Jono & Jules do food & wine

Another Ottolenghi success which  has that comforting combination of crispy chicken skin and warm spices. Always a crowd pleaser in our house!

Wine Suggestion: we went for a Viognier made in the northern Rhone valley by Jean-Michel Gerin. It was just his “La Champine” IGP Collines Rhodaniennes but it was delicious and had exotic fruit and spice hints that matched and complemented the cardamon and cinnamon.

Chicken with caramelised onion & cardamom rice – serves 4

• 25g currants soaked in a little lemon juice
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions, finely sliced
• 1kg chicken thighs
• 10 cardamom pods
• ½ tsp whole cloves
• 2 long cinnamon sticks, broken in two
• 300g basmati rice
• 550ml boiling water
• 5g parsley, chopped
• 5g dill, chopped
• 5g coriander, chopped
• 100g Greek yoghurt, mixed with 2 tbsp of olive oil (optional)

Heat half the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the onion and cook over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Transfer the onion to a bowl and wipe the pan clean.

Put the chicken into a large bowl and season with 1½ tsp of salt and black pepper. Add the rest of the olive oil, cardamom, cloves & cinnamon and mix well together with your hands. Heat up the pan again and add the chicken and spices. Sear for 5 minutes per side and remove from the pan. Don’t worry about any spices that stay in the pan. Remove all but a millimetre of oil form the bottom of the pan. Add the rice, caramelised onion, 1 tsp of salt & lots of black pepper. Strain the currants and add them too. Stir well and return the seared chicken and push it into the rice.

Pour the boiling water over the rice and chicken, cover and cook on a very low heat for 50 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, take the lid off briefly and cover the dish with a clean tea towel before replacing the lid. Leave untouched for 10 minutes. Finally, add the herbs and use a fork to stir them in and fluff up the rice. Taste and season if necessary. Serve hot or warm with the yoghurt if you like.

(Original recipe from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi, Ebury Press, 2012.)

Chicken with caramelised onion & cardamon