Simple Chicken and Coconut Curry

I was preparing to make a simple salad for the blog this week.  A combination of finely sliced sprouts, caramelised roasted sweet potato and lightly toasted pecans, all drizzled with a light lemony herb dressing.  Fresh, crisp, full of flavour, I thought it was just the thing to help boost the immune system and banish the January blues.  Then I looked out the window.  It’s freezing cold, wet and miserable here, the sky is grey and each time I venture out I have to wrap my hands in whatever wool is to hand (that will be a pair of gloves then) and pace to my destination, breathing puffs of frozen air into my scarf to keep my lower face warm.  Lovely as I know it will be – and I may well work on it a little later - I don’t want a salad to eat, I want something warming, nourishing and hot!  Curry is the answer, of course it is – who, after all, doesn’t love a curry?

This is the quickest and easiest of curries: with a little prep, a little more marinating and a blast of cooking you have a delicious, rich and fragrant dish which I think does more for body and soul in January than any raw salad or seaweed juice ever could.  I’ve chosen to use chicken thighs because I think they hold the best flavour, but feel free to use whatever cut or indeed meat that you like.  The spices are a simple blend and are in no way gospel.  Use whatever you have and miss out whatever you haven’t - that’s the beauty of making a curry; you can flavour it to whatever heights you like.  I like this combination of spices and I think the coconut milk is key, adding creaminess and a buttery note.  You could however use cashew nuts to thicken the sauce, as I’ve done here in this Lamb Korma.  Serve with white basmati rice and a handful of coriander leaves – it’ll keep the cold and blues at bay.

SIMPLE CHICKEN AND COCONUT CURRY

Serves 4

8 skinless and boneless chicken thighs

1 large white onion

2 cloves of garlic

½ tin coconut milk

2 tsp garam masala

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp ground coriander

½ - 1 tsp chilli powder – depending on how hot you like it

½ tsp black mustard seeds

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp mixed spice

2 tbsp tomato puree

Juice of half a lemon

2 tbsp groundnut oil

A bunch of fresh coriander

Stir together the coconut milk, lemon juice and all of the spices in a large mixing bowl until blended.  Make a few diagonal cuts, about 1cm deep, on each chicken thigh and then place them in the marinade, leave to marinate for 2 – 24 hours. 

Preheat the oven to 220c (200c Fan).  Finely slice the garlic and cut the onion into thin half moons.  Heat the oil in a large, shallow heavy based casserole, fry the onion and garlic until softened and just starting to colour.  Add the chicken thighs and sauce into the casserole, season well and then bake in the oven for 30 - 35 minutes.  Serve on a bed of basmati rice with a scattering of torn coriander leaves over the top.

Circassian Chicken

CIRCASSIAN CHICKEN (Chicken with Walnut Sauce)

It may be an obvious thing to say, but I love cooking.  I love every little process involved: shopping for ingredients and the sight, smell and touch of fresh produce; the meditative quality of chopping, cubing, peeling, slicing and in all ways prepping the food.  I love to gently stir, my mind traversing the day’s events.  I love to hear the sizzle and bursts from a pan or smell the heady aromas emanating from the oven.  And, oh, how I do like to feed people: to see the simple pleasure that food can bring.

But perhaps, greater than all of that, is my love for the recipes themselves.  Nothing manages to please me quite as much as browsing, discovering and even writing a recipe: the excitement and pleasure of discovering a new ingredient or a new way to cook; or the pleasurable satisfaction of creating your own interpretation of a dish.  I am so appreciative of the effort and care put in to writing a recipe for the sole purpose of other people to share and enjoy.  It’s what cooking is all about: the feeding of body and soul.

This is a jewel of a recipe; an interpretation of a classic, if not well known, Turkish dish.  The flavours are light while possessing a mellow quality, thanks to the elaborate quantities of toasted walnuts used.  I have poached the chicken, roasted the walnuts and simplified the process a touch (I, for one, being too lazy to peel half a pound of walnuts by hand, as is tradition).  The sauce itself is delicious on its own; you could use it as a dip for cut vegetables, on bread, stirred through pasta.  Although I think it is at its best when poured over cold, roasted meats.  Eat it as a relaxed lunch or supper: new potatoes, a bowl of watercress and avocado or perhaps some roasted peppers on the side.

You can make this whole dish ahead of time and then store in the fridge for a for a few hours, but be sure to take it out a good half an hour before serving as the sauce is best when served at room temperature.

CIRCASSIAN CHICKEN (Chicken with Walnut Sauce)

Serves 4

4 skinless chicken breasts

The juice of 1 lemon

½ lb walnuts

2 slices of gluten & yeast-free bread – I used Artisan Organic Quinoa Bread

1 large clove of garlic

A small bunch of coriander

12 pitted black olives

Trim the stalks from the coriander (keeping the leaves aside for later) and place in a large saucepan of water.  Add a large pinch of sea salt flakes and the juice of the lemon, cover and bring to the boil.  Once the water is boiling, add the chicken breasts, bring back to the boil and then cover and remove from the heat.  Leave the pan to sit for 1hour before draining the chicken breasts – but being careful to retain half of the stock - and patting dry.  This method allows the chicken to poach slowly, retaining the tenderness of the meat and adding a piquant flavour from the lemon and coriander. The chicken breasts will still be very hot when you remove them from the water so leave them to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

Preheat the oven to 180c (160c Fan) and place the walnuts onto a baking tray.  Bake until toasted and fragrant, about 8 minutes or so, giving the baking tray a shake every now and then to stop them from catching.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down.  Place the walnuts into a food processor, add a good pinch of salt and blitz until you have a coarse paste – this will take about 4 minutes of blitzing.  Soak the two slices of bread in the chicken stock (30 seconds should do it), carefully squeeze them out and add the bread to the walnuts, along with the clove of garlic, lightly crushed.  Blitz again until you have a thick and smooth paste.  Keep the food processor running, and start adding a bit of the stock at a time, allowing it to emulsify until you have a thick and creamy sauce – about 250ml.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Slice the chicken breasts diagonally, into 1cm thick slices.  Lay the chicken out onto a large platter, overlapping in places.  Spoon the walnut sauce over the sliced chicken and then scatter over the coriander leaves and black olives before serving.