Baked Chicken and Chorizo Rice with Artichokes

This one-pot wonder gives maximum flavour with minimum effort and is guaranteed to wake up your taste buds. I like to serve it with sautéed spinach to make sure I'm getting plenty of greens. If you don’t have a suitable casserole dish, just use a large sauté pan, then transfer to a roasting tin and cover loosely with foil. Make sure you buy the raw chorizo for this dish, which will impart lots of flavour into the rice as it cooks.

  • 1 x 300g (11oz) jar of artichoke hearts
  • preserved in olive oil
  • 4 chicken breast fillets, skin on
  • 100g (4oz) raw chorizo sausage, peeled
  • and diced
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 350g (12oz) long-grain rice
  • 150ml (¼ pint) dry white wine
  • 600ml (1 pint) chicken stock
  • 200g (7oz) baby spinach leaves
  • 2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh
  • flat-leaf parsley
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4). Drain the oil from the jar of artichokes.
Add 1 tablespoon of this oil to a casserole dish with a lid, then place on the hob over a medium to high heat. Season the chicken breasts and add them to the dish, skin side down.

Cook for 2–3 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn over and cook for another minute or so, until sealed. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add another tablespoon of the drained artichoke oil to the dish, then tip in the chorizo, onion and garlic.

Sauté for 2–3 minutes, until the onion has softened but not coloured. Add the rice and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring, until the chorizo has begun to release its oil and all the rice grains are well coated. Pour the wine into the casserole dish, stirring to combine, then add the stock and fold in the artichokes. Arrange the chicken on top, pushing the breasts down into the rice.

Cover and bake for 30–35 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the chicken and rice are cooked through and tender. Remove the chicken breasts and stir in the spinach until it has just wilted. Return the chicken breasts to the dish, then scatter over the parsley and place directly on the table to serve.

Cashew Nut Chicken and Asparagus Salad with Mango Salsa

This delicious salad is packed full of goodness. It can be served simple and rustic, or for a more
formal occasion you can spoon the mango salsa into 10cm (4in) chef’s rings set on plates.
Arrange the crispy cashew nut chicken in the middle and garnish with a small mound of dressed
baby salad leaves. Remove the chef’s rings to serve.

  • 100g (4oz) panko
  • (dried toasted breadcrumbs)
  • 75g (3oz) toasted cashew nuts
  • 25g (1oz) toasted coconut flakes
  • 50g (2oz) plain flour
  • 1 egg
  • 50ml (2fl oz) milk
  • 2 x 200g (7oz) chicken fillets,
  • sliced lengthways
  • about 1 tsp olive oil spray
  • 1 bunch of asparagus
  • 2 baby Cos lettuces
  • 1 small head of radicchio lettuce
  • alfalfa sprouts, to garnish
  • MANGO SALSA:
  • 1 firm, ripe mango, peeled and diced
  • 1 small red onion, finely diced
  • juice of ½ lime
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the panko, cashew nuts and coconut flakes in a food processor with a pinch of salt. Blend for 2–3 minutes, then tip into a shallow dish. Place the flour in a dish and season with salt and pepper.

Whisk the egg and milk together in a separate dish. Dust each slice of chicken in the seasoned flour, then dip into the egg wash and coat in the cashew nut crumbs. Place the coated chicken strips on the lined baking sheet and spray lightly with the olive oil. Place in the oven for 15–20 minutes, until cooked through and golden. Meanwhile, to make the mango salsa, mix the mango with

the red onion, lime juice, rapeseed oil and coriander, then season to taste and set aside at room temperature. Break the woody stems off the asparagus and cut each one on the diagonal into two or three pieces, depending on their size. Blanch in a pan of boiling salted water for 2–3 minutes, until just tender but still with a little bite. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Trim down the Cos lettuces and radicchio, then break into separate leaves and put in a large bowl with the blanched asparagus. Arrange in shallow bowls and place the cashew nut chicken strips on top. Spoon around the mango salsa and add the alfalfa sprouts to garnish.