoes are a blank canvas! Add salt, pepper and a knob of butter for a classic finish, or use warm milk to give a creamy texture.

Here are five flavour combinations which all serve 2 as part of a main meal. If you’re making it for more people, you know what to do!

1. Sweet potato mash with red chilli, spring onion and coriander

Add a touch of extra virgin olive oil, salt and fresh black pepper to mashed sweet potatoes. Stir through a chopped red chilli (seeds optional), a handful of chopped coriander, 2 chopped spring onions, a pinch of smoked paprika and the juice of half a lime.

Perfect served with Cajun steak or salmon and fresh veg like corn on the cob or broccoli.

2. Super smooth egg yolk mash with crispy bacon

Fry a handful of pancetta cubes in a pan until crispy, then drain, uncovered on kitchen paper. Separate an egg yolk and add to hot mash potato, then stir through the pancetta cubes and season with fresh black pepper.

Delish served with firm meaty fish and roasted tomatoes.

3. Half and half sweet and white mash with cheese and fresh chilli

Mash half sweet, half white potatoes with a large knob of butter, grated mature cheddar, grated red Leicester, a chopped green chilli (seeds optional), salt and fresh black pepper.

This is great as part of a roast dinner, as a topping for a cottage or shepherds pie or baked in oven giving a crispy, crunchy topping.

4. Skin on red potato mash with double mustard

Replace white potatoes with red skinned ones, leaving the skin on for added texture, taste and nutrients. After mashing, add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a teaspoon of whole grain mustard, a knob of butter and a few twists of fresh black pepper. This recipe is firmer and dryer in texture and the flavour combination gives slight sweetness from the whole grain and slight heat from the Dijon. Try with any pork or with chicken and green veg.

5. Creamy garlic and basil mash

Simmer half a pint of full fat milk with two peeled garlic cloves for about 12 minutes or until the cloves are tender. For speed, whizz up with a handheld blender or simply mash with a fork and add to freshly mashed potatoes, mixing well. Add salt and pepper to taste, then finely chopped basil leaves. Just before serving, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Tasty accompaniment to a juicy steak or a massive field mushroom and sautéed spinach.

I hope these have kept you entertained, and given you some ideas of your own. You can try using different potatoes like russet which are high starch, and if you want to experiment with flavours, just spoon some off to the side and try things out – what’s the worst that can happen!

I’d love to hear your ideas and flavour combinations so if you liked this post, please leave a comment 🙂

Chicken and Chorizo Risotto with Lemony Breadcrumbs

I can’t quite believe it, but Jason and I have been married for two years now! In celebration, I made this gorgeous risotto which I think really combines Jason’s love of meat with my preference for something a little more refined.

We drank a bottle of champagne during cooking and eating, but otherwise, I would have been tempted by an off-dry white like a Riesling. Tesco have a Finest Steillage Mosel Riesling on offer at £5.99. For something different, it would be great with a slightly floral Gruner Veltliner (such as Pannonica at £7.99) to compliment the rosemary in the crunchy topping.

For an enjoyable cooking experience, get everything ready before you start and don’t be scared to take the risotto off the heat if at any point if you need to buy a little extra time.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless and skinless thigh fillets, chopped
• 100g spicy chorizo (about half a ring), chopped
• 250g Arborio rice
• 1 onion, chopped
• Large glass of white wine
• Large knob of butter for frying
• 500ml chicken stock

For the topping:

• 1 crusty bread roll or any stale bread, torn in to pieces
• Zest from half a lemon, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
• 1 sprig of rosemary, leave removed
• 3 or 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
• Glug of olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

• In a large pan, gently melt the butter and add the onion, frying on a low heat for about 10 minutes.
• Heat a separate frying pan and add the chorizo (no need for any oil), spreading the pieces out evenly over the surface of the pan.
• Once the onion is soft, tip in the rice and stir to coat in the butter, then add a good pinch of salt and fry for 5 minutes.
• Once the rice is sizzling slightly, add the wine and continue stirring until the liquid starts to soak in to the rice.
• Add a ladle of stock to the rice and keep stirring until the liquid is absorbed, then carry on going until all the stock has been used and the rice is tender. Should take about 25 minutes but don’t worry if it’s more or less. Keep tasting!
• After you’ve used up a quarter of the stock, toss the chorizo round in the pan and add the chicken. Turn the heat down to medium and keep your eye on the pan, giving it a stir as needed. It’s important not to substitute for chicken breast in this recipe, as it will dry out if cooked in the pan for this length of time.
• Once the rice is cooked add the Parmesan and stir through gently. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary either with a pinch of salt or a bit more cheese (go for the cheese!).
• Finally, add the chorizo and chicken to the cooked risotto, including all the oil from the pan.

For the topping:

• Rip up the bread roll in to pieces, remove the leaves from the rosemary and combine in a food processor with the garlic, lemon zest, oil and a big pinch of freshly ground black pepper.
• Pulse a few times until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs then heat up a frying pan and tip the mixture in.
• Fry until crispy and golden (and smells incredible), then set aside until you’re ready to serve.

Spoon the gorgeous, creamy rice in to bowls and top with a generous helping of the crispy topping and a massive glass of very cold wine. Cheers everyone!