Charlie Bigham's chicken with ginger, cumin, honey and almonds
The king of posh ready meals... it turns out, Charlie Bigham is an actual real-life person, who knew? Cooking up a storm with a delicious recipe from his very first cookbook that we can all make at home - Chicken with ginger, cumin, honey & almonds & Persian Rice. Taken from Charlie's new book 'Supper With Charlie Bigham: Favourite food for family and friends'
Charlie Bigham’s Chicken with ginger, cumin, honey and almonds
Serves: 6
Ingredients
3 large onions, sliced5 tablespoons of olive oil4 garlic cloves, finely chopped1 tbsp ground cumin, plus 1 heaped tsp1 tbsp ground ginger, plus 1 heaped tsp1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)8-12 skin-on bone-in chicken thighsJuice of 1 lemon50g (1 ¾ oz) ground almonds50g (1 ¾ oz) flaked almondsGenerous drizzle (about 2 tbsp) runny honeyHandful of parsley leaves, finely choppedSea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan (400°F), Gas Mark 6.
2. Put the onions in a wide-based, shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle with a couple glugs of oil (about 4 tablespoon), the garlic, 1 tablespoon each of ground cumin and ground ginger, plus the chilli flakes, if you’re after a bit of spice. Toss together, then put in the oven for 15 minutes, or until soft but not browned.
3. Meanwhile, drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil into a large frying pan and pan-fry the chicken thighs for around 5 minutes on each side, starting on the skin side, until nicely browned. (If cooking a larger number of thighs, you will need to fry in 2 batches, or use 2 frying pans.)
4. Once the onions are cooked, remove from the oven and stir lightly. Place the chicken thighs on top, skin-side up. Pour any juices from the frying pan on top of the chicken with the lemon juice. Season generously with salt, pepper and the remaining 1 heaped teaspoon each of cumin and ginger. Sprinkle the chicken with the ground almonds and return the dish to the oven for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
5. Remove the dish from the oven and scatter the flaked almonds on top. Drizzle generously with honey. Return the dish to the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the almonds are lightly toasted (be careful they don’t burn).
6. Take the finished dish from the oven and scatter liberally with chopped parsley.
Charlie Bigham’s Persian Rice
Serves: 6
Ingredients
500g (1lb 2oz) white basmati rice75g (2 ¾ oz) butteA few saffron thread30g (1oz) shelled, unsalted pistachio nuts, roughly chopped40g (1 ½ oz) sultanasHandful of flat leaf parsley leaves, choppedSea salt flakes
Method
1. Two-thirds fill a large heavy-based saucepan - that has a tight-fitting lid - with cold water, add the rice and a pinch of salt and set over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then remove the rice from the heat and drain using a large sieve.
2. Rinse out the pan and return to a low heat. Add the butter, and once it has melted add the saffron, then tip in your semi-cooked rice, without stirring. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid wrapped on a clean towel. If using a gas hob, you can tie a knot in the top of the tea towel to keep it away from the flames.
3. Reduce the heat to as low as it can go, then leave the rice to cook. If the heat is low enough and you are using a heavy-based pan, you can safely leave the rice cooking for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours without it burning.
4. When you are ready to serve, tip the pan upside down on to a large, flat serving dish (so that the cooked buttery rice is on the top), then sprinkle with your pistachio nuts and sultanas (you may choose to warm those in a small frying pan first). Scatter over the parsley and serve.