Chicken and Chickpea Curry

Enjoy a delicious homemade curry for dinner tonight with this simple and quick recipe. 

I love making up quick and easy curries for dinner. I am also a big fan of including chickpeas in curries and this recipe can easily be turned into a vegetarian dinner by omitting the chicken and doubling the amount of chickpeas. I serve this recipe with couscous, but it also works with pitta bread or rice instead. Read how to cook couscous here.

Serves 2

Half tsp ground cumin
Half tsp ground coriander
Half tsp garam masala
Half tsp curry powder
Quarter tsp chili powder

1 chicken fillet, chopped into pieces
Half tin chickpeas
Half tin tomatoes
50ml chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
Half tsp chopped ginger

Heat some olive oil in a pot over a low to medium heat.

Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger in olive oil until the onion begins to turn golden brown.

Add the spices and sauté for a further minute.

Add the chicken and cook for two minutes or until the chicken has almost turned white.

Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, and stock, and stir well. Reduce to a simmer and leave for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle chopped coriander over the curry to serve.

Turkey Mince Burritos

Turkey mince is not something usually associated with Tex-Mex meals, but it can work in recipes as a great substitute for beef mince and as a tasty alternative for chicken. Turkey meat is very low in fat and high in protein. So if you usually avoid burritos because you are concerned about the nutritional aspect, then why not try this recipe for homemade and healthy turkey mince burritos instead? 

Serves 2

250g Turkey mince
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped finely or crushed
1 red pepper, sliced
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder (hot or mild)
Ground black pepper
1 tsp tobasco sauce
10 cherry tomatoes, halved

4 wholewheat flour tortillas

Iceberg lettuce leaves
Grated mozzarella cheese

Sweat the onion and garlic for 10 minutes on a low heat with the lid on.

Turn the heat up to medium, add the turkey mince and cook until the meat has changed colour and is no longer pink.

Add all the spices, tobasco sauce, and some freshly ground black pepper. Mix for about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and peppers and leave on a low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes have become soft and mushy.

For the flour tortillas, either heat in the microwave on a high heat for a minute, or place in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius, covered with tinfoil, for 10-15 minutes.

To make the burrito, place the lettuce, turkey mince mixture, and cheese on the tortilla. Serve with salsa and guacamole (follow the links for recipes). Fold up the tortilla and enjoy.

Chicken Noodle Soup

With Christmas over, all that remains of winter is the cold...and holding out for the first signs of spring, which will probably be cold too anyway...But at least the cold provides a need for some hot and spicy dishes. Food can provide both a defense and comfort against the harshness of winter and one thing I generally opt for is a good, hot and spicy soup. Chicken noodle soup is a classic and for good reason. The inclusion of noodles make it feel like you are having a proper meal. The addition of a chili adds the necessary heat to tackle the winter chill. This soup does work without the chili, but in winter I love the cosy comfort offered by a good, spicy soup. This is a very quick recipe and can be easily reheated - in fact, this soup is delicious reheated as all the flavours have had time to combine together.

Serves 2-3

2 chicken fillets
800ml chicken stock
1 tsp finely chopped root ginger
1 red chili, sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
50g wholewheat noodles
2-3 mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chopped basil

Pout the stock into a pot with the garlic, ginger, and chili. Bring to the boil and add the chicken fillets. Reduce to a simmer, partially cover, and leave for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot. Slice into small pieces then return to the pot with the noodles, mushrooms, spring onion, and soy sauce.

Simmer for a further 5 minutes. Add the basil and stir.

Ladle into bowls and serve with crispy bread to really bulk this meal up.

****It is easy to make a vegetarian version of this soup. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and omit the chicken. In place of the chicken, add more mushrooms or an extra portion of noodles. Or you can include additional vegetables, such as sweetcorn - just add with the mushrooms and noodles.

****For a lighter, or carb-free version, omit the noodles. This makes a delicious, light, and spicy broth. Perfect as a starter.

Moroccan Chickpea Soup

This is a delicious and light soup that works well in all seasons. If you are wary of spicy food just omit the chili from the recipe below.

Serves 1-2

1 small onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 red chili, sliced
Pinch of ground cumin
200g tin of tomatoes
200ml vegetable stock
100g chickpeas (drained)
1 tbsp chopped coriander
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and Black pepper
Chopped parsley, to garnish

Sweat the onion, chili and garlic for 10 minutes on a low heat.

Add the cumin and stir well.

Add the tinned tomatoes, stock, chickpeas, rosemary and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then simmer with the lid off for 10 minutes.

After 5 minutes, add the cherry tomatoes.

With a minute to go add the lemon juice.

Serve in a bowl and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top. Enjoy!