Enough olive oil to cover the base of the pan
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
600g chicken thigh fillets, each cut into three pieces
40g Arborio rice
850ml chicken stock
200g spinach, washed and roughly chopped
2 eggs
Juice of 1-2 lemons
Heat a thick bottomed saucepan or wok over a medium heat. Once warm, add the olive oil, and once that’s heated add the onion and garlic. Stir them and add the chicken pieces. Keep stirring until the chicken has turned white (about 5 minutes) and then add the rice. Stir to coat it in oil and add the chicken stock. Cover the pan and leave to simmer gently for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the rice from sticking.
When the time is almost up, whisk the eggs in a large jug or a bowl, together with the juice of 1 lemon.
Stir the spinach into the soup, and once it’s wilted a little, turn off the heat. Now you need to remove some stock, ideally without any bits in. The way I do this is to press a sieve into the soup, and ladle out the stock from within the sieve.
Now comes the delicate bit. Whisking as you go, slowly poor a ladle full of stock into the egg. (If you add too much of it too quickly, you’ll get bits of cooked egg.) After adding 3 or 4 ladles to the eggs, reverse the process, and add the egg mixture slowly to the soup, stirring as you go. Finally, turn the heat back on and warm the soup slowly, stirring all the time, until it’s just beginning to simmer. Taste it and add more lemon juice as required.
This recipe was inspired by a classic Greek dish called Avgolemono. It has a velvety texture which is very moreish, and it contains a whole host of vitamins and minerals thanks to the spinach and lemon. For a warming soup which is filling enough to serve for dinner, read on.
This dish has got it all. Fibre and iron from the spinach, vitamin C from the lemons, protein from the chicken and eggs, and a small amount of carbohydrate in the form of rice. If you’re avoiding salt, this soup is a good option because the lemon gives it so much flavour that I don’t feel the need to add any.
Working eggs into the soup and adding a few grains of risotto rice give the dish its unusual velvety texture. If you’re trying to avoid cream but are craving the richness it can bring to a recipe, this is a good alternative.
This fresh, healthy and affordable salad is a taste of summer available all year round. It takes five minutes to make – perfect if like me you work from home, or want something that keeps well in a Tupperware for lunch at work.
This is my new favourite recipe. I’ve served it to guests, I’ve served it to the family, and when people taste it they want to know what on earth is in it, and they want seconds. Thirds too. It’s based on a dish from a vegetarian recipe book by Anna Jones, and it is deliciously weird. It takes me over an hour to make, longer than most salads, but I’m getting quicker and it is well worth it.
This seasonal salad will taste great all round. Sweet and crunchy, it is the perfect accompaniment for crispy tray baked chicken in a tahini sauce.
This unusual salad is full of flavour and high in fibre. Never tried red rice before? It’s a nutrient rich alternative to white rice, and it looks pretty too.
