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Shakespeare refers to apricots as aphrodisiac in A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
Chicken and fruit – a peach of an idea!
Clare Latimer pairs sweet summer flavours with traditional and tangy Moroccan method
WELL, whatever the weather this summer, the shops are overflowing with wonderful ripe and juicy fruits such as peaches, nectarines, apricots and, of course, home-grown strawberries and raspberries.
This is a time when imported fruit is totally acceptable as we do not get the quantity of these magic orange coloured and juicy fruits. They are hopefully not travelling further than France, Italy and Spain and therefore not using too much carbon footprint.
From smoothies to main courses, succulent tarts and just eating them naked, these fruits have to be eaten now as the season is short.
Moroccan chicken
With the price of meat rocketing this is a good way to cook a cheaper cut of meat so instead of using chicken breast use chicken thighs.
Moroccans cook a great deal of meat and fruit together and this is one of my favourite recipes.
Ingredients
Serves 4
2 dried red chillies
1 cinnamon stick
1 teasp cumin seeds
6 cloves
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
8 free range chicken thighs
1 large teasp grated fresh ginger
1 desp honey
1 good teasp tomato puree
Little water
Little white wine, optional
6 fresh ripe apricots, halved and stoned
Handful fresh coriander, chopped.
Method
Preheat the oven 180C/350F/gas 4. Put the chillies, cinnamon, cumin and cloves into a frying pan and cook over a medium heat for a few minutes and then grind or crush them into powder.
Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and add the onion and garlic. Cook gently for about three minutes then add the ground spices and chicken pieces. Turn up the heat slightly and brown the meat and infuse the other flavours.
Add all the rest of the ingredients except the apricots and coriander. Stir well and add about four tablespoons of water and a splash white wine. Cover and cook in the oven for about 45 minutes.
Add the apricots and cook for a further 15 minutes. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if you wish. Serve hot with the chopped coriander sprinkled over the top.
Peach and almond tart
If you find that peaches are not perfect in the shop then you can change this to apricots or nectarines. Also if you have nuts in the cupboard to use up then hazelnuts, pecans or even walnuts will go well.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
125g butter, softened
2 desp caster sugar
125g plain flour
50g ground almonds
For the filling:
50g butter
50g caster sugar
2 yolks eggs
50g ground almonds
25g plain flour
4 peaches, halved, stoned and then cut into slices
1 egg, beaten
icing sugar
2 tbsp apricot jam.
Method
Preheat the oven 200C/400F/gas 6. Put all the pastry ingredients into a bowl and mix until it forms a smooth ball. This can be done in a blender.
Press out the pastry using your fingertips into a 20cm flan ring dusting the pastry with a little flour to prevent your fingers sticking to the pastry and making sure to bring the pastry evenly up the sides.
Prick the base with a fork and then bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven.
Beat the filling butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and beat them too. Stir in the nuts and flour and mix well. Put into the pastry shell and even off with a knife. Push in the peach slices arranging them in a pattern.
Brush the top with the beaten egg and dust generously with the icing sugar and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. If the pastry is starting to burn at the edges cover just the pastry with strips of foil.
While still hot, brush the surface with the apricot jam and then leave to cool. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. |
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