RAS-EL-HANOUT CHICKEN WRAPS WITH A YOGHURT SAUCE
Preparation time: Under 30 mins
Cook time: 10 to 30 mins
Serving: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For the ras-el-hanout chicken wraps
4 large chicken breasts
2 heaped tbsp. ras-el-hanout spice mix
7-8 tbsp. olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
2-3 tbsp. pomegranate molasses, to taste
Rocket or lettuce leaves, to serve
4-6 flour tortillas
For the yogurt
400g/14oz. full-fat Greek yogurt
1 small bunch fresh mint, freshly chopped
2 tbsp. sumac
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
For the ras-el-hanout chicken wraps, cut the thick side of each chicken breast horizontally to even out the thickness of each breast and ensure they cook evenly. In a small bowl, mix the ras-el-hanout with 4-5 tablespoons of the olive oil to create a paste. Smear the paste over the chicken breasts, ensuring they are well coated. Season each breast with a pinch of sea salt, cover with cling film and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 10 minutes and up to a few hours.
To make the yoghurt sauce, put the yoghurt, fresh mint and sumac in a small serving bowl. Season with a generous pinch of sea salt and some black pepper. Mix well until the sumac and mint are evenly incorporated.
For the ras-el-hanout chicken wraps, preheat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the remaining olive oil and the chicken breasts (you may want to use two pans at a time if cooking all four chicken breasts at once). Fry the chicken for about 8-10 minutes on one side and 6-8 minutes on the other side. You can check how cooked the chicken is by prodding the fattest part of the chicken strips with your finger - if it feels very springy then it needs to cook a bit longer. Check the chicken is cooked by piercing the thickest part with a skewer or small knife. If the juices run clear and the flesh is no longer pink then the chicken is cooked and ready to serve. Place your cooked chicken on a chopping board and allow to rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips.
To serve, put a few strips of chicken on each tortilla wrap, add a dollop of the yoghurt sauce and then drizzle with pomegranate molasses. Add some rocket or lettuce leaves, roll up the tortillas and serve
PERSIAN NOODLE SOUP
Herbs, pulses, noodles, spinach and soured cream combine in this Iranian comfort food dish, topped with deeply caramelized onions.
Preparation time: Under 30 mins
Cook time: 30 mins to one hour
Serving: Serves 4
Ingredients
3 tablespoon olive oil
4 onions, 2 roughly chopped, 2 thinly sliced
2 tsp ground turmeric
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g tin chickpeas, drained
100g/3½oz small brown lentils
400g haricot beans, drained
1 liter/1¾ pint vegetable stock
40g/1½oz butter
100g/3½oz linguine or Iranian reshtey noodles
200g/7oz spinach
30g/1oz fresh parsley
20g/¾oz fresh coriander
15g/½oz fresh mint
2 x 250ml/9fl oz tubs soured cream
Preparation
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat, and fry the onions for 5 minutes, or until soft and pale golden in color. Add the turmeric and garlic and cook for a further 4 minutes.
Add the chickpeas, lentils and haricot beans to the onions and pour in the stock. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan over a low heat. Fry the sliced onions for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are deeply caramelized.
When the beans have simmered for 30 minutes, add the noodles to the pot and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Wilt the spinach in a pan with a little water for 2 minutes, drain and squeeze as much liquid out as you can. Roughly chop the spinach on a board, along with the parsley, coriander and mint.
Stir the spinach and herbs into the noodles and beans. Fold in the soured cream and serve with the caramelized onions on top.
SMOKY BABA GHANNOUJ WITH OIL-CURED BLACK OLIVES
Preparation time: under 30 mins
Cook time: I hour 15 mins
Serving: serves 3
Ingredients
2 medium eggplants (1 3⁄ 4 lbs.)
1⁄ 2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1⁄ 4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to garnish
1 bunch radishes, trimmed
1 large kohlrabi, trimmed
3 tbsp. mayonnaise, preferably homemade
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄ 4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 large garlic clove, finely grated
1⁄ 4 cup oil-cured niçoise olives, pitted and roughly chopped
Aleppo pepper, to garnish
Preparation
Heat the broiler to high. Place the eggplants on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil, turning as needed, until blackened all over and very soft, 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the eggplant cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the cumin seeds on a cutting board and drizzle with two drops of olive oil. Chop the seeds repeatedly until coarsely ground. Using a mandoline or knife, thinly slice the radishes and kohlrabi and then place in a large bowl of ice water. Let sit until the slices begin to curl, about 10 minutes. Drain and spread the slices out on a towel to dry.
Peel and discard the charred eggplant skin and place the flesh on a cutting board. Finely chop the flesh and then scrape into a bowl. Stir in the chopped cumin along with the 1⁄ 4 cup of olive oil, the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, and garlic. Transfer the baba ghannouj to a serving bowl and drizzle with more olive oil. Sprinkle with the olives and Aleppo and serve with the radish and kohlrabi slices.
GIA'S