Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: Mujadara with harissa chicken
Colm has a Middle Eastern inspired feast for you this week. A lovely one pot rice and lentil dish that is easy to make, but full of flavour.
It looks like we will not be travelling again for some time. For now, we are restricted to no more than 5km from our homes. It feels like each day blends into the next, largely because there is little to mark them out from each other.
January feels like it lasted for ever, and yet the weeks seemed to fly by. The passage of time has all gone a little haywire, and it is a bit disconcerting. It is hard not to get a bit down at times.
One of the ways I have worked to manage my wellbeing and mental health over this past year has been to develop a routine that requires me to stay active. I exercise every day, be it a workout, a run, or a walk with the dogs. I cook.
Hardly a shocker I know, we all have to eat, and lockdown means we are doing most of that at home these days, but the routine of making three meals every day gives things a bit more structure.
However, as much as such this routine helps, it all does get a bit well, routine. It is the relentless sameness of everything that can be tough, the lack of colour, of novelty.
Food can give us that though. We might not be able to travel to experience something new, but we can create it at home in our kitchens. We can try new things, new cuisines.
Thank heavens that most ingredients can be found locally these days. And that those that cannot be bought in our local supermarket or health food shop can be ordered online. Lots of great ethnic and specialist supermarkets are doing nationwide delivery.
With that in mind, I have a Middle Eastern inspired feast for you this week. A lovely one pot rice and lentil dish that is easy to make, but full of flavour. I love Middle Eastern food. I adore the way it uses spices to add layers of flavour, and lots of chopped herbs often at the end, which add a wonderful freshness.
This dish is a lovely introduction to Middle Eastern cooking if you are new to it. Mujadara can be served as a vegetarian main if you wish, or as I have done here, to accompany a meat dish. I came up with this Harissa Chicken recipe specially to have with Mujadara and I love it.
Served with some Shatta, a simple chilli sauce, some creamy Greek yoghurt with a little harissa added, this is a perfect Friday feast.
- 200g brown lentils
- 200g basmati rice
- 1tbsp ground cumin
- 1tsp cinnamon
- 1tsp salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 medium onions
- 75ml olive oil
- 750ml vegetable or chicken stock
- Pomegranate seeds
- Toasted flaked almonds
- Small handful coriander
- Small handful flat leaf parsley
- A few spring onions
- 4 chicken breasts
- 2tbsp harissa paste
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1tbsp tomato purée
- 1tsp cinnamon
- 1tsp ground cumin
- 1tsp ground coriander
- 1tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- Handful fresh coriander
- Handful flat leaf parsley
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1tsp ground cumin
- 1tsp salt
- 1tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- Handful pumpkin seeds
- 1tsp ground black pepper
- 75ml olive oil
- 6 red chillies
This recipe will easily serve four hungry people.
Flatten the chicken breasts by pounding them with a rolling pin. Cut them in half. Put all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix to a paste. Add the chicken, coating it well and pop it into the fridge to marinate for an hour or so.
Soak the rice in water for about 20 minutes and rinse well before cooking. Rinse the lentils. Peel, halve and thinly slice the onions. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based casserole. Add the onions over a medium heat.
Let them cook for a few minutes until they start to crisp a little around the sides, then stir. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly until they are deeply caramelised. Remove from the pan, sprinkle with a little salt, and allow to cool.
Add the spices and bay leaves to the same pan. Allow to cook for a minute before adding the lentils and stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15mins.
Now make your Shatta. Pop all the ingredients apart from the chillies and oil into a blender. Blitz to a fine purée. Chop the chillies into chunks, discarding the seeds from about half of them. Add the olive oil and chillies to the blender. Pulse a few times to finely chop and combine the chillies. Set aside until you are ready to serve.
Next add the rice to your casserole. Stir and cover. Allow it to cook for another 12 minutes until tender but still with a little bite. Most of the liquid will have been absorbed by then. Remove the lid and allow any remaining liquid to evaporate.
While the Mujadara is in its final stage, cook the chicken. Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat. Add a little oil, turn down to a medium heat and pop on the chicken. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. Check to make sure it is cooked through and keep it warm while you plate up the rice and lentils.
Serve the Mujadara on a big plate, with the caramelised onions scattered on top. Chop the spring onions and herbs. Sprinkle them over the dish, along with some toasted flaked almonds and fresh pomegranate seeds. Stir some harissa into creamy Greek yoghurt to serve on the side.
This is a real feast, just put everything in the middle of the table and let the gang tuck in.
