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| All Spice Berries |
There are some dishes in which the ingredients seem to blend together so well that the meal almost cooks itself. Coconut and chicken are two such constituents and by adding the other herbs, spices and the tomatoes the dish is virtually prepared. It's tasty, and tangy and can be as hot (or not) as you would like it to be.
The roots of this dish are basically Caribbean, but as usual it has a Mikey easy twist or two. The main ingredient is one that is not used all that much in the UK but is a favourite of mine. It is a dried pepper seed as can be seen from its Latin name and is sometimes called Jamaican Berry, but has a strong flavour of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg as well as the innate peppercorn taste. This is how it got its name Allspice and should not be confused with MIXED spice which is used mainly for sweet cooking.
Buy some Allspice and try it in some dishes - I guarantee you will notice the subtle undertones that it imparts and the depth of flavour that can be detected..
Buy some Allspice and try it in some dishes - I guarantee you will notice the subtle undertones that it imparts and the depth of flavour that can be detected..
Ingredients:
Chicken, diced and dipped in seasoned flour
Tin of coconut milk
Tin of chopped tomatoes
Frozen peas
All spice berries, about a dozen
teaspoon of cumin powder
teaspoon of cumin powder
Bay leaves
Chopped thyme
Fresh chili finely chopped - to taste
Fresh garlic finely chopped - as much as you like - I usually use 4 cloves
Onion finely chopped
As usual, slowly cook the onions until they are soft and sweet. In some countries onions are cooked slowly for hours, so there is never any hurry with cooking them - take your time but don't burn them. After 10 minutes or so add the chopped garlic and chili and stir in and cook gently. The garlic is always added later to ensure that it doesn't burn.
Next the diced and floured chicken can be fried off in the pan until it has a nice light brown crust. It is coated in flour to add this slight crunch but also the flour helps to thicken the sauce.
Once the chicken is a light brown pour in the contents of a tin of coconut milk and stir in with the tin of chopped tomatoes (which I blitz into a puree), the cumin, allspice, chopped thyme and bay leaves. Season to taste.
I then put this in a medium oven for half an hour or so before giving it a good stir and adding the frozen peas. Ten to 15 minutes later it's ready to serve with some rice and or some lovely flatbreads.
As usual, slowly cook the onions until they are soft and sweet. In some countries onions are cooked slowly for hours, so there is never any hurry with cooking them - take your time but don't burn them. After 10 minutes or so add the chopped garlic and chili and stir in and cook gently. The garlic is always added later to ensure that it doesn't burn.
Next the diced and floured chicken can be fried off in the pan until it has a nice light brown crust. It is coated in flour to add this slight crunch but also the flour helps to thicken the sauce.
Once the chicken is a light brown pour in the contents of a tin of coconut milk and stir in with the tin of chopped tomatoes (which I blitz into a puree), the cumin, allspice, chopped thyme and bay leaves. Season to taste.
I then put this in a medium oven for half an hour or so before giving it a good stir and adding the frozen peas. Ten to 15 minutes later it's ready to serve with some rice and or some lovely flatbreads.
