Coconut Curry Chicken

June 7, 2009 / Ren

Yoghurt-marinated coconut curry chicken with jasmine rice, toasted cashews, raisins and creamed spinach..

Remove the skin and bone from fresh, pastured chicken (I prefer thigh pieces for this) and cut into large pieces. Marinate 4 hours or overnight in a combination of plain, whole milk yoghurt, coconut milk, turmeric, curry powder and black pepper.

To prepare, heat ghee in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped onions, garlic, ginger, and cracked green cardamom pods, coriander, cloves, black pepper, shards of Ceylon cinnamon and a whole red or green chili that has been slit open with the tip of a knife. Sauté, stirring continuously until brown.

Add chicken pieces and all of the yoghurt marinade to the pot, and stir to comine with the onions. Thin with a little filtered water or chicken stock, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash and rinse a bunch of fresh spinach, cilantro and parsley. Blanch in boiling water for several seconds, then purée with an immersion blender or food processor. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Meanwhile, prepare jasmine rice according to package directions. Remove from heat, add raisins and cover until raisins are plump and all the water has been absorbed.

To serve, ladle spinach onto the center of the plate, top with rice and spoon curried chicken over the top. Dress with toasted cashews and chopped parsley or cilantro.

Moroccan Lamb with Grilled Tomatoes

February 4, 2009 / Ren

Crush together coriander, cayenne, cumin, cloves, pepper, cinnamon, allspice and sea salt and add ginger, bruised garlic, lemons and olive oil. Marinate locally raised lamb loins in this mixture for at least 4 hours.

2 hours before dinner put together flat bread dough from flour, water, yeast, ghee, salt, yoghurt and Za’atar with sumac. Let it rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Roll or stretch by hand and bake in a lightly oiled pan at 400 degrees until brown on both sides (flip once), about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the lamb from the marinade and cut into 1 inch thick medallions. Sauté in a little of the marinade with garlic over medium-high heat until cooked rare. Transfer to side to keep warm (it will continue to cook off-heat). Sauté fresh spinach and tomato wedges in same pan, season as you like.

To serve, alternate lamb medallions and tomato wedges on top of spinach, with flat bread, harissa and yoghurt on the side.

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