Coriander and Lime Chicken with Coconut Spiced Rice

I've always been a pretty easy-going eater. I was never one of those children who refused point blank to eat their greens, in fact the only time I did refuse to eat my dinner (this was, and I vividly remember, a stew), my furious dad gave me the ultimatum – either eat or go to your room. I went to my room and this was probably more because I wanted to annoy him than not eat the stew!

Now, as a grown adult(!), the one thing I absolutely cannot eat is fresh coriander - the taste strangely repulses me! I have no idea why, but I have heard that other people have the same problem while many LOVE coriander. So maybe there is something in that. I really would love to at lease tolerate coriander, so, to challenge my taste buds, I decided to make this unthreatening chicken recipe by Sarah Raven which involves whizzing the herb into oblivion along with lots of spices for a marinade. I added some coconut rice which tones down the heat and some steamed Pak Choi to carry on the Eastern flavours. It’s a lovely, fresh, healthy recipe but the classic chicken and rice combination makes it wonderfully enveloping - perfect for the long dark evenings ahead.

Coriander and Lime Chicken Breasts from Sarah Raven’s Food for family and friends

For 4

• In a food processor, whizz together a large handful of Coriander, the juice of 1 Lime, 1 Garlic Clove, 3 Tbsp good olive oil, 1 Red Chilli (deseeded and finely chopped), a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger (peeled and chopped), the seeds from 6 cardamom pods and a grind of salt and pepper.
• Chop 4 Chicken Breasts into bite size pieces and smear with the green mixture. Place in a baking dish and leave (covered) in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
• Put the chicken pieces and all the marinade into a small casserole dish. Cover and place in the oven for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking time and adding 3-4 Tbsp Chicken Stock.
• Remove from the oven, leave to rest for 5 minutes, and then serve on the rice topped with more coriander

Coconut Spiced Rice

• Heat 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil in a wok or large frying pan and stir-fry 5 Spring Onions, chopped, 1 fresh green Chilli, deseeded and chopped and 60g desiccated Coconut until lightly browned.
• Add 240g Jasmine Rice and fry for 2-3 minutes. Pour in 200ml Vegetable Stock and bring to the boil. Add 1x400ml tin Coconut milk and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the rice is tender.