Friday, December 16, 2011

Chicken with Coriander & Spinach Rice


Chicken with Coriander & Spinach Rice 1

It's a rare thing for me to be lost for words, but right now lost for words I am.  You see, I made this dish way back in October for one of the I Heart Cooking Clubs cooking with Tessa Kiros challenges - may have been the "peasant food" week, don't exactly remember.  Sadly, the week came and went, and I just didn't get a chance to get my post done.  Never mind, I thought, there will be another challenge that I can use it for.  Other suitable occasions came and went, and still it didn't get posted.  Well this week is our Pot Luck week, and I can keep it from you no more.

After all this time, however, what can I tell you about this dish?  Well, I remember enjoying this dish a lot and the other half did too.  I recall that by the time I dished up dinner it was too dark for a photo, so I set a portion aside (the one you see in the picture above) to take a photo the next day.  And I also recall said other half being rightly miffed that he wasn't allowed seconds because this portion had to be saved for the photo.  Such are the joys of living with a food blogger - he keeps threatening to write his own blog about that very subject!  I even marked it in the book (Falling Cloudberries) as being a favourite and one that I would make again.

But, two months later, the subtleties, the various nuances of the dish that I might ordinarily want to share with you are forgotten.  So I can only tell you this - it was a great family style dish, and one that could easily be multiplied to feed a crowd;  I know you will enjoy it and I hope you give it a try.

Chicken with Coriander & Spinach Rice 2 

Chicken with Coriander & Spinach Rice
Adapted from a recipe by Tessa Kiros from
Makes 3 generous servings
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

small bunch coriander
100g (3.5 oz) baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup water
olive oil
1kg (2.2 lb) bone-in chicken thighs
2x garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
1/2 red pepper, deseeded and diced
1x red chilli, finely sliced (deseeding optional)
1-1/2 cups short grain rice
1/4 cup frozen peas
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Spiced Yoghurt:
1 cup plain Greek-style yoghurt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons olive oil
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Begin by making the spiced yoghurt - simply mix all of the ingredients together and set aside until you are ready to serve.

Pick the coriander leaves from the stems and put into a small food processor with the spinach leaves and water.  Blitz into a puree and set aside.

Heat olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) in a large, heavy-based frypan over medium heat.  Add the chicken, and fry until golden brown and crispy all over.  Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary.  Add the garlic, and as soon as it becomes fragrant add the carrot, red pepper and chilli.  Saute for several minutes until the vegetables have softened.

Add the coriander and spinach puree to the pan and cook for two minutes before returning the chicken to the pan.  Season generously with flaky sea salt and pepper.

Saute for another couple of minutes and then add 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes allowing the chicken to cook through and absorb all the flavours.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside, keeping it warm.  Add the rice to the pan, and add enough hot water to cover the rice by about 3cm (1-1/4 inches).  Cook, uncovered, until the rice looks as though it has absorbed most of the water (5-10 minutes).  Add the peas.  Turn heat down as low as it can go;  cover;  and, stirring just once or twice to prevent sticking, cook for around 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked.  Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

Put the rice onto a large serving platter, arranging the chicken pieces over the top.  Drizzle some of the spiced yoghurt over the top, or serve in a separate bowl allowing each person to add their own.

If you would like to get to know Tessa a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

IHCC Tessa Kiros Button

... or check out Falling Cloudberries and many of Tessa's other great titles available from Amazon or Fishpond NZ.

         

I'm also sharing this post at Cookbook Sundays, See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by Michelle at Ms. enPlace, and Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage.

Cookbook Sundays Badge

17 comments:

  1. I love dishes that are memorable even months later...and I really love the look of it, too. Comfort in a pot!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I definitely find it hard to write about dishes that i made months ago, so I totally understand! I love all of the spices and flavors in this though, so I can imagine how good it was!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks delicious! Coriander is one of my favourite herbs! I did not have time to do any of Tessa's Kiros recipes these few weeks, even though I have bookmarked quite a few!
    Have a lovely day!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad you got the chance to post this chicken dish. The flavors seem homey and comforting. The rice/spinach puree sounds great to me since spinach is one of my favorite things.

    I can identify with dinner lighting. By the time I get home from work and get dinner ready, it's too dark for good photos. Maybe I should start making a portion off limits instead of taking poor, grainy pics. That would go over well, right?

    I tried to comment on Cookbook Sundays, but the comment link wouldn't show (my laptop does that sometimes). Anyway, thank you for hosting it. Also, I made the lemon risotto w/ roasted eggplant the other night and it was wonderful.

    Thanks for linking with See Ya In the Gumbo--happy to have you join in!

    ReplyDelete
  5. My husband knows exactly how that feels. Although he's quite a help, and sometimes takes the photos himself!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I also know the problem of writing about dishes from some time ago. I sidestep the problem by writing very short posts in general. ;)

    Nice presentation with the copper pot, by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks beautiful Sue and I love that dish!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The flavor of this dish is just jumping off the screen. This Chicken with Coriander and Spanish Rice looks so delicious, I can almost smell it cooking. Have a wonderful week end and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Heather @ girlichef.com Thanks, Heather. Very memorable, and there is nothing that I like better than a one-pot wonder xo

    ReplyDelete
  10. @MM Thanks, Michelle. The coriander & spinach rice was great - after all the chicken was gone, I still had a bit of rice leftover which was just as nice on its own.

    So pleased you liked the aubergine & lemon risotto xo

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well it looks wonderful - and I am so in love with the brass dishes!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am with Natashya--love the dish! It looks like fabulous comfort food. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Beth Lucy you, Beth - that would be great to have someone photograph my food for me:-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. @Andreas Thanks Andreas. I bought several of these copper dishes back from India several years ago. How I managed to pull that off without paying excess luggage I'll never know :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love the bit about saving a portion of this for your picture. Oh my....the things we food bloggers do. This looks like such a pleasant and beautiful dish, one my family would love.

    I hope you are doing well and that you have a wonderful Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This looks wonderful, do love livening up rice and this is perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  17. @Kim Thanks, Kim - it's definitely a great family dish, as long as the family don't mind waiting for you to photograph it first :-)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. I love hearing from you and your comments are like gold to me. Your comment will be visible as soon as it has been approved.