I spotted this recipe on line today, and thought it sounded like a good idea for a relaxed Saturday evening dinner at home. The original recipe called for chicken thighs which I love, but didn’t have, so I used the chicken breasts I’d bought at the Market this morning, and gave them a very short cooking time. Obviously if you wanted to use chicken thighs, you’d have to marinade them, fry them off first, and cook them in the sauce( skin side up please) for about 30 minutes, oe until they’re tender.
The combination of the paprika and cinnamon with the passata gives the sauce the most gorgeous golden red colour, and the lemon juice add a sharpness which I like very much.
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast per person ( this makes enough for 4)
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
tablespoonful of sunflower oil
grated rind and juice of a lemon
2 onions, cut into fine wedges
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
teaspoon of dark brown sugar
Jar of passata ( mine was 350g)
splash of red wine ( optional)
250mls hot chicken stock
S+P
Method:
Start off by putting the chicken, paprika, cinnamon, oil and the rind and juice of the lemon into a bowl, and marinade for about an hour
Fry off the onions gently for about 10 minutes in a pan with a lid on it. Add a splash of water if you think they’re sticking.
Add the stock, passata, chilli, garlic, wine and sugar, and stir it all in.
Allow to come to a gentle boil.
Add the chicken to the sauce, cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook for a further 1o minutes, then remove the lid, and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the chicken is cooked, and the sauce has reduced somewhat.
Garnish with chopped fresh basil and coriander.
Serve with either buttered flat noodles( not too Spanish, I know) or with some of my Spicy potatoes ( see recipe for this elsewhere) which are cooked, cooled, chopped and fried off with some onion, red pepper, and a little dried chilli flakes.
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx