Spiced chicken thighs, mustard seed sweet potatoes, radish & red onion salad, coriander yoghurt
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Serves: 2
 
Chicken thighs cooked this way, deliver a lot of flavour for minimal effort. I've paired them up with a sweet potato dish inspired by a potato aloo. The salad and yoghurt don't take long to make and add colour and flavour to the final dish. Vegetarians, you can make this dish with paneer instead of chicken, and you can find the recipe for that in my book
Ingredients
Spiced Chicken Thighs
  • 15g butter
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 4 x good quality, skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
Sweet Potatoes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 Inch chunk root ginger, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp black mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp ground turmeric
  • 300g sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into
  • 1cm cubes
  • Handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped
  • Lime juice, to taste
  • Sea salt and black pepper
Radish Salad
  • ½ red onion, thinly sliced
  • Lime juice (from ¼- ½ a lime)
  • 8 radishes, top and tailed and thinly sliced
  • Handful of pomegranate seeds
  • Drizzle honey
  • Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
Coriander Yoghurt
  • 60mls Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • Large handful (approx. 10-15g) fresh coriander,
  • tough stalks removed and finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • Squeeze lime juice (from ¼ lime)
Instructions
Spiced Chicken Thighs
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
  2. Put the butter and 1 tsp olive oil into a small bowl and using a spoon work it into a soft smooth paste. Add the honey, spices and a pinch of salt and pepper and continue to work it into a smooth paste.
  3. Spread the paste evenly over the 4 thighs in an even layer. I like to use my hands for this, but you will need to wash them thoroughly afterwards. Place the chicken into a baking dish skin side up.
  4. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes, then turn down the temperature by 20ºC and cook for a further 30 minutes, basting at regular intervals.
  5. The chicken is done when the meat is no longer pink and the juices run clear. Check around the bone.
Sweet Potatoes
  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for around 3-4 minutes, until it begins to soften. Next add the garlic and ginger, and cook for a minute, before you add the spices and a pinch of salt.
  2. Allow the spices to fry for 30 seconds or so before you add the chopped sweet potatoes, and a couple of tbsp of water. Add a lid and turn the heat down a little. The potatoes will cook through in around 20 minutes, and you will want to check and stir on them regularly to avoid sticking, adding extra water if necessary. The aim is for the potatoes to retain their shape rather than turn to mush.
  3. Season to taste, also adding a squeeze of lime, and stir through the chopped coriander ready to plate up.
Radish Salad
  1. Place the sliced onion in a small bowl and squeeze over enough lime juice to coat along with a pinch of salt. Lightly massage the onions with the juice, then leave to sit for 5-10 minutes to soften up.
  2. Next add the radishes, pomegranate seeds, drizzle over the honey (less than ½ tsp) and likewise olive oil. You don’t want to drown it, it's just to balance the flavour. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Coriander Yoghurt
  1. Combine all of the ingredients except for the lime in a food processor and blend until the coriander is well combined. Alternatively you can chop finely and combine by hand. Stir in the lime juice and check the seasoning.
Recipe by Ceri Jones Chef at https://cerijoneschef.com/?p=17005