NEWS
RECIPE HARISSA CHICKEN WITH SAFFRON RICE
INGREDIENTS
A lighter and more interesting alternative to a Sunday roast. Sinfully easy to make but impressive to your guests, it also makes for a brilliant dinner party dish as the oven and stove do all the hard work for you. Taken from The Milly Cookbook, the celebrity chef cookbook that offers healthy, nourishing and exciting dishes that you and your body will love.
• 1 free range organic chicken • 1 jar of harissa paste (available at all major supermarkets) • 1 mug full of brown rice • 2 mugs full of chicken or vegetable stock • A pinch of saffron • Lemon cut into discs • Parsley to serve • Salt & pepper to garnish
METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 180C. 2. Place your chicken on a tray and brush harissa paste all over it until completely covered. Slash the thighs with a sharp knife down to the bone (this helps the brown meat cook in the same time as the white). Sprinkle with salt and pop in the oven for as long as the packaging says (based on weight and size). 3. Twenty minutes before the chicken has finished cooking, get a saucepan and pour in your mug of rice. One mug feeds 4 people, and for every mug of rice you want double the liquid this is called the absorption method. So for 1 mug of rice, you want to add 2 mugs of stock. 4. Throw in the saffron, season with a little salt and pepper and bring to the boil. 5. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer, add a dash of extra virgin olive oil and cover with a lid. After 15 minutes, check the rice, if it needs a few more minutes you have time. 6. Take the chicken out to rest for 5 minutes and when the rice is cooked and has absorbed all of the water place it on a platter with the chicken. 7. Serve with slices of lemon and a sprinkle of parsley and let everyone help themselves.
WINE MATCH With spicy foods like Harissa – tannins in wines can be unpleasant so the important thing here is not to try and overpower the chicken dish with a strong wine. The good news is there is a large selection of both red and white wines that go perfectly with this dish. For reds, try a lighter, fruitier type of wine with low tannins such as a Beaujolais or a Rhone. Away from France, a South African or Lebanese Pinot Noir would match well too. For white wine - fruity or even slightly sweeter wines will go well – a Reisling or a bright, unoaked Spanish white would be a great choice. Finally, for non-wine drinkers consider a light ale.
26 SURREYROCKS | ISSUE 02
