Coriander and Lime Chicken and Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges with Chipotle Mayonnaise

I have been really inspired by south american, especially mexican food recently after a couple of trips to London’s Wahaca. I love how fresh and vibrant the food there is: all the different smoky, sweet and sharp flavours combining with exciting textures and spice – it’s really fun food to make and eat. I’ve made these sweet potato wedges a couple of times now and they’re fab, especially with my little sister M’s zesty and hot mayonnaise. The chicken was improvised just using what I had in the house but the result was really tasty.

For the Chicken: 6 chicken thigh pieces (on the bone), juice of 1/2 lime, large bunch chopped coriander, 2 tbsp white wine, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes, 1 tbsp garlic oil, 1 tbsp coriander oil, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, salt and pepper

Sit the chicken pieces in a baking tray so they are packed quite snugly close to each other. Mix all the other ingredients well in a small bowl, season well with salt and pepper and add a splash of water. Spoon the mix over the chicken so they’re all covered. You can slice up the squeezed lime wedges and bake alongside the chicken if you like for extra flavour. Bake in an oven preheated to 190-200C fan for 40 minutes.

For the Wedges:  6 big sweet potatoes, chilli oil (or plain oil), garlic oil, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground mixed spice, salt and pepper

You’ll need the oven preheated to 190-200Cfan. Chop the potatoes into wedges and lay them in a large baking tray, making sure they can sit in one layer – if they’re are too many just use 2 trays or leave them out. Drizzle them with 1 1/2 tbsp each of the oils and season them well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over all the other spices and, using your hands toss the potatoes till they’re all coated in spice and oil. Make sure thay are all layed out in one layer before baking in the oven for 40 minutes, turning them once halfway through.

For the Mayonnaise: mayonnaise, 1 lime, chipotle paste, garlic oil

Basically mix the mayonnaise with the chipotle paste to taste, add the zest and juice of the lime – as much as you like- and a small splash of garlic oil.

Yummy served with a simple salad of shredded lettuce, beetroot, tomato and carrot. An amazingly simple to do weeknight meal.

Vietnamese-style Fragrant Chicken Curry

This is a firm favourite of mine, and I probably make it every couple of weeks as it’s just so satisfying and tasty. I think the secrets to it’s unfailing success are getting the right coconut milk – one with a high coconut extract content and not too many added extras – and fish sauce of course. I serve it simply with plain thai jasmine rice and a little extra coriander sprinkled on top. It really is very good.

Serves 4-6

You will need: 5 cloves garlic, 4 stalks lemongrass, 4cm piece of ginger, 1 birds eye chilli, large bunch of coriander, 400g skinless chicken thigh fillets, 2 cans coconut milk, 1 aubergine, 2 onions, 1 green pepper, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp fish sauce, 1/2 tsp garam masala

Finely chop the garlic, lemongrass, ginger, chilli and stalks of the coriander. Chop the chicken, aubergine, pepper and onion into big-bite sized chunks. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy-based pan. Add the vegetables and coriander stalks and cook for 10-15 minutes on a medium/high heat until they’re soft and tasty-looking. Add the chicken and the chopped ginger and cook till the chicken changes colour all over. Add the garlic, lemongrass and chilli and fry for a couple of minutes. Then pour in the coconut milk, sprinkle over the sauces and spice and season well with lots of pepper. Stir well, let it bubble, then turn the heat right down and simmer it for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Roughly chop the coriander leaves for sprinkling over the finished dish.

Tastiest Chicken Pies

So it was Miki’s birthday on Tuesday and this was the improvised 1st course. Mini pies cooked in tiny pie dishes, I am posting a full separate recipe for these as they were so delicious! Try it try it try it.