chicken with lemons and raisins
In this dish, which is really a simple chicken cooked in tomato sauce, we can see the influence that the Moors have had on Mediterranean cooking by the use of fruits and spices.
| 1 | free range chicken (how heavy? I hear you cry! Well, I don’t know. If there are 2-4 of you, get a small one; more of you, get a great big one or two small ones! If the chicken has its liver and heart, so much the better) |
| olive oil | |
| 2 | onions, finely diced |
| 4 | fat cloves of garlic, very finely crushed |
| about ½ bottle | white wine |
| about 500ml/18fl oz | tomato sauce (buy this in a carton) |
| 4 | juicy lemons, cut in half, pips removed, then very, very, very finely sliced |
| 1 | cinnamon stick |
| about 225g/8oz | raisins, currants or sultanas |
| 1 | sprig of thyme |
| 4-5 | clovessea salt and black pepper |
Joint the chicken, bones and all, into manageable morsels. In a large, shallow sauté pan or a deep frying pan, heat up some olive oil. The pan needs to be big enough to hold all the pieces of chicken in a single layer. Fry them on both sides until golden brown, then add the onions and garlic and brown them very lightly. At this stage, if you have the giblets from the chicken, add them and fry them too. Now pour in the wine so that it half covers the chicken and boil furiously until it has reduced, then add enough tomato sauce just to cover the chicken. Keep on cooking for a few minutes, then add the lemons, cinnamon, raisins, thyme and cloves. By now, since the chicken went into the pan, it will have been cooking for about 25 minutes. Stir the whole lot together and let it simmer gently until the chicken is tender and you have a fragrant, spicy, lemon-tanged tomato sauce.
I am not the kind of cook who offers (quote) serving suggestions (unquote!). It is up to you, but I think pasta, rice, vermicelli or salad would be good with this. Because, you see, this kind of dish, which is cooked with vegetables and fruit, just doesn’t need a plate of carrots, green beans or similar, next to it. A few chips and olive oil might be quite nice, however!
A NOTE ON HERBS
As a general rule, branches of dried herbs such as thyme and rosemary work best when barbecuing and grilling because they are cooked into the overall flavour; they are also very good in casseroles and stews that require long cooking. However, when the herb is used as an edible garnish (i.e. not cooked) or only cooked very lightly, fresh herbs are essential.
fricassée of spring lamb with green peas and egg and lemon sauce
Egg and lemon sauce, known as avgolemono, is served with vegetables, meat, chicken and fish throughout Greece. Since this is a spring dish it is essential that the lamb is young and fresh, not frozen. Throughout the Mediterranean, this fricassée would be prepared with milk-fed lamb at best and, at worst, meat from a very, very young sheep.
| SERVES 6 | |
| about 1.5-2kg/3¼-4½lb | leg of spring lamb (you might have to buy 1½ legs) |
| 175g/6oz | unsalted butter |
| 500g/1lb 2oz | baby leeks (the thickness of your average fountain pen), the white and green parts cut into 4cm/1½ inch batons |
| ½ | hearty, dark-green Cos (romaine) lettuce, ripped into rough pieces |
| 1.5kg/3¼lb | small frozen peas (yes, frozen, because unless you have access to the tenderest of fresh garden peas, this dish will be ruined by those tough old things the size of golf balls, so-called fresh garden peas from the average greengrocer; also, frozen peas contain their own moisture) |
| 1 | bunch of fresh dill or coriander, or parsley or even chives, chopped |
| sea salt and black pepper | |
| FOR THE SAUCE: | |
| 1 heaped tbsp | butter |
| 1 tbsp | plain flour |
| juice of 5 or 6 | lemons (possibly less if you are making this on holiday where lemons grow; possibly more if you are using the slightly less juicy ones at home) |
| 2 | eggs and |
| 4 | egg yolks |
Cut the lamb off the bone into nice bite-sized pieces. Melt half the butter in a cast-iron, copper or other heavy-based wide casserole and fry the lamb pieces until they are browned on all sides. Because it is spring lamb it will not take very long to cook, so just brown it lightly. Then stir in the leeks and cook for a few minutes to soften them a little. Throw in the roughly torn up lettuce, then the frozen (yes, still frozen) peas and fresh herbs. Add one or two cups of water and the remaining butter, then season with salt and pepper. Stir the whole lot round so everything is combined, put the lid on and simmer gently for about 30-45 minutes. Inspect and taste the dish from time to time to make sure that the peas are defrosting, the lamb is cooking and all the juices are amalgamating.
When you think the lamb is almost cooked, strain off about a cupful of the cooking liquid, leaving only a small amount in the pan. Now, in
