Chicken in Orange and Black Pepper Sauce

A low-fat version of a favourite Indian dish, this is very creamy.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

225 g low fat fromage frais or ricotta cheese
50 ml natural (plain) low fat yogurt
120 ml orange juice
1½ tsp grated fresh root ginger
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground coriander
1 small chicken, about 675 g, skinned and cut into 8 pieces
1 tbsp oil
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves
1 fresh green chilli, seeded and chopped

Method:
1. In a small mixing bowl whisk the fromage frais or ricotta with the yogurt, orange juice, ginger, garlic, pepper salt and coriander.

2. Pour this over the chicken, cover, and set aside for 5 hours.

3. Heat the oil with the bay leaf in a wok or heavy frying pan and fry the chopped onion until soft.

4. Pour in the chicken mixture and stir-fry for 3-5 minutes over a medium heat. Lower the heat, cover and cook for 7-10 minutes, adding a little water if the sauce is to thick. Add the fresh mint and chilli and serve.

Pears in Spiced Wine

Familiar Indian spices, infused in a red wine syrup, give pears a lovely warm flavour. The colour is beautiful, too.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 bottle full-bodied red wine
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
½ tsp grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
8 peppercorns
175 g caster (superfine) sugar
thinly pared rind of ½ orange
thinly pared rind of ½ lemon
8 firm ripe pears

Method:

1. Pour the wine into a heavy pan into which the pears will fit snugly when standing upright. Stir the cinnamon stick, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, peppercorns, caster sugar and citrus rinds into the wine.

2. Peel the pears, leaving the stalks intact, and stand them in the pan. The wine should only just cover the pears. Bring the liquid to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer very gently for 30 minutes or until the pears are tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pears to a bowl.

3. Boil the poaching liquid until it has reduced by half and is syrupy. Strain the syrup over and around the pears and serve hot or cold.

Cook's tip:

Serve the pears with a mascarpone cream, made by combining equal quantities of mascarpone cheese and double (heavy) cream, and adding a little vanilla essence (extract) for flavour. They also taste good with yogurt or ice cream.