Citrus Quinoa with Spiced Chicken and Chickpeas

As I sit and write this post, rain spatters against the window panes of my study and a whoosh of wind makes it through my lovely – and completely un-eco – sash windows.  Apparently, spring just taunted us with her effervescent presence in the form of a week of vitamin D laden sunshine, only to abandon us to a week of wind, rain and disappointing days out.  Often, on rainy days like these, I want only to cook comfort food – simple flavours, often creamy, always heartening.  Certainly, my Leek and Bacon Creamy Pasta Bake counts as such a dish, as does Creamy Chicken and Coconut Curry or Butter Beans with Sweet Potato and Chilli.  All soul-soothing, simple and delicious.  But today I was reminded of a phrase that I’ve long liked: ‘It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you handle it that counts’ – I paraphrase, obviously.  And I thought to myself, in between trawling through sunny spa destinations on my laptop, if I can’t feel the warmth of sunshine on my face, then I shall just have to bring it to my kitchen.  I’m not entirely sure that’s how the original phrase was meant to be interpreted, but I went with it anyway and made this vibrant, fragrant and delicious meal of Citrus Quinoa with Spiced Chicken and Chickpeas. 

The spice is produced by a marinade of harissa, cumin, coriander, mint and garlic, the citrus by cooking the quinoa in a medley of orange and lemon juice.  The textures and levels of flavour are really something lovely and I already know that this is going to be a firm favourite of mine.  You can buy harissa in most supermarkets and specialist shops, though you must check the ingredients carefully.  You can also make your own very easily; indeed, there is a recipe for a simple harissa paste in my book, The Intolerant Gourmet.  Alternatively, here’s a quick version to crack on with: 4 dried red chillies, deseeded, 1 fat clove of garlic, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp coriander, 2 tbsp olive oil and a good pinch of salt.  Soak the chillies for an hour in hot water, then place in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blitz until you have a paste.  This will make about 2 tablespoons worth so you can store the remaining in the fridge, a little extra oil poured over to preserve it.

CITRUS QUINOA WITH SPICED CHICKEN AND CHICKPEAS

Serves 4

For the quinoa

175g quinoa

The juice of 1 lemon

The juice of 1 orange

A large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 chicken breasts

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tsp harissa

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried mint

1 tbsp olive oil

Score each chicken breast 3 times, making a ½ cm deep diagonal cut into each breast.  Combine the spices, harissa, olive oil and crushed garlic into a sealable freezer bag; add a generous pinch of salt, the chicken breasts and the chickpeas.  Squeeze out any excess air, seal the bag and then massage the marinade into the chicken and chickpeas.  Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180c.  Squeeze the lemon and orange juice into a measuring jug and then top up with water until you reach 500ml.  Place the quinoa into a saucepan, pour over the citrus water, cover and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid.  Fluff up with a fork and set aside.

Tip the chicken and chickpeas into a roasting tin, ensuring that the chicken is scored side up.  Roast in the oven for 16 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.  Leave to rest for a few minutes before cutting the chicken breasts into ½ cm thick slices.  Spoon the quinoa into a large serving bowl, stir through the chicken, chickpeas and parsley, season to taste and then serve.

Brown Sugar Marmalade Cake

When you love food and cooking it stands to reason that over time you’ll develop a collection of favourite ingredients, recipes and food writers.  I won’t go through my entire roll of inspirations, both cupboard and book bound, but I will tell you this: Nigel Slater will always, always come top of my list.  So great is my love for the man that I keep a special section of shelves (an empty wine crate no less) devoted to his books, of which I have them all.  My first experience of Nigel, and indeed my first flush of cookery writing love, was a copy of his early The 30-Minute Cookbook – yes that’s right Jamie, Nigel got there first.  It was a book so simple in its premise, so tantalising in its content and so wonderfully, and encouragingly, accessible.  Nigel made me want to cook, but he also made it clear that I could cook, and that, I think, is the key to good food writing.  I know I am not alone in this, Nigel is often cited as the countries favourite food writer.  Under normal circumstances that would put me off a little, never having liked the feeling of being just one of a number.  But in this case, it only goes to prove quite how appealing Nigel Slater’s writing is.

Not for him the big, flouncy shows or market-led subject matter.  Even when he does finally feature in his own cookery programme it is a relaxed and genteel affair – focused on simply cooking lovely food.  No pomp, no ceremony and lots and lots of crème fraiche.  I love this man.  Over the years there has been many a Nigel Slater recipe that’s found itself adapted for my food sensitivities.  Part of me feels that it may be a little sacrilegious to mess with his fine art, but I can’t resist it.  A good recipe is still a good recipe, even when tweaked a little.  So this is where I find myself: leafing through the pages of Nigel’s Kitchen Diaries – a book to be read as just that, a diary; dipped into as a thought for the day, its culinary inspiration driving your appetite – only to discover this gem of a recipe. 

Hands up, I really have adapted it.  Plus, I may have changed the sugar, just a little.  I wanted the mellow, caramel sweetness that comes from muscovado sugar, it just seemed right.  This cake is heavenly, truly heavenly and entirely appropriate, the marmalade awards having recently been.  Use homemade marmalade if you can – someone always has a batch, or get it from a farm shop or farmers market.  Then treat yourself to a cup of tea and a slice of this cake, and think of Nigel.

MARMALADE BROWN SUGAR CAKE

Serves 8

You will need a 2lb loaf tin for this recipe

175g/6oz Doves Farm Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

175g/6oz light muscovado sugar

150g/5½oz butter replacement – Pure Sunflower Spread

3 eggs – 3 heaped tsp of Orgran Egg Replacer whisked together with 6 tbsp water

75g/2¾oz marmalade

The zest of 1 orange

The juice of ½ orange

For the icing

100g/3½oz golden icing sugar

2 tbsp orange juice

Preheat the oven to 180c (160c Fan) and lightly grease and line the loaf tin.  Cream together the sugar and butter replacement until caramel, smooth and fluffy.  Beat in the egg replacer, bit by bit, mixing the egg in thoroughly each time you add it  - do not be alarmed if the mixture looks like it is beginning to split, the flour will put it back together.  Stir in the marmalade and orange zest until combined.

Using a large metal spoon, fold the flour into your mixture.  Do this until the flour has become completely blended with the remaining ingredients.  Gently stir in the orange juice and then spoon the cake mixture into the loaf tin and level the top with the back of your spoon.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes in the oven until risen and golden – you can check with a thin skewer or cocktail stick.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.  Meanwhile,  mix together the icing sugar and orange juice until smooth and glossy (note, this is quite a runny icing so if you prefer yours thicker just add a little extra icing sugar).  Once the cake has cooled, drizzle the icing over the top and leave to set before cutting into slices and serving.

You can also find this recipe at Cybele Pascal's Allergen Free Cuisine.