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Roasted Redcurrant Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary New Potatoes
If I were to be scrupulously honest, I would say that this is really a cheat’s version of a Sunday roast, with all of the flavour but half the work. It really is none the worse for it, however, and can transform a springtime supper or lunch into a time-saving delight for the senses. One of the beauties of this dish is that you cook it all together, not only bypassing the faff of having a numbers of pots and pans on the go, but also allowing the flavours of the dish to mesh in a beautifully fragrant way. Once the chicken is in the oven, you could lightly dress a fresh herb and baby-leaf salad to accompany it while sipping from a glass of something lovely – the perfect way to cook.
Serves 4
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5 cloves of garlic
A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 2 tbsp lemon juice
4 skinless chicken breasts
450g/1lb new potatoes
4 sprigs of rosemary
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Crush just two of the cloves of garlic and finely chop the parsley, then add to a large bowl, mixing them with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the redcurrant jelly and lemon zest and juice.
Using a sharp knife and cutting to a depth of about 1cm/½in, score each chicken breast diagonally 3–4 times. Place the chicken in the bowl with the marinade, turning each breast in the mixture to ensure it is thoroughly coated and the marinade penetrates the cuts in the meat. Season well with salt and pepper, then cover the bowl and leave for a minimum of 30 minutes to absorb the flavours.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.
Halve the potatoes and place in a large roasting tin with the remaining olive oil, whole garlic cloves and the sprigs of rosemary. Season well with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 20–25 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and reduce the temperature to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Place the chicken breasts in the roasting tin so that they are resting on top of the potatoes. Pour over the remaining marinade and return to the oven for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Spring Chicken with Lemon and Herbs and Roasted Sweet Potatoes
This is a beautiful spring dish, simple to make but packed full of flavour. I like to serve it with a large salad of fresh lettuce leaves: red oak, rocket, cos and radicchio are all perfect. Equally, a pea and green bean salad would make a great accompaniment.
Serves 4
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1 x 1.6kg/3½lb chicken
1kg/2lb 3oz sweet potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the herb rub
3 cloves of garlic
A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
A small bunch of marjoram
Leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme
2 tbsp dairy-free margarine (ideally Pure Sunflower Spread)
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (reserving the juiced halves) and finely chopped peel of ½ lemon
1 tbsp English mustard (1 heaped tbsp mustard powder mixed with 1 tbsp water)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/gas mark 9.
Make the herb rub by first crushing the garlic and finely chopping the parsley and marjoram. Mix them together in a bowl with the thyme leaves, margarine, lemon zest and peel and mustard, seasoning well with salt and pepper.
Using a spoon, carefully lift the skin of the chicken from around its cavity and, with your hands, push the lemon and herb rub underneath the skin, spreading over the chicken as far and as evenly as you can without breaking the skin. Place the chicken in a large roasting tin, stuffing the cavity with the leftover lemon halves, then pour the lemon juice over the whole chicken and season well with salt and pepper.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into large chunks, approximately 5cm/2in in size. Surround the chicken with the sweet potatoes and pour over the olive oil.
Place in the oven, immediately reducing the temperature to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7, and roast for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the chicken is golden and, when pierced with a skewer, the juices run clear. (Always test the meat of the thigh rather than the breast as it is the slowest to cook.) If you feel the chicken or sweet potatoes are browning too quickly, then cover with foil for the remaining cooking time.
Once roasted, remove from the oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Herbed Lamb on a Bed of Leeks and Cannellini Beans
This recipe is perfect for spring, with all the wonderful fresh lamb that is available at this time of year. The ingredients are so simple, yet produce a classic combination of texture and flavour – the rich meat with the tender, tangy leeks and the creamy bite of the cannellini beans. This dish makes a meal in itself, but it’s also delicious served with lightly crushed Jersey Royal new potatoes, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.
Serves 4
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350g/12oz leeks
5 cloves of garlic
A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
Leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary
3 tbsp olive oil
4 lamb chops or 8 lamb cutlets
2 x 400g tins of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp soft light brown sugar
150ml/5fl oz chicken or vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Halve the leeks lengthways and slice into thin half-moons, then crush the garlic and finely chop the parsley. Place the leeks in a large roasting tin or ovenproof dish, add the crushed garlic and the rosemary leaves and pour over the olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper and mix together thoroughly. Level out the leeks so that they form an even layer and then place the lamb chops or cutlets on top, spacing them evenly apart.
Cover loosely with foil and cook in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and discard the foil. Scatter the cannellini beans over the leeks and gently mix together. Stir the sugar into the stock and pour over the lamb, leeks and beans, then return to the oven for 20–25 minutes or until the lamb is cooked through and tender.
Scatter the chopped parsley over a chopping board, then transfer the lamb chops or cutlets to the board, gently rolling the outside rim of each chop in the parsley to coat it. Serve the lamb resting on a large pile of the leeks and cannellini beans with the juices from the tin drizzled over.
Honey-baked Leg of Lamb
This is such a glorious recipe, the lamb coated in a creamy spiced marinade that soaks into the meat and chars on cooking, producing the most divine combination of flavours. It's a great dish to serve friends and family as it looks so wonderfully generous placed on the table and carved for each person. You could serve it for a dinner party or as part of a more relaxed spread. The Persian Jewelled Quinoa lends just the right body and texture to the overall dish. Add a green salad and a large bowl of houmous and I, for one, am in heaven!
Serves 4
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5 cloves of garlic
250ml/9fl oz oat cream, chilled
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp runny honey
1 x 1kg/2lb 3oz boned leg of lamb
Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.
Begin by crushing the garlic, then make the marinade by mixing this with the oat cream, lemon juice, chilli, cumin, sea salt, olive oil and honey. (It helps if the oat cream has been chilled first as it thickens up and acts like yoghurt.)
Lay the boned leg out flat, fat side down to begin with. Using a sharp knife, trim the lamb to make it level, scoring and cutting the joint if necessary, so that you end up with a flat piece of meat, reasonably even in thickness. Spread the marinade over both sides of the meat, working it into all the corners and cuts.
Lay the lamb on a rack in a large roasting tin and bake in the oven for 30–35 minutes. This will produce meat that is slightly pink in the middle, so cook it for an extra 5–10 minutes if you prefer it well done. The spiced cream will make a fragrant crust which may scorch during cooking, but don’t worry as this only adds to the flavour.
Once cooked, remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes, then slice into thick wedges and serve with the Persian Jewelled Quinoa.
Chicken and Apricot Tagine
Like most spiced dishes, tagines benefit from being made the day before and then heated through the following day, allowing time for their flavour to develop properly. ‘Tagine’ refers both to the earthenware pot – a traditional north African cooking vessel with a distinctive conical lid – and to the food cooked in it, the spices and juices of the ingredients amalgamating to produce meat that is intensely flavoured and meltingly tender. If you don’t possess a tagine, then a casserole dish with a fitted lid will do just as well.
Serves 4
Contains nuts
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30g/1¼oz pine nuts
2 red onions
150g/5oz soft dried apricots
A bunch of coriander
4 skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
425ml/15fl oz chicken or vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
You will need a tagine or heavy-based casserole dish with a lid for this recipe
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
Scatter the pine nuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven, turning them occasionally to make sure they don’t burn, for 5–6 minutes or until golden brown, then remove and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, halve the onions, slicing them into thin half-moons, then halve the dried apricots and finely chop the coriander. Cut up the chicken breasts into 2.5cm/1in cubes.
Heat the olive oil in the tagine or casserole dish and gently fry the onions over a medium heat for 5–6 minutes or until softened but not browned. Turn the heat up slightly and add the spices and the diced chicken. Season with salt and pepper and stir to coat evenly, cooking for a minute or so before pouring over the stock.
Cover with a lid and bring to the boil, then transfer to the oven to cook for 15 minutes. Add the apricots and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove the lid and stir well, then return to the oven and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or until the chicken and the apricots are tender and the sauce has reduced to a thickened gravy. When ready to serve, sprinkle with the chopped coriander and toasted pine nuts before spooning on top of the Herb Quinoa.
Persian Jewelled Quinoa
So called for its Middle Eastern origins and the jewel-like, sweet sultanas it contains, this dish makes a delicious accompaniment to roasted meats or served cold as part of a selection of salads. I have used golden sultanas in this recipe but replacing them with dried apricots, chopped to roughly the same size as the sultanas, works equally well.
Serves 4
Contains nuts
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50g/1¾oz pine nuts
50g/1¾oz golden sultanas or chopped dried apricots
175g/6oz quinoa
500ml/18fl oz vegetable stock
A bunch of coriander
A bunch of mint
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a heavy-based frying pan, dry-fry the pine nuts over a medium– high heat for 3–4 minutes or until golden, shaking the pan regularly to ensure that they don’t burn. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Cover the sultanas in boiling water and leave for 20 minutes – this will soften them and remove any yeast that may be on the outside. When softened, drain and set aside. If you are using apricots, then you don’t need to soak them.
Place the quinoa in a large saucepan and pour over the stock, then cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the stock.
Finely chop the coriander and mint. Using a fork, fluff up the cooked quinoa, then place in a large serving bowl, add all the remaining ingredients, season with salt and pepper and mix together.
Herb Quinoa
Bursting with flavour, this dish is perfect for serving with the Chicken and Apricot Tagine, but it also works equally well as an accompaniment to grilled meats or mixed with roasted vegetables. Feel free to use a combination of different herbs in this salad; almost anything works, except perhaps the woodier herbs such as rosemary and thyme.
Serves 4
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175g/6oz quinoa
500ml/18fl oz vegetable or chicken stock
A bunch of fresh coriander
A bunch of fresh parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Add the quinoa to a large saucepan and pour over the stock, then cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the stock has been completely absorbed.
While the quinoa is cooking, finely chop the fresh herbs and set aside. Fluff up the cooked quinoa with a fork and then add the chopped herbs, season with salt and pepper and mix together thoroughly. Serve while hot.
Lamb Korma
This curry has a mild flavour and, although not heavy on the chilli, the blend of spices gives it a real intensity, while the ground cashew nuts produce an amazingly velvety and light sauce. I love the combination of lamb with this sauce, but chicken would work just as well. Equally, it really lends itself to being converted to a vegetarian version – potatoes or butternut squash with cauliflower, spinach and peas. Like all good curries, it is best made the day before so that the flavours have a chance to really develop. Simply heat through when you are ready to eat and add the fresh coriander to serve.
Serves 4
Contains nuts
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4 cloves of garlic
2.5cm/1in piece of root ginger
2 white onions
3 cardamom pods
3 tbsp groundnut or rapeseed oil
2.5cm/1in cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp chilli powder
2 tsp tomato purée
500g/1lb 2oz diced lamb, trimmed of excess fat
150ml/5fl oz oat cream
25g/1oz unsalted cashew nuts
A small bunch of coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Crush the garlic and peel and finely grate the ginger, then mix together and set aside. Finely chop the onions and crush the cardamom pods with the flat side of a knife. Heat the groundnut or rapeseed oil in a large heavy-based saucepan, add the onion, cinnamon stick, cardamom and bay leaves and gently fry over a low heat for 8–10 minutes or until the onion is soft but not browned.
Add the ginger and garlic, along with the ground coriander, turmeric, chilli and tomato purée. Mix well and then continue to fry over a low heat for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the lamb, season well with salt and pepper and mix together so that the lamb is fully coated in the spices. Pour in the oat cream and cover with a lid, then bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 30 minutes or until the lamb is tender.
Meanwhile, using a mortar and pestle, grind the cashew nuts with 2–4 tablespoons of water until you have a smooth and creamy paste. Once the lamb is cooked, scoop out the cinnamon stick and bay leaves and mix in the cashew paste, then raise the heat and simmer for a further couple of minutes. Roughly chop the coriander, stalks and all, and sprinkle over the korma ready to serve on a pile of Lemon and Cashew Nut Rice.
Penne with Hot-smoked Salmon in a Garlic Cream Sauce
Slow-roasting garlic cloves until they are tender, sweet and gooey is a sure-fire way to add glorious flavour to a dish. You can stir them into mashed potato, or spread them on warmed bread with a drizzle of olive oil. But I like them best stirred into a cream sauce, as in this recipe. The flavours of the hot-smoked salmon and garden peas mingle with the rich cream sauce, the garlic offset by the lemon zest, to make the perfect springtime supper dish.
Serves 4
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1 bulb of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
250g/9oz hot-smoked salmon
A bunch of curly-leaf parsley
400g/14oz gluten-free penne
200g/7oz frozen peas
250ml/9fl oz oat cream
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5.
Peel away any loose papery skin from the outside of the garlic bulb, then slice off the top, about 5mm/¼in down from the tip, so that the inside of the bulb is left partially exposed. Place on a baking tray, chopped side up, pour over the olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the garlic cloves are soft and give when gently squeezed. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down slightly. When cool enough to handle, carefully squeeze out each clove from its casing and set aside.
Meanwhile, put a large saucepan of salted water on to boil. Peel the skin from the salmon and flake into small pieces. Finely chop the parsley and set aside. Once the water is boiling, add the penne to the pan and cook until al dente following the instructions on the packet – usually 10–12 minutes, depending on the brand of pasta. Add the peas to the water for the last 2 minutes of cooking.
Pour the oat cream into another large pan and add the roasted garlic cloves and lemon zest. Season well with salt and pepper and then whisk the mixture over a low heat until the garlic – which will be rich and gooey – is amalgamated into the sauce. Increase the heat so that the sauce begins to bubble lightly and continue to cook for 2 minutes or until heated through.
Drain the penne and peas and tip into the garlic cream sauce. Add the flaked salmon and continue to cook for a minute or two, stirring the mixture together very carefully and giving the pan a shake so that the pasta and sauce combine. Serve while hot, sprinkled with the chopped parsley.
Spaghetti with Asparagus and Lemon Pesto
I have long thought that asparagus and lemon go gloriously well together. I like the way asparagus can hold its own among stronger flavours, its distinctive clean yet savoury taste allowing it to stand alone while still blending in with the crowd. This spaghetti dish is really just an extension of my love for homemade pesto. I’ve added a little lemon zest to the pesto to bring out the flavours and to offset the creamy taste and texture of the spaghetti.
Serves 4
Contains nuts
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400g/14oz gluten-free spaghetti
Sea salt
For the pesto
100g/3½oz pine nuts
200g/7oz asparagus spears
1 small clove of garlic
Grated zest of ½ lemon
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a heavy-based frying pan, dry-fry the pine nuts for the pesto over a medium–high heat for 3–4 minutes or until golden, shaking the pan regularly to ensure that they don’t burn. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
First snap off the woody ends of the asparagus by gently bending each spear between your fingers. The asparagus will start to give in one particular spot close to the base, allowing you to snap it easily at that point. Discard the woody ends and steam or boil the asparagus tips for about 4 minutes or until tender to the point of a knife. Refresh in cold, running water (to prevent further cooking) and set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the spaghetti and cook until al dente following the instructions on the packet – usually 10–12 minutes, depending on the brand of pasta.
While the spaghetti is cooking, make the pesto. Crush the garlic and then place the toasted pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the asparagus, lemon zest, garlic and olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and continue to pulse until you have a slightly rough paste. Season again to taste and set aside.
Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain and then return it to the pan. Tip in the fresh pesto and stir it into the hot spaghetti until it is fully coated. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and serve.
Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry
I truly adore vegetable curries. In many ways they are so much better than their meat counterparts, especially when you are cooking with starchy vegetables such as sweet potato, parsnip or squash. They have the ability to soak up all the intensity of flavour while providing a glorious texture at the same time. This curry is both warming and rich, made wholly comforting by the tender sweet potato, creamy coconut and tangy spinach. I recommend serving it with a bowl of steamed basmati rice, a salad of onion, coriander and tomatoes, some sliced bananas dressed in lemon juice and a few crisp poppadoms.
Serves 4
Contains nuts
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1kg/2lb 3oz sweet potatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1 large onion
1 large tomato
1 red chilli
A bunch of coriander
3 tsp ground coriander
3 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp groundnut or rapeseed oil
150ml/5fl oz vegetable stock
200ml/7fl oz coconut milk
100g/3½oz spinach
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
Peel the sweet potatoes and chop into 4cm/1½in chunks. Crush the garlic and roughly chop the onion and tomato, then deseed the red chilli and finely chop both this and the fresh coriander.
Place the sweet potatoes in a large roasting tin, along with the ground spices and 2 tablespoons of the groundnut or rapeseed oil, season with salt and pepper and mix together until the sweet potatoes are well coated. Roast in the oven for 35–40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are soft and tender and slightly caramelised at the edges.
While they are cooking, pour the remaining oil into a large saucepan, add the onion, garlic and chilli, and then fry on the lowest heat for 8–10 minutes or until softened but not browned.
Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and add to the onion mixture in the pan. Pour over the vegetable stock and coconut milk and stir together gently. Add the spinach and chopped tomato to the curry, then cover the saucepan with a lid and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the spinach has completely wilted. Taste, adding a little salt and pepper, if necessary, before serving.
Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry
In this irresistible curry, the yielding texture of cauliflower mingles with the iron-rich tang of spinach, while chickpeas add body and bite to the dish, all enveloped in an aromatic coconut sauce. Perfect served with Lemon and Cashew Nut Rice and perhaps a poppadom or two.
