Chick pea mash. Chick. Pea. Mash. Where have you been all my life? First time I’ve made or had it and it’ll definitely be on the menu throughout this winter. Ras el hanout is a northern African spice mix my sister introduced me to recently. As Mary Bake-off said last week, it’s “aromatic” rather than hot, which is perfect for me. This is wheat and dairy free.
What to use – serves 2
- 2 chicken breasts – I used skinless and boneless but if you’re not on a health kick go for skin on
- 2 heaped teaspoons ras el hanout
- table spoon coconut oil
- 400g chick peas
- 300ml veg stock
- 50ml coconut milk
- whole head of garlic
- salt and pepper
- juice of half a lemon – half for the chicken marinad, half for the mash
- small bunch fresh coriander
How to use it
Chicken
Start by marinading the chicken. Mix together the coconut oil, lemon juice, ras el hanout and a pinch of salt then rub all over the chicken breasts. Cover and chill for at least an hour.
When it’s ready, heat a griddle pan (hot) put the chicken on and push down, and cook the chicken for 5 minutes on each side – but check they’re done as obviously fatter ones will take longer.
Mash
Slice the top off the head of garlic. Put it in the centre of a piece of tinfoil, and pour olive oil down the centre. Wrap the tinfoil up around it so it’s sealed and put into a 180C oven for 30 minutes.
To make the chickpea mash, drain the chick peas and put them into a pan with the veg stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and put back into the pan. Squeeze the garlic cloves into the chickpeas. You can keep some of the veg stock to mash with; I used a little coconut milk which I added to the pan and heated. I seasoned this quite strongly with salt and pepper, lemon juice and a little handful of chopped coriander.
Calories pp: 400 (500 if you use coconut milk)
What to watch: I watched Japan beat South Africa in the rugby world cup. Oops. However that’s in the past so I recommend Once Upon a Time which I’ve only recently discovered. Jamie Dornan was not in it for long enough…
eatburpsleep 