HITTING THE RIGHT BALANCE
Peruvian Chicken Kebabs with Garlic and Orange Salsa (pictured above)
Serves 46 garlic cloves
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp sweet paprika
4 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, half of them chopped
juice and grated zest of 3 limes
2 large chicken breasts, skinned and cut into 2.5cm cubes
5 juicy oranges
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
spray olive oil
green salad and tortillas, to serve
In a mini food processor, blitz the garlic and salt to a smooth paste. Remove half and set aside. To the remaining half in the food processor add the ground cumin, ground coriander, paprika, the whole coriander leaves and half the lime zest and juice, and blend to a paste.
Mix the chicken with the spicy garlic paste and allow to marinate for a couple of hours, or at least 30 mins.
Meanwhile, grate the zest of 2½ oranges and juice 2 of them. Combine the orange zest and juice with the remaining lime zest and juice, the onion, the remaining chopped coriander leaves and the remaining garlic paste to make a salsa. Then remove the peel and pith from the remaining oranges, slice the flesh and combine with the garlic salsa.
Heat a griddle pan or barbecue. Thread the marinated chicken on to four wooden skewers. Spray the kebabs with olive oil then cook for 12-15 mins, turning from time to time. Serve with the garlic and orange salsa and a green salad, and maybe some kind of tortilla/flat bread.
Variations
If you’re a leg person, try this recipe with boneless chicken thighs; or have a go with pork, lamb, salmon, tuna or halloumi cheese.
Casserole of Lamb and Loads of Spring Vegetables
Serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil
675g lamb neck fillets, cut into 2.5cm pieces
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
175ml dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1.25 litres lamb or chicken stock
8 carrots, topped (preferably Chantenais)
8 new potatoes, halved
115g extra fine French beans
115g broad beans, frozen or fresh and podded
½ spring cabbage, shredded
115g peas, frozen or fresh and podded
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a deep casserole dish. Season the lamb pieces, then brown them all over on a fairly high heat. Remove and set aside, then discard any excess fat from the dish before adding the garlic, onions and rosemary. Reduce the heat and cook for 8 mins, stirring occasionally, allowing the onions to go golden brown.
Add the wine, bay leaf, tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil. Return the meat to the dish, cover with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour 30 mins.
Time now to stagger the introduction of the vegetables to the casserole: first add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 15 mins. Add the French beans and broad beans and cook for a further 4 mins. Add the cabbage and peas and cook for a final 3 mins. All that remain is to check and adjust the seasoning, and dish up.
Tip
Diced shoulder of lamb tends to have more flavour but it’s fairly fatty so would need thorough trimming.
Peaches and Cream Ice Cream
Serves 4
150g caster sugar
4 ripe peaches, cut into 1cm cubes
3 tbsp peach schnapps, brandy or orange-flavoured liqueur
4 tbsp double cream
200g 0% fat natural Greek yogurt
2 tbsp chopped toasted hazelnuts
Put 300ml water into a saucepan, add the sugar and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, and continue to boil to a clear syrup. Pour the syrup over the peaches while hot, stir in the alcohol and leave to cool.
Set aside half the fruit. In a blender or food processor, blend together the remaining peaches with all of the syrup liquor, the cream and the yogurt.
If using an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into the machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions; alternatively, pour the mixture into containers and chill in the freezer, whisking every 30 mins as it freezes. Towards the end of the freezing process, fold in the remaining diced fruit and the hazelnuts.
Old-Fashioned Barley Water
Serves 4300g pearl barley, washed
grated zest and juice of 6 oranges
grated zest and juice of 3 lemons
low-calorie sweetener
Tip the barley into a saucepan, add 2.5 litres of water and the orange and lemon zests. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Strain the liquid and leave to cool.
Stir in the citrus juices and sweeten to taste. Decant the barley water into bottles or a jug and refrigerate. Drink within 3 days.
Tip
Think thrifty: the discarded barley would be useful added to another dish, such as a soup.