Chicken pilaf
YOU WILL NEED
40g salted butter olive oil 2 onions, finely sliced salt 1 tsp allspice berries, crushed 1 cinnamon stick 4 chicken legs 2 tsp sumac or ½ lemon ½ tsp chilli flakes handful of sultanas large handful of walnuts, roughly chopped 250g basmati rice, soaked for an hour handful each of parsley, dill and mint leaves, roughly chopped To serve 2 tbsp Greek-style yogurt pomegranate seeds (optional) 20g pistachios, crushed (optional)
DIRECTIONS
■ Place an oven-proof casserole dish over a low heat and add the butter with a splash of oil. When the butter has melted, add the onions with a pinch of salt and sprinkle in the allspice and cinnamon. Fry the onions over a low heat for 5 minutes until soft.
■ Season the chicken legs with salt and generously cover with the sumac (or rub with the ½ lemon) and chilli flakes.
■ Turn the heat up to medium and add the chicken to the onions. Fry the chicken legs on both sides for about 8 minutes until they begin to colour, being careful not to let the onions burn. Meanwhile, boil a kettle of water.
■ Stir in the sultanas and walnuts, then drain the rice before adding it to the pan. Season with salt, then pour over boiling water from the kettle so that the water comes 2cm above the rice. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, before turning the heat down to low and cooking for another 5 minutes.
■ Leave to rest away from the heat for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and check that the chicken is cooked. If not, return to the heat or put into a hot oven for a few minutes. Fluff up the rice with a fork to separate the grains then stir through the chopped herbs.
■ To serve, top with the Greek-style yogurt and scatter over the pomegranate seeds and pistachios.
Recipe and image courtesy of Le Creuset, lecreuset.co.uk