spicy harissa grilled chicken skewers

Harissa is a spicy pepper based sauce common in Tunisa and North African cuisine. This recipe is based on one I found in the Ottolenghi cookbook and goes brilliantly with most meats but works particularly well with these chicken skewers. This is very, very easy to make and makes an excellent dinner any day of the week.

Ingredients Serves 4

800g diced chicken breast
1 tbsp greek yogurt


Harissa:
2 fresh red chillies roughly chopped
2 dried red chillies roughly chopped
2 small or  1 large grilled red pepper (I used shop bought jarred ones but you could do this yourself)
1 small red onion, chopped
1/4 tsp whole cumin
1/4 tsp whole coriander
1/4 tsp caraway seed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Put the cumin, coriander and caraway in a dry frying pan and gently toast for a couple of minutes over a low heat. They'll be ready when the scent is released. Place in pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder.

Next, heat the oil in the same pan you used for the spices. Add the onion, chillies and garlic and cook over a medium heat for around 10 minutes or until they have coloured round the edges and cooked through.

Place all the ingredients in a food processor with the lemon juice (or pestle and mortar if you've got the time and energy) and blitz together until you've got a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl now if you are just making the harissa but if you're making the chicken skewers mix in the yogurt. 

In a large plastic container mix together the chicken pieces and harissa paste until it is all thoroughly coated. Cover and set aside in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight if you like. 

When you're ready to cook your skewers preheat the oven to 200C and put your griddle pan on the stove. Divide the chicken pieces between four metal skewers then once the griddle pan is hot cook the skewers until chicken has got some colour on all sides but not cooked through. Transfer the chicken on the griddle pan to the oven and cook for around a further 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve with lemon wedges, salad and flat bread.

I'm entering this recipe in the July Four Seasons Food Challenge hosted by the lovely people at Chez Foti and Delicieux. 

chorizo, potato and pumpkin stew with butter beans and spinach

I rarely have a particular plan when I visit the local farmers market, I just go looking for whatever looks tastiest and is the best deal. Today I came home with chorizo, potatoes and pumpkin and couldn't resist putting together a tasty stew. The nights are getting colder and there's nothing I like more than something warming and a little spicy on nights like this.

Ingredients
700g pumpkin/sweet potato/butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into bite size chunks
1 medium sized onion, finely diced
1kg potatoes (any will work, I used 'exquisite' potatoes)
1 ring of chorizo picante (use the dulce type if you prefer, picante is my favourite though)
1 x 400g can of butter beans or chick peas drained
1 x 400g can of tomatoes in juice
2 chicken stock cubes
2 tbsp hot smoked paprika
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
2-3 bay leaves (I used fresh ones from my garden)
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1 cup decent red wine
water
120g spinach, washed and chopped
Sliced spring onions and feta cheese to garnish

1. Peel the thin skin off the chorizo and cut into bite sized chunks.
2. Heat a large saucepan/casserole dish over a high heat then add the chorizo and cook for around 5 minutes or until the oils and spices are released and the meat is crispy on the edges.
3. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent and soft.
4. Throw in the fennel seeds, oregano and all spice followed by the red wine and bubble away for 5 minutes or so until you can no longer smell the harshness of the alcohol.
5. Now you will need to add the bay leaves, paprika, chicken stock cubes and tinned tomatoes, stir throroughly.
6. Add the the potatoes and pumpkin, stir so that it is coated in the tomatoey spicey goodness then fill the tomato can with water and then pour into the pan.
7. Cover and allow to bubble away until the potatoes and pumpkin are cooked, around 20-30 minutes. The pumpkin may well disappear into the sauce and break down more than the potatoes. This is a good think as it will help to thicken the sauce. If you don't want this to happen cook the potatoes for 5 minutes or so on their own then add the pumpkin later, or cut it into bigger chunks.
8. Add the butter beans and cook for a further 5 minutes until everything is cooked through. 
9. Throw in the spinach, stir through until it has wilted completely.
10. Serve garnished with some finely sliced up spring onions, crumbled feta and some chopped parsley if you have it. Some good crusty bread and glass of dry sherry or a red wine would be pretty awesome too.

spicy tomato coconut soup

This was my warming supper tonight. The weather has turned a lot colder the last few weeks and I've started craving the comforting warmth of bowls of home made soup with thick slices of bread and butter. I made this soup with ingredients I had in my cupboard as I haven't had chance to get to the shops for a few days. For a store cupboard recipe, I have to say, this is pretty classy and well worth making.

Ingredients

2 x 400g tins of tomatoes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 tsp red chili flakes (adjust according to how spicy you want it)
2 tsp panch phoran (a Bengali 5 spice mix, available in larger supermarkets)
3 cm chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves of garlic, grated or crushed
2 tsp garam masala
400ml can of half fat coconut milk

1. Place a large saucepan over a medium high heat, add the oil and heat for a few seconds.
2. Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent and soft.
3. Add the  chilli flakes and allow the spices to sizzle for around 30 seconds, next add the panch phoran, ginger and garlic and cook out for a minute or so. 
4. Next add the tinned tomatoes and simmer the mixture over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
5. Stir through the garam masala and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes have thickened and taken on a rich, more orange colour.
6. Add a generous pinch of salt and a teaspoon of sugar then either using a stick blender or food processor blitz the soup for until you have removed the lumps. This stage is optional but I prefer a smooth tomato soup.
7. Return the blended tomatoes to the saucepan, add the coconut milk, stir thoroughly and heat through for a few minutes.
8. Serve with either rice or a thick chunk of bread. I ate mine with my homemade, savour pumpkin bread.

spicy dr pepper shredded pork

I discovered this recipe from the pioneer woman while searching the web for inspiration the other day and just had to try it. It looked and sounded like a great combination of flavours and very easy to do so here goes.

NOTE: If you can't get hold of the canned chipotle peppers in sauce, you could try using a tin of tomatoes, a good couple of tablespoons of spicy smoked paprika and some added fresh chillies (whole) or some chilli powder.

Ingredients
c. 2kg Pork Shoulder Joint. This is what I used.
2 cans of Dr Pepper
2 x 212g/7.5oz cans of Chipotle chilies in adobo. (I bought mine through amazon.)
1 large onion cut into quarters
salt and pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 150 C. 
2. Put the quartered onions in to the bottom of your pan and then put the pork shoulder joint on top. 
3. Next pour in the canned chipotle peppers and the Dr Pepper. Season with salt and pepper if you wish, put the lid on your dish then put in the oven. The aim here is to cook the pork long and slow so the meat eventually just falls apart. It will take around 6 hours for this happen. Turn the meat over every hour or so that all the meat gets chance to cook in the spicy, Dr Pepper sauce. 
4. Once the pork is cooked remove the meat from the pan and put on a plate and cover until needed.
5. A lot of fat will have been released form the pork shoulder, so unless you want this in your sauce I recommend you strain this off. It is easier to do this if you allow it to sit over night in the fridge and the fat will solidify at the top.
6. Once you have dealt with the fat (you may also wish to make the sauce smoother by blending it or passing it through a sieve), return the sauce to a saucepan and reduce down a little over a gentle heat. While this is happening use two forks pull the pork into shreds and then put in the sauce.
7. Once your sauce is at your desired consistency, I like mine quite thick, the pork is ready to serve. It will work brilliantly with jacket potatoes, in a sandwich with good crusty bread or as we had it, in corn tortilla with a little cheese and a crunchy salsa.