Lime and Caper Chicken with Green Rice

Cooking rice in a mixture of puréed vegetables and stock is a great way to add nutrition and bags of flavour to this simple meal.

Hands-on time 25min. Cooking time about 45min. Serves 4

● 8 portions of chicken thighs or mix of thighs and drumsticks

● 75g butter, softened

● 3 garlic cloves, crushed

● Finely grated zest and juice 2 limes, kept separate 

● Large bunch (30g) coriander, leaves and stalks separated

● 4tbsp capers, drained

● 225g long grain rice

● 1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped

● 1 large green chilli, deseeded

● 350ml hot vegetable stock

● 2tsp vegetable oil

● 3 spring onions, roughly chopped

1 Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Slash three or four deep cuts into each chicken piece and put into a shallow roasting tin.

2 In a small bowl, mash the butter, garlic, lime zest and plenty of seasoning. Finely chop ½ the coriander leaves and mix into the butter. Rub all over the chicken and into the cuts. Scatter over the capers and roast for 40-45min, basting halfway through, until chicken is cooked through and crisp.

3 Meanwhile, rinse the rice thoroughly in a sieve under cold water, then drain. In a blender or food processor, whizz the pepper, green chilli and coriander stalks with ½ the stock, until fairly smooth. Add remaining stock and whizz again.

4 Heat oil in a medium pan over low-medium heat; fry spring onions for 2min. Add drained rice and stir to coat. Add vegetable purée and a pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, stir once and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to very low and cook for 12min (without boiling or stirring). Remove lid, stir once with a fork, then cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rest (off the heat) for 10min.

5 Drizzle lime juice over the rice and fork through gently. Serve chicken with rice, scattered with the remaining coriander leaves and with the buttery juices from the roasting tin spooned over.

PER SERVING

697cals, 36g protein, 39g fat (15g saturates), 50g carbs (3g total sugars), 3g fibre