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