1kg chicken breast fillets, flattened with a mallet or rolling pin
½ long cucumber, cut into wedges
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, sliced
handful coriander and mint leaves
1 lemon, cut into wedges
wholemeal flat bread, toasted
natural yoghurt
Mix the Greek yoghurt with the spices, garlic and ginger in a bowl large enough to hold all the chicken fillets. Season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the chicken and mix with your hands to coat. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.
Place the cucumber, red onion and chilli in a bowl and toss gently to combine. Preheat a barbecue or chargrill pan on high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook for 4–5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
Slice the chicken and serve with separate bowls of the mango chutney, vegetables, torn herbs, lemon wedges, flat bread and yoghurt and let everyone make their own wraps. SERVES 4–6
MANGO CHUTNEY
3 mangoes, peeled
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1½ tablespoons grated ginger
1 red chilli, chopped
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon sea salt
100g caster sugar
125ml cider vinegar
Cut the mango flesh away from the stone and chop into a small dice. Place the garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander seeds and turmeric in a mortar and pestle and crush to a paste.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the spice paste and cinnamon stick and fry for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the diced mango, salt, sugar and vinegar and cook for 30 minutes, until thick and syrupy. Set aside to cool.
CHICKEN PAILLARD WITH SPRING ONIONS AND PROSCIUTTO
The secret to well-cooked, juicy chicken breast is to slice it thin and cook it quick.
4 chicken breast fillets, cut into 3 pieces lengthways
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lemon, sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 thin slices prosciutto, roughly torn
4 spring onions, finely sliced
310ml chicken stock
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
2 courgettes, cut into chunks and steamed
Bash out the chicken pieces until nicely thin. Drizzle with the oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place a frying pan over high heat and add the chicken pieces and lemon slices. Sear for 2 minutes on one side and then turn over and sear the other side for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and cover to keep warm.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to melt. Fry the prosciutto for 1 minute, or until lightly browned. Add the onions and cook for 30 seconds, then pour in the chicken stock and let bubble for a few minutes until thickened slightly. Remove from heat, stir in the crème fraîche and season well. Divide the chicken into serving plates, pour over the sauce and serve with the steamed courgettes. SERVES 4
MOROCCAN CHICKEN PIES
At the risk of sounding like a Stepford Wife (or Husband!), always make double the quantity and put some away in the freezer.
50g plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric
750g skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3cm dice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons grated ginger
500g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into small chunks
100g dried apricots, roughly chopped
100g pitted green olives
375ml chicken stock
1 tablespoon preserved lemon rind, finely chopped
375g block ready-made butter puff pastry
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Combine the flour, cinnamon and turmeric in a bowl and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the chicken to coat, shaking off any excess flour. Place the oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes, until soft. Increase heat to high, add the chicken and cook for 2–3 minutes, until the chicken is lightly browned.
Add the squash, apricots, olives, stock and preserved lemon, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, season to taste and set aside in the fridge until cold.
You will need six 250ml ramekins or ovenproof dishes. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until about 4mm thick. Using one dish upside down as a guide, cut out 6 rounds of pastry 1cm larger than the circumference of the dish. Spoon the chicken filling into each dish, brush the rim with egg yolk and cover with the pastry lid, pushing down lightly around the rim to seal. Brush the pie tops with more egg yolk and bake for 35–40 minutes, until golden brown. SERVES 6
Fillet of fish
Fish