This is the kind of food everyone salivates over as soon as you take it to the table; it is so dark and glossy and smells great. You can get guava jelly in large supermarkets and ethnic shops (or online at www.theasiancookshop.co.uk) but, if you don’t want to buy it, use quince (or even apple) jelly. It would be a shame not to cook this because you can’t find it. Ideally, use bitter Seville oranges but, when they’re not in season, use half orange and half lime juice.
The recipe is adapted from an outstanding American book called Gran Cocina Latina by Maricel Presilla. She uses the marinade on pork, which is also fantastic.
500g1lb 2oz sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
400g14oz waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1largered onionin slim wedges
handfulof coriander leaves
FOR THE GLAZE
2tbspguava jelly
1tbspsoft dark brown sugar
2tbsplime juice
Instructies
Heat a frying pan and toast the dried chillies in it for about 25 seconds on each side.
Put them into a saucepan, cover with boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes.
Drain, remove the stalks and put the chillies in a food processor with everything else for the marinade, except using only 75ml (2½fl oz) of the sherry.
Whizz to a paste.
Put the chicken in a roasting tin or ovenproof dish in which the sweet potatoes and potatoes will also fit in a single layer.
Pour half the paste over the chicken and work it in with your hands.
Some marinade can go inside the chicken, and you can also lift the skin of the breast and put marinade under that (see technique for Roast chicken with mushrooms and sage butter under the skin).
Cover with foil and put in the fridge for about six hours, turning every so often.
Bring it to room temperature before cooking.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Season the chicken, cover it with foil, put it – still in its marinade – into the oven and cook for 30 minutes.
Take the dish out and add both types of potatoes to the roasting tin, tossing them in the marinade.
Season with salt.
Return to the oven to roast for another hour.
When there’s 45 minutes to go, add the onion, turning it over with the potatoes and juices.
When there’s 20 minutes left, mix the ingredients for the glaze and spread it over the chicken.
Pour the rest of the sherry over the vegetables, stirring, then return to the oven to finish cooking.
The chicken should be cooked through and the vegetables tender.
Turn the vegetables over so that they’re glossy.
Scatter with coriander.
This needs cool, fresh accompaniments so an Avocado salsa, a green salad and soured cream would be good on the side.
Or just add cucumber, avocado and coriander leaves to the salad.
It’s important here to get the sugar to caramelize, otherwise you miss the depth of flavour this dish is supposed to have and will also end up with a bowlful that is rather too sweet.
2red chillies1 sliced with seeds, the other halved, deseeded and sliced
1tbspgroundnut or sunflower oil
1onionhalved and cut into small crescent moon-shaped wedges
400ml14fl oz chicken stock
juice of 1–2 limes
2spring onionsfinely sliced on the diagonal
smallhandful of corianderroughly chopped
Instructies
Remove the excess fat and skin from each thigh and cut each in half, through the bone (a meat cleaver is best for this but a heavy knife will also do).
Put these in a bowl with the fish sauce, 1 tbsp of the sugar, the garlic, ginger and the sliced whole chilli.
Turn everything over to make sure the chicken gets coated.
Cover with cling film and put in the fridge to marinate.
It ideally needs four hours, though overnight is even better.
Bring it to room temperature before cooking.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan and fry the chicken over a medium heat on all sides to get a good colour (reserve the marinade).
Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the onion to the pan and fry until it is just beginning to get a good colour.
Add it to the chicken.
Drain any excess oil from the pan, but don’t clean it.
Add the rest of the sugar and 2 tbsp of water and heat until the sugar turns to caramel; you must take it far enough so that the sugar caramelizes (otherwise you will just have a sweet sauce), but not so far that it burns.
The colour and smell should tell you when you get there.
Immediately add the stock and the juice of 1 lime.
Bring to the boil, then add the chicken, onion and reserved marinade.
Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices are nice and glossy round the meat.
Stir in the rest of the chilli, the spring onions and the coriander.
Check to see whether you need more lime.
Serve immediately with rice and stir-fried greens.
Put the whole spices into a frying pan and toast them over a medium heat for two minutes.
Grind, either in a mortar and pestle or a small food processor.
Put the chicken in a bowl and add half the spice blend and half the ginger and garlic.
Rub this well into the chicken, cover, refrigerate and marinate for an hour (if you have time you can leave it overnight and cook the next day).
Bring it to room temperature before cooking.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan and brown the chicken until it has a good colour on both sides.
Remove the chicken and set aside.
Cook the onions in the same pan until they are golden brown; this will take some time but you need it for both taste and colour.
Stir in the tomatoes and cook for another five minutes, then add the remaining ginger and garlic, the rest of the toasted spice blend and the ground coriander, turmeric and garam masala and cook for two minutes, stirring from time to time.
Return the chicken to the pan together with any juices that have run out of it, pour in 200ml (7fl oz) of water and add the apricots, vinegar and jaggery or sugar.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
If the mixture seems to be getting too dry as it cooks, add a little more water, but don’t drown it as the final dish should be thick and jammy.
If it seems a bit thin at the end of the cooking time, remove the chicken, boil the liquid to reduce it, then return the chicken and heat it through again.
Serve scattered with the herbs and the almonds (if using).
This is quick to make, rich and warming. And children seem to love it. Peanut stews are found all over West Africa. They used to be made with native groundnuts before the peanut arrived there in the 16th century. You can make your own peanut butter for this – that’s what they do there – but since this is, for me, an easy midweek meal I reach for a jar.
The texture of African peanut stews varies depending on the region – some are thin, others thick – and they are served with millet or rice. Vegetables vary; okra (which I hate) often appears, so use it if you like it. You can also use carrots or sweet potatoes. The important thing is to cut the richness of the peanuts with spices – especially chilli – and lime juice. Coriander is my own addition as, in Africa, it is often served with khouthia (hibiscus leaf conserve), which is hard to find.
1red chillideseeded and very finely sliced (optional)
Instructies
To make the peanut sauce, put the peanut butter in a jug.
Heat the chicken stock to boiling, pour it over and stir it to melt the peanut butter.
Keep stirring until it has dissolved.
Set this aside.
Heat the oil in a casserole and brown the chicken on each side over a medium heat.
Do this in batches or you won’t get a good colour; you are not trying to cook the chicken, just colour it well.
As the chicken is browned, lift it out and put it into a dish.
Add the onions and fry until golden, about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for two minutes, then add all the dry spices and cook for another two minutes.
Stir in the Scotch bonnet, canned tomatoes and bay leaves.
Season.
Cut the pumpkin flesh into 2cm (¾in) chunks and add to the pot with the peppers and the peanut mixture.
Bring to the boil, season and reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cook for 10 minutes.
Return the chicken to the pan, with any juices that have come out of it.
Cook gently – partially covered – until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
It will take about 25 minutes.
Stir fairly frequently, or the peanut mixture tends to stick to the pan.
Your mixture should be pretty thick and rich.
If it seems a little thin, remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and continue to cook until it reaches the consistency you want, then return the chicken and heat it through.
Add the lime juice, taste, then adjust the seasoning if it needs it.
Scatter the top with the coriander and chilli (unless you have found the dish too hot already) and serve with boiled rice.
This is quick to make, rich and warming. And children seem to love it. Peanut stews are found all over West Africa. They used to be made with native groundnuts before the peanut arrived there in the 16th century. You can make your own peanut butter for this – that’s what they do there – but since this is, for me, an easy midweek meal I reach for a jar.
The texture of African peanut stews varies depending on the region – some are thin, others thick – and they are served with millet or rice. Vegetables vary; okra (which I hate) often appears, so use it if you like it. You can also use carrots or sweet potatoes. The important thing is to cut the richness of the peanuts with spices – especially chilli – and lime juice. Coriander is my own addition as, in Africa, it is often served with khouthia (hibiscus leaf conserve), which is hard to find.
1red chillideseeded and very finely sliced (optional)
Instructies
To make the peanut sauce, put the peanut butter in a jug.
Heat the chicken stock to boiling, pour it over and stir it to melt the peanut butter.
Keep stirring until it has dissolved.
Set this aside.
Heat the oil in a casserole and brown the chicken on each side over a medium heat.
Do this in batches or you won’t get a good colour; you are not trying to cook the chicken, just colour it well.
As the chicken is browned, lift it out and put it into a dish.
Add the onions and fry until golden, about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for two minutes, then add all the dry spices and cook for another two minutes.
Stir in the Scotch bonnet, canned tomatoes and bay leaves.
Season.
Cut the pumpkin flesh into 2cm (¾in) chunks and add to the pot with the peppers and the peanut mixture.
Bring to the boil, season and reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cook for 10 minutes.
Return the chicken to the pan, with any juices that have come out of it.
Cook gently – partially covered – until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
It will take about 25 minutes.
Stir fairly frequently, or the peanut mixture tends to stick to the pan.
Your mixture should be pretty thick and rich.
If it seems a little thin, remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and continue to cook until it reaches the consistency you want, then return the chicken and heat it through.
Add the lime juice, taste, then adjust the seasoning if it needs it.
Scatter the top with the coriander and chilli (unless you have found the dish too hot already) and serve with boiled rice.
Before anyone points out that my last book was on healthy eating and I now have Korean fried chicken on the menu, I’m not suggesting you eat this every day. I don’t even eat it once a month. But when I do, I bloody love it. Hot, sweet, dark, messy and wickedly good. I am not a fan of deep-frying – I get the children to stand by with a fire blanket when the fat gets to that rolling stage – but sometimes it is worth the effort (and I did try various ‘oven-baked’ versions to make life easier for you, but they didn’t cut the mustard). This is Friday night food, it’s not for cooking when you’re in a hurry. Best if two of you can share the deep-frying duties. Get the beers in, guys…
1.5kg3lb 5oz chicken wings, tips removed if you prefer
vegetable oilto deep-fry
sesame seedsto sprinkle
2spring onionsfinely chopped
Instructies
Put everything for the sauce into a saucepan and heat gently, stirring a little to help the sugar dissolve.
Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.
It should be quite thick.
Cook the chicken in three batches so as not to overcrowd the pan (if you do, the temperature of the oil drops immediately).
Mix the plain flour and rice flour together in a bowl.
Toss the chicken wings in this and shake off the excess.
Put about 7.
5cm (3in) of oil into a deep pan and heat to 160°C (325°F).
Add one batch of chicken wings and cook for six minutes at this temperature (keep an eye on the temperature, reducing the heat or pulling the pan off the heat for a little while if necessary).
As each batch is done, remove to a metal rack set over layers of kitchen paper.
Now heat the oil to 180°C (350°F), put the wings back (again in three batches) and cook them for another five minutes.
Remove again to the rack and let the excess oil drip off on to the kitchen paper.
Paint them all over with the sauce, put them on a plate and sprinkle on the sesame seeds and spring onions.
Indonesian roast spiced chicken with mango and tomato salad
Here the chicken is golden brown and coconutty, the salad is fresh. If you hate shrimp paste – and some people can’t abide it – use fish sauce instead. It isn’t authentic but it’s better than not making this dish at all (and it’s not a bad substitute).
Cut the chicken in half lengthways (removing the parson’s nose) and trim any excess skin to make it neat.
Put the soy sauce, lime juice, onions, garlic, sambal olek, shrimp paste and pepper into a blender.
Blend, adding just enough water to make a thick purée (you’ll have to stop every so often, stir and blitz again; the mixture should be as smooth as possible).
Make incisions in the undersides of the chicken (don’t cut the skin) and put the pieces into a dish.
Spread the purée all over it, on both sides, cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge for about four hours, turning the pieces halfway through.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5.
Put the coconut milk into a large frying or sauté pan set over a medium heat.
Add the chicken halves and cook – uncovered and skin side up – for 10 minutes.
Don’t let the coconut milk boil.
Baste with the juices and marinade as the chicken cooks.
Turn the chicken over, reduce the heat and do the same thing on the other side.
Transfer the chicken – skin side down – to a rack set in a roasting tin.
Pour in enough water to lie 2cm (¾in) deep.
Cook in the oven for 20 minutes, then turn the chicken and cook for another 20 minutes, skin side up.
It will turn golden brown.
Check the chicken is cooked: when you pierce the thickest part near the bone, the juices should run clear with no trace of pink.
When the chicken is nearly finished cooking, make the salad.
Peel the mango and cut off the cheeks (the plump bits on each side of the stone).
Remove as much of the rest of the flesh as you can neatly, without bruising.
Cut into 1cm (½in) cubes.
Mix the fish sauce, sugar and lime juice until the sugar has dissolved.
Put the mango and tomatoes into a serving dish and add all the other ingredients.
Toss everything together.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Serve the chicken with lime wedges, the salad and some rice.
This is based on a Dominican dish, though I’ve made my own additions (the traditional version doesn’t use chipotles) and left out the green olives that often appear. If you don’t want to buy a pineapple, it’s okay here to use pineapple canned in natural juice (not in syrup!). It does make things easier. Despite the long list of ingredients, this is a an easy supper dish.
½medium-sized pineapplepeeled, cored and cut into small chunks
400gcan of tomatoes in thick juice
1tspsoft dark brown sugar
2cannedchipotles in adobo saucefinely chopped, or 3 tbsp chipotle paste
3sprigs of thyme
500ml18fl oz chicken stock
1jalapeño chillihalved lengthways and deseeded
2tbspcapersrinsed of vinegar or brine
juice of 1 lime
smallbunch of corianderroughly chopped
Instructies
Heat half the oil in a casserole and brown the chicken on both sides over a medium-high heat, in batches if necessary so as not to crowd the pan, seasoning as you do so.
You are not trying to cook the chicken through, just colour it well.
Remove the pieces and put them into a dish.
Put the pumpkin and potatoes into the oil in the pan and cook for about five minutes, until the vegetables are just becoming tinged with gold.
Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the rest of the oil to the casserole and sauté the onion and pepper until they are softening and the onion is pale gold, about eight minutes.
Add the garlic and cumin and cook for another two minutes.
Stir in the pineapple, tomatoes, sugar, chipotles, thyme and chicken stock and season.
Bring gradually to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cut the chicken into strips and add to the pot along with any of the juices that have run out of it, along with the pumpkin and potatoes.
Put the jalapeño into the pot too, stirring gently, then leave everything to simmer, uncovered, for about 25 minutes.
Stir it a few times during the cooking.
The vegetables should be soft and the cooking juices should have thickened.
Add the capers and lime juice and taste for seasoning.
This is one of the Moroccan tajines in Claudia Roden’s lovely book, Arabesque. I’ve changed it very little. As it’s sweet, I like it served with couscous or rice that has had chopped preserved lemon stirred through it (as well as herbs). It needs something fresh and sharp as a contrast.
To peel the shallots or baby onions, blanch them in boiling water for five minutes, then drain.
When they’re cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and trim the root ends.
Heat the olive oil in a pan large enough to hold all the chicken pieces in one layer.
Season the chicken and brown it all over.
You aren’t trying to cook it through, just get some good colour.
Remove to a plate.
Drain off all but about 1 tbsp of fat from the pan and add the onion.
Cook over a medium heat until soft and golden.
Add the ginger and cinnamon and cook for two minutes.
Pour on about 250ml (9fl oz) of boiling water and add the saffron, stirring to help dissolve the strands.
Return the chicken to the pan and cook, covered, over a low heat, for about 15 minutes.
Add the shallots or baby onions and continue to cook, covered, for another 20–25 minutes.
(The chicken is cooked when it is tender and, when a thick piece is pierced near the bone with the tip of a sharp knife, the juices that run have no trace of pink.
) Turn the chicken pieces and stir gently every so often.
Add a little more water if you need to.
Lift out the chicken and set aside.
Stir the honey into the pan.
Cook, uncovered, until the liquid has really evaporated and the onions are brown and caramelized and so soft that you could crush them, as the Moroccans say, ‘with your tongue’.
At the same time, melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the pears over a medium heat until they are tender and golden.
Season.
Return the chicken to the pan for a final time, spoon the onions on top and heat through.
Put the pears on top, sprinkle with the almonds or sesame seeds and serve.