It seems strange to me that people who live in hot countries like to eat hot food. I don’t mean hot as in heated, but hot as in spicy. India, Thailand and Malaysia have their fiery curries, Mexico has its chilli and North Africa has harissa, but I wonder if it works in reverse.
Are Eskimos addicted to ice cream, or do Greenlanders gorge on granita?
One of life’s mysteries I suppose, but as it’s starting to warm up nicely here, I thought I’d follow the example of India, Thailand, Mexico, etc, and opt for something hot and spicy myself.
My recipe for an easy chicken curry is something of a moveable feast. Sometimes I grind my own spices, or sometimes, for speed, I use curry paste or powder. I might add all chicken stock, or half stock with half coconut milk, or all coconut milk, and I often add vegetables. So, as the recipe isn’t written on tablets of stone, feel free to do with it what you will.
In winter, I like chilli poured over a big baked potato and topped with a splodge of sour cream or crème fraîche, but in summer I like it with peppers which I halve and roast first, then fill to overflow with chilli.
With some sour cream, a green salad and tortilla chips, it makes a handsome supper.
In her Summer Collection book, Delia Smith calls spaghetti puttanesca ‘Tart’s Spaghetti’ which, she says, presumably got its name because it’s “hot, strong and gutsy”.
I don’t know about that, but my version is pretty spicy, especially if you ‘tart’ it up a bit with some hot Spanish chorizo. Serve it, as Delia recommends, with plenty of ‘gutsy’ red wine to wash it down.
If you Google ‘harissa’ on the internet, you’ll find dozens of recipes for making it yourself. I’ve never tried making it as I don’t use it that often, so I buy one of those small cans or tubes instead. Try adding it to some lamb leg steaks with apricots and chickpeas. The apricots almost dissolve into the sauce and it has a lovely sweet but spicy flavour.
Served with couscous, sitting on the terrace on a warm evening, it may not be quite the same as a Bedouin tent in the North African desert, but there will probably be less flies, certainly less sand and definitely more wine.
Lamb steaks with chickpeas and harissa
(Serves 4)
2 tbsps olive oil
4 large lamb leg steaks
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 tsp harissa paste, or to taste
2 tbsps pomegranate molasses or honey
400ml chicken stock
12 dried apricots
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint, plus extra to serve
2 tbsps pomegranate seeds (optional)
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the lamb until browned on both sides. Transfer the pieces to a large pan.
Fry the onion until it starts to soften, then add the garlic and fry for a minute more. Stir in the tomato paste, harissa and molasses or honey and fry gently for another two minutes, then stir in the stock and apricots. Pour the mixture over the lamb, bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently for about 75 minutes or until the lamb is tender.
Stir in the chickpeas and chopped mint and cook for another 15 minutes. Serve on warm plates, sprinkle with extra chopped mint and pomegranate seeds and serve with couscous or bulgur wheat.
Easy chicken curry
(Serves 4)
1 tbsp olive oil
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, halved
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsps grated fresh ginger
3 tbsps curry paste, mild, medium or hot according to taste
200g can chopped tomatoes
165g can coconut milk
2 tbsps mango chutney
1 tsp sugar
250ml chicken stock
Chopped fresh coriander
Rice, naan bread and mango chutney to serve
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and, working in batches, fry the chicken until it loses its raw colour and starts to brown. Transfer to a plate.
Add the onion to the pan and fry until starting to soften, then add the garlic and ginger and fry for a minute more.
Stir in the curry paste, cook for another two minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and coconut milk, the mango chutney and sugar. Blend in the chicken stock, return the chicken to the pan and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until it is cooked through.
Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve with rice, naan bread and chutney.
Spaghetti with hot and spicy sauce
(Serves 4)
2 tbsps olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 large tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and diced
2 tbsps tomato purée
6 anchovy fillets, chopped
2 tbsps sherry or red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
Large pinch chilli flakes
200ml vegetable or chicken stock
Half a 250g loop chorizo picante
100g pitted black olives, chopped
1 tbsp chopped parsley
500g spaghetti
Parmesan cheese to serve
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion until starting to soften, then add the garlic and fry for a minute more.
Add the tomatoes, tomato purée and anchovies, then stir in the vinegar, sugar, chilli flakes and stock.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Peel off and discard the papery skin of the chorizo, then dice it and add it to the sauce, together with the olives and parsley and cook for another 15 minutes.
While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti.
Drain the spaghetti in a colander and return it to the pan, then tip on the sauce and toss it all together.
Serve in warm bowls with plenty of Parmesan cheese.
Chilli-stuffed peppers
(Serves 4)
Olive oil
400g minced beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 or 3 red or green chillies, according to taste, deseeded and chopped
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsps ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
200g can chopped tomatoes
300ml beef stock
Salt
1 square of dark chocolate, chopped, or ½ tsp cocoa powder
400g can red kidney beans, rinsed, drained and roughly chopped
2 large red peppers
Sour cream or crème fraîche and paprika to serve
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan, add the beef and fry, turning and stirring until it loses its raw colour. Add the onion and continue to fry until it starts to soften, then add the garlic and chillies and fry for a minute more.
Stir in the tomato paste, add the spices and oregano, then add the tomatoes, blend in the stock and season with salt. Add the chocolate or cocoa, bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes, then stir in the kidney beans and simmer for another 10 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, preheat the oven to 200C and cut the peppers in half through the stalk, take out the seeds, but don’t remove the stalks. Brush the peppers well with olive oil, stand them in a shallow baking dish and roast them in the oven until they softened and slightly charred.
Transfer the peppers to warm plates, then pour the chilli into and over them, top each one with a splodge of sour cream and a dusting of paprika.
These are nice served with just a green salad and tortilla chips.