Browse Tag by Chillies
Dinner, Lunch, Teatime

Sweet’n’Spicy Chicken Tagine

Dinner is served!
By | On March 05,17 | 2 Comments

I haven’t made a tagine for a while and felt inspired after hearing from my sister from another mister, Hanane. Hanane and I have been friends for about a decade and have become family, with me visiting them and her and her mother visiting us. On my visit to Morocco, I knew I didn’t want to come home without a tagine, and so Hanane and her family helped me get an excellent one for pennies from the Atlas Mountains! Whilst we were visiting Marrakech, we stopped by a road seller selling tagines of all sizes, and I got one for about 50p!

During my time with Hanane and her family, both over in Morocco and here in England, they cooked some wonderful tagines for me, and my mother and I also cooked our slightly spicier versions, and I must say, mum is quite fond of using the tagine!

I wanted to cook something healthy, spicy (not too spicy), sweet, filling, rich in protein and healthy carbs, and this is what came to me! My Sweet’n’Spicy Chicken Tagine! It was a lot tastier than I thought it would be and it looks like I will be cooking it again for mum and I!

If you don’t have a tagine, then a casserole dish should do the job too!

Ingredients Sweet'n'Spicy Chicken Tagine
Ingredients Sweet’n’Spicy Chicken Tagine

INGREDIENTS

3 chicken breasts

1 red onion

1 white onion

1 regular onion

1 spring onion

3 cloves garlic

1 cm ginger

1 cm turmeric

1 red chilli

1 green chilli

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

3 sweet peppers

20 pitted dates

1 teaspoon dried coriander

Salt and pepper to taste

A pinch of saffron

6 tablespoons olive oil

RECIPE

  1. Chop up the garlic, ginger, and turmeric, move to a bowl and add 3 tablespoons olive oil, saffron, dried coriander, salt and pepper.
  2. Clean the chicken breasts, coat them with the mix in the bowl and leave to marinate in the fridge whilst you prepare the rest of the tagine (you can leave it anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight to really get the flavour infusion).
  3. Slice the onions and sweet potatoes, and wash the chillies and peppers.
  4. In the tagine, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and the red, white, normal and spring onions, covering the bottom and side of the tagine.
  5. Cover with the tagine lid and cook on a raised bracket on low to medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the onions begin to caramelise.
  6. Place the chicken over the onions, cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes.
  7. Turn the chicken and leave to cook for another 10 minutes.
  8. Turn the chicken again and add the chillies, peppers and dates across the chicken and sides, and leave to cook for 5 minutes.
  9. Add the sweet potatoes on top and leave to cook for another 10 minutes.
  10. Sweet’n’Spicy Chicken Tagine is served! (If you wish, garnish with fresh coriander, parsley, basil or even mint!).
Dinner is served!
Dinner is served!
Sweet'n'Spicy Chicken Tagine is served!
Sweet’n’Spicy Chicken Tagine is served!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves 2 to 4 people – mum loved hers!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Lunch, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Four Bean Soupreme

Four Bean Soupreme is served!
By | On December 18,16 | 0 Comment

During the winter months, I enjoy warm, hearty meals with a bit of a kick to fight off those lazy days and over-eager bugs! The Spicy Winter Soup with chicken proved very popular among my family and friends, however, being vegetarian this month meant that I would be getting my protein source from elsewhere! Cue, pulses, in the form of beans, the tinned variety!

Beans are hearty, full of vitamins and minerals, and loaded with protein! Tinned or dried, we have been eating them in various meals for years in our household! If you want to have this as a chilli con carne type meal or increase the protein content, simply reduce the water and add in mincemeat, Quorn or tofu.

I had a busy day and was hungry so had my soup with German rye bread, which is naturally love in gluten and heavy! Two slices do me every time! You can have your soup with whatever you wish! You can even serve it with rice, quinoa or any other carb staple, just remember to not add 1 litre of water, unless you want a sloppy mess!

This recipe is meat free, gluten free, and dairy free, but highly nutritious and delicious, even if I do say so myself!

Ingredients - Four Bean Soupreme!
Ingredients – Four Bean Soupreme!

INGREDIENTS

Four Bean Supreme Soup

1 red onion

1 onion

3 spring onions

4 cloves garlic

1 cm ginger

½ red chilli

½ green chilli

½ red pepper

½ green pepper

½ teaspoon dried coriander

1 tin chopped tomatoes

¼ tin red kidney beans

1 tin mixed beans (containing Adzuki, Cannellini and Haricot beans, you can use any mix you like)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons coconut oil

1 litre filtered water, boiled

RECIPE

Four Bean Supreme Soup

  1. In a large saucepan, melt 2 teaspoons coconut oil, and add in sliced and diced red, normal and spring onions (keep the green leaves until the end), crushed garlic, chopped ginger and turmeric, and sauté until golden brown, cooking on 3/4 heat;
  2. Add in 1 tin chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, ½ teaspoon salt, and cook until the water evaporates for an infused and blended taste. I added in the chillies at this step because I wanted a spicier soup;
  3. Add in the chopped peppers and beans, mix gently and add in the boiling water;
  4. Cover and leave to cook for around 10 minutes on ¼ heat, stirring occasionally and to check the ingredients are done as you like them;
  5. Your Four Bean Soupreme is served! (If you wish, garnish with fresh coriander, parsley, basil or even mint!).
Four Bean Soupreme is served!
Four Bean Soupreme is served!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves 2-4 people

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Lunch, Vegan, Vegetarian

Gluten-Free Quorn Bolognese

Gluten-Free Quorn Bolognese is served!
By | On November 13,16 | 0 Comment

I have been making Spaghetti Bolognese for many years now, throughout university and my time abroad, trying to make it healthier, tastier etc., draining the fat from the minced beef, trying different oils and wholegrain spaghetti.

With going meat-free, spag bol was off the menu, until a trip to the supermarket turned it on its head! Now, I know meat alternatives exist, I never got around to buying “fake meat” because I used to enjoy the real thing! Now, needs must! So, I bought some packs of quorn and have been experimenting with “chicken” and “mince beef”, to varying degrees of success (mum hated quron tikka masala, but don’t worry, it’s coming!). Considering I hadn’t had spag bol since some time last year and don’t eat pasta, Spaghetti Bolognese was on! I have had gluten-free spaghetti at home for a while because of one of my friends who has Coeliac disease, so she can eat something whenever she’s over!

I love the mix of all 3 different types of onions available at the supermarkets here in the UK (I used to have white onions in Germany!) when caramelised together, I get this delicious sweet and tangy taste and aroma! Topped with some fresh garlic, ginger and turmeric, we’re rocking!

Gluten-Free Quorn Bolognese Ingredients
Gluten-Free Quorn Bolognese Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

Quorn Bolognese

250 g Quorn mince

1 red onion

1 onion

3 spring onions

3 cloves garlic

1 cm ginger

1 cm turmeric

½ red chilli

½ green chilli

½ red pepper

½ green pepper

½ teaspoon dried coriander

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons coconut oil

Gluten-Free Spaghetti

50 g gluten-free spaghetti (mine is made from brown rice)

1 teaspoon coconut oil

½ teaspoon salt

500 mL filtered water

RECIPE

Quorn Bolognese

  1. In a large saucepan, melt 2 teaspoons coconut oil, and add in sliced and diced red, normal and spring onions (keep the green leaves until the end), crushed garlic, chopped ginger and turmeric, and sauté until golden brown, cooking on 3/4 heat;
  2. Add in 1 tin chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, ½ teaspoon salt, and cook until the water evaporates;
  3. Add in the chopped chillies, peppers and quorn, cover and leave to cook for around 10 minutes on ¼ heat (start cooking the spaghetti);
  4. Stir occasionally and check the ingredients are done as you like them;
  5. Quorn Bolognese is served! (If you wish, garnish with fresh coriander, parsley, basil or even mint!).

Gluten

  1. In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and ½ teaspoon of salt (put the 500 mL of filtered water on to boil);
  2. Add in the boiling water, stir, add the spaghetti and stir gently for 30 seconds, cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes on ¼ heat;
  3. Check on it 5 minutes later and gently stir;
  4. Cook until it is to your liking and drain the spaghetti;
  5. Cooking time is about 10 minutes and it is ready to eat!
Gluten-Free Quorn Bolognese is served!
Gluten-Free Quorn Bolognese is served!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves 2 people – mum was surprised by the taste and had hers with horrible white spaghetti!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂