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by Yasmin Khan from The Saffron Tales (Bloomsbury)

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My version of this dish involves poaching flavourful chicken thigh pieces with some warming spices before cooking them in the luscious green sauce.Ìý This Khoresht (slow cooked stew) is traditionally made with the juice of Seville oranges (narenj), which give a subtle, sweet & sour hint to the chicken & bring out the earthy notes of the spinach.Ìý Since these are not widely available here, ordinary oranges combined with lime juice provide an intense, tangy flavour of their own.Ìý Serve with rice & a green salad.

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Serves 4

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Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 1hr 10 mins

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Ingredients

Sunflower oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

8 chicken thighs, on the bone, skin off

200ml good quality chicken stock

1 tsp turmeric

â…› tsp ground cinnamon

Sea salt & black pepper

½ tsp saffron strands

A pinch of sugar

2 tbsp freshly boiled water

800g spinach, roughly chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Juice of 1 orange

Pared zest of ½ orange, sliced into thin strips

150g prunes

1½ tbsp flaked almonds, to garnish

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Method

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a large casserole pot & fry the onions over a low heat for 25 mins, until they are soft & beginning to caramelise.Ìý

Add the garlic & fry for another 2 mins.

Turn up the heat & add the chicken.Ìý Cook for a few mins to brown the chicken on all sides.Ìý

Lower the heat, then add the stock, turmeric, cinnamon, & a teaspoon of salt & ½ tsp of black pepper.Ìý

Cover with a lid & cook for 35 mins.

Meanwhile, make a saffron liquid by grinding the saffron strands with a pinch of sugar using a pestle & mortar & then adding the boiled water.Ìý Leave to steep.

In a large pot or wok, cook the spinach over a high heat until it has wilted & then place in a colander to drain.Ìý You’ll probably have to do this in a few batches, unless you have an extremely large pot.Ìý

Let the spinach cool & then squeeze it dry with your hands.Ìý Roughly chop & set aside.

After the chicken has been cooking for 35 mins, add the chopped spinach & the lime & orange juice, along with the orange zest & saffron liquid.Ìý

Place a lid on the pot & leave to simmer for 10 mins.

Fry the prunes in 1 tbsp of oil until they just start to plump up & caramelise.Ìý

Add them to the stew & cook for a final 5 mins.Ìý Taste & adjust the seasoning adding more salt & pepper to your preference.

Toast the flaked almonds in a small pan over a low heat for 1 min until they start to go a golden brown colour.Ìý Sprinkle the toasted nuts onto the stew just before serving.

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