Pan-fried chicken with grape, almond and sherry vinegar dressing
Serves: 4 sharing
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
- 1 handful blanched almonds
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs
- 1tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1tbsp honey
- 1 handful seedless green grapes, halved
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Spread the almonds on a baking tray and roast for 5-6 minutes. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook for 3 minutes until golden brown. Turn the thighs over and cook for a further 2 minutes on the other side. Remove the chicken from the pan, leaving any juices that remain, then transfer to a roasting tray. Put in the oven for 15 minutes to roast.
Meanwhile, place the frying pan back on the heat and add the sherry vinegar and honey. As the liquid heats and bubbles, scrape the bottom of the pan to mix all the little bits into the sauce. Add the almonds and the grapes, then stir.
Once the chicken thighs are cooked (check by piercing one with a knife, the juices will run clear when ready) return to the frying pan with the sauce and toss to coat. To serve, transfer the chicken to a small bowl and pour over the
warm grape and almond dressing.
Nutritional information: 271 calories, 20g fat
Grilled asparagus with romesco sauce
Serves: 4 sharing
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
- 1 red pepper
- 1 plum tomato
- 10 cloves garlic, skin on
- 3tbsp mild olive oil
- 5cm length of baguette, crust removed and torn into small pieces
- 30g blanched almonds
- 1tsp sweet paprika
- 1tsp hot paprika
- 3tbsp sherry vinegar
- 75ml extra virgin olive oil
- Coarse sea salt
- 2 bunches asparagus (about 24 spears)
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Put the red pepper, tomato and garlic on a baking tray and drizzle with 1tbsp olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the garlic and set aside to cool. Return the pepper and tomato to the oven and continue cooking until the skins start to blacken. Place the pepper in a small bowl covered tightly with cling film (it will continue to steam, so the skin will come off easily). Once cool enough to handle, skin and de-seed the pepper. Peel the skin off the tomato and squeeze the soft garlic cloves from their skins.
Heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bread and blanched almonds to the pan and sauté until golden and crisp. Leave to cool, then tip into a food processor and pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the pepper, tomato, garlic and both paprikas, then pulse again to make a coarse purée. Pour in the sherry vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt, then pulse once more to bring the mixture together.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and prepare a bowl of iced water. Trim the woody bases off the asparagus spears, then place in the pan and blanch for 3 minutes or until just tender when tested with a knife. Remove the spears from the pan and plunge into the iced water to cool. Tip into a colander to drain and pat dry with paper towel.
Transfer the romesco sauce from the food processor into a saucepan and heat slowly. Gently toss the asparagus in the remaining olive oil to coat, then heat a grill pan over a high heat. When nearly smoking hot, grill the asparagus for 1 minute, turn over and grill for another minute, then transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle the asparagus with some coarse sea salt then spoon over the romesco sauce to serve.
Nutritional information: 267 calories, 22g
Grilled lamb cutlets with mojo verde and pipirrana
Serves: 4 sharing
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
For the mojo verde
- 1tsp cumin seeds
- ½tsp salt
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- A handful flat-leaf parsley leaves
- A handful fresh coriander leaves
- ½ small green chilli, chopped
- 30ml lemon juice
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
For the pipirrana
- 2 plum tomatoes
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into small dice
- ½ small red onion, peeled and diced
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1tbsp white wine vinegar
- 75ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 baby gem lettuce
- 8 lamb cutlets (around 600g)
To make the mojo verde herb sauce, toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan over a medium high heat for 20 seconds or until aromatic, then grind to a powder with the salt in a pestle and mortar. Tip the mix into a food processor along with the garlic, parsley, coriander and chilli, then pulse to chop finely. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and pulse again until you have a smooth dressing.
Next make the pipirrana – a Spanish salad. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, then remove the seeds and flesh so you have 8 “petals”. Cut the petals into small dice, then put in a bowl with the pepper, onion and cucumber. Pour over the vinegar and extra virgin olive oil then toss together.
Cut the base off the baby gem lettuce and discard the outer leaves. Remove the leaves one by one so that you have 8 in total. Wash under cold water, and pat dry with paper towel.
Place the lamb cutlets on to a grill and cook for 3 minutes on each side for medium rare or longer if you like them more well done. Remove the cutlets from the grill and place on a serving dish. Divide the pipirrana between the baby gem leaves, and arrange on the platter with the lamb. Serve the mojo verde on the side or spoon around the lamb.
Seared prawns on braised butter beans with garlic and chilli
Serves: 4 sharing
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
- 8 raw king prawns, unshelled
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ small carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1tbsp plain flour
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 small red chilli, sliced and seeds removed if you don’t like it too hot
- 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1 x 400g tin cooked butter beans, drained and rinsed
- Olive oil for frying
Pull the heads off the prawns and set aside. Remove the tail shell, leaving the tail flaps. Then use a sharp knife to split the tail flesh along the top, running the knife all along the back of the prawn, then rinse the cavity out under cold water, removing the black line found inside (this will make the prawns taste bitter). Pat the prawns dry and set aside.
Heat a little olive oil in a small pan over a medium heat. Add the reserved prawn heads and sauté until they turn orange. Add the bay leaf, onion and carrot then sprinkle over the flour. Stir in 300ml water, then bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and leave to bubble for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1tbsp olive oil in a small frying pan. Add the garlic and chilli and sauté for a few minutes until aromatic. Add the plum tomatoes and continue cooking until pulpy. Pass the prawn stock through a sieve, and add to the pan along with the butter beans. Bring to a simmer and leave to reduce over the heat for 5 minutes.
Heat a film of olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Add the prawns and cook for 1 minute each side, or until cooked through and golden. Tip the bean and tomato mixture into a dish, then arrange the cooked prawns over the top. Serve immediately.
Nutritional information: 196 calories, 9g fat
Red mullet with fennel and lemon-scented lentils
Serves: 4 sharing
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
- 100g puy or small green lentils
- Peel of ½ lemon
- 90ml mild olive oil
- 1 small carrot, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 shallot, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely sliced
- 3 baby fennel, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- ½tsp sweet paprika
- 5 white peppercorns
- 3tbsp sherry vinegar
- Small pinch saffron
- 1tbsp honey
- Salt and pepper
- 4 red mullet fillets (about 50g each), pin boned and scaled
- Good handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Zest of ½ lemon
Place the lentils and lemon peel in a saucepan then cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Tip the lentils into a colander to drain and cool.
Next make the fennel escabeche, or pickled vegetables. Heat 80ml of the mild olive oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the carrot, shallot and garlic then cook gently until softened. Add the fennel, bay leaf, paprika, peppercorns, sherry vinegar, saffron, honey and 120ml water then bring to a simmer. Season with a good pinch of salt, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining mild olive oil in a non-stick pan over a medium to high heat. Season the red mullet fillets with salt and pepper, then fry skin side down until cooked halfway through. Remove the fillets from the pan and lay out in a single layer, skin side down in a glass or ceramic dish. Pour the hot escabeche marinade over the fish and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes (the warm marinade will gently finish cooking the fish through) then refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve, combine the lentils with the chopped parsley, extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest and a sprinkling of salt then tip on to a flat serving dish. Spoon over the escabeche vegetables and some of the juices then arrange the red mullet
fillets on top.
Nutritional information: 328 calories, 22g fat
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