Another Touch of Sunshine

A Turkish Inspired Feast

 

I’ve never been so busy, hence the recent sporadic posting. There’s exciting news on the way blog-wise but I don’t want to jinx things so for now I’ll just say I’m juggling projects like crazy.

Back to the cooking. I don’t know about everyone else but I’m bored of winter, we had snow yesterday and there’s more forecast on the way accompanied by below freezing temperatures. It’s dull and I want some sunshine and warmth. If you feel the same way, try this recipe, it’ll help shift the winter gloom if only for a short while.

This sumac chargrilled chicken is delicious, granted it is not the world’s prettiest dish but it tastes damn good. I’ve added a roasted onion side dish dressed with olive oil and pomegranate molasses and a chilli spiced yoghurt dip.

 

 Sumac Chargrilled Chicken

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 pack of chicken thigh fillets (about 500g)

3 cloves garlic

2 sprigs of thyme, or lemon thyme if you can get it

1 lemon, cut into 8 chunky pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp sumac

Salt and pepper

Method

• Flatten out the chicken thighs on a plate and drizzle with the olive oil, scatter with garlic, thyme leaves, sumac and salt and pepper. Massage into the chicken until nicely coated and set aside in the fridge for about 1 hour to allow the flavours to penetrate the chicken.
• Heat a chargrill pan until searingly hot. Lay the chicken flat into the hot pan, add the chunks of lemon to grill amongst the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes on each side until cooked through.

Roasted Onion and Pomegranate Molasses

Ingredients

3 large red onions (or 4-6 small) cut into wedges

Sprig of thyme or lemon thyme, leaves only

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 tbsp olive oil

Method

• Heat oil in a large frying pan, when hot add wedges of onion and thyme. Turn heat to low and cook gently until onions have caramelised and softened.
• Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper. Turn out onto your serving dish, drizzle with olive oil and pomegranate molasses, mix gently and serve.

 Yoghurt Chilli Dip

Ingredients

3 tbsp Greek yoghurt

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 tsp tumeric

Salt and pepper

Method

• Add all ingredients to a bowl, mix well and chill until needed.

Frugal Feasts 5

Spiced Puy Lentils with Cumin and Coriander Chicken

One of the best things about winter is the excuse to eat steaming bowls of carb-laden treats as they both warm and comfort the body and soul in a way a salad will always fail to do. However there’s a stew planned for tomorrow so I wanted something filling but light. This chargrilled chicken dish with spiced lentils is just such a dish and with some careful shopping came in at £4.94

I say careful as I am lucky enough to live near several ethnic food stores where I buy many of my spices, fruits, herbs and vegetables for half the prices you can pay at many supermarkets. For example two large bunches of fresh coriander cost 99p and lemons and limes were 4 for a £1. What a bargain! I’m sure I have a startled expression on my face at the checkout whenever I pay, it feels too little for the bagful of groceries I take.

Puy lentils are a regional variety of green lentil, you can use any lentil you wish but they should not break up or become mushy when cooked. The lentils are being served with chicken thigh fillets, a cheaper and more flavourful part of the chicken than the breast. I used skinless thighs as these were on special, but chargrilling with the skin on is fine, less healthy maybe but it does protect the meat from drying out but with such quick cooking this is not a problem with this recipe.
The chicken does not need to be in the marinade for long, I prepare the chicken first before cooking the lentils just to let the flavours develop.

Ingredients

For the chicken

400g chicken thigh fillets
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

For the lentils

250g Puy lentils
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 fresh chilli
75g leek, finely chopped
75g carrot, finely chopped
1/2 stick celery, finely chopped
600 ml stock, I used chicken stock
1 lemon
Handful fresh chopped coriander

Method

• Put the oil, coriander, cumin, lemon juice and zest and salt and pepper into a dish. Season and add chicken, coat chicken well and set aside.
• Rinse the puy lentils in cold water and drain. Heat oil in a saucepan. When hot add chilli, cumin, ground coriander, red onion and garlic and stir for 2 minutes until onions begin to soften. Add carrots, leek and celery and stir for a further 2 minutes. Add lentils, stir to mix with vegetables and add stock. Simmer for .... minutes until lentils are cooked. Put lid on to keep warm.
• Heat chargrill pan or frying pan until searingly hot. Add chicken and reduce heat to medium. Depending on the thickness of the thighs cooking time should be about 5 minutes per side, less if they are very thin.
• Just before serving add the juice and zest of the lemon to the lentils and stir through the fresh coriander.

Costing
Chicken thighs £2.50
Puy lentils £1.00
2 lemons £0.50
1/2 red onion £0.10
Garlic £0.05
Chilli £0.05
Leek, carrot and celery £0.15
1 chicken stock cube or pot, I used Knorr Chicken Stockpot £0.49
Coriander £0.10

Frugal Feasts 1

Butternut Squash and Cashew Biryani

This is the first of our budget busting meals for January coming in just under £5 for 4 people excluding dry spices and garlic, it’s hearty enough to feed the family or if piled onto a pretty serving dish, special enough to serve for friends. 

It is no accident that this meal is meat-free. I’ve overdone the meat over the festive period and while I feel no need to detox completely, my body is crying out for something more gentle on the digestive system. The textural contrast between the nuts and the roasted butternut squash provide a delightfully filling and healthy dish whilst the gentle spicing makes this suitable for all the family.

I’m using the slow cooker for this. It means a little preparation beforehand but once the onions, spices and squash are sorted just place all the ingredients into the pot and forget about it until dinner. You can of course cook this in the oven in a large casserole dish with a lid.

Ingredients

1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped into large chunks
2 large onions, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, grated
2.5cm fresh ginger, grated  
225g basmati rice
Seeds from 5 crushed cardamon
2 kashmiri chillies
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
5 cloves
Small cinnamon stick
1 litre vegetable stock of your choice10 peppercorns
1/2 tsp tumeric
100g cashew nuts (unsalted)
Salt and pepper

Spices Required for this dish

Method

• Place chopped butternut squash onto a baking tray, drizzle with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a hot oven 180 degrees for about 20 minutes until softened and nicely toasted on the edges. Remove from the heat.
• Grind the dry spices in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar.
• Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan, fry off onions on a medium heat until crispy and golden, add the  ground spices and garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 minute to release the flavour. Make up 1 litre of stock and add this to the onion mixture. Add the sultanas and simmer for 5 minutes until the sultanas have swollen slightly. Check seasoning at this point as seasoning after will disturb the layers. Add salt and pepper if needed.
• Pour 2 ladles of the stock and onion mix into the slow cooker pot. Add a thin layer of rice, followed by half the butternut squash. Repeat, finally adding remaining stock mixture carefully.
• Place lid on slow cooker and place on a low setting. If cooking in a conventional oven, add layers as above to a large casserole dish with a lid. Heat oven to 150 degrees, check the rice after 1 hour. Once the stock has fully evaporated the rice should be fluffy and perfectly cooked.
• The slow cooker will take approximately 2 hours. Just before serving scatter with unsalted cashews and some coriander if you wish.

Costings are approximate

1/2 butternut squash £0.75
275g basmati rice £0.85
Vegetable stock pots £0.60
100g cashew nuts £1.20
40g sultanas £0.15
2 onions £0.40
2.5cm piece ginger £0.20