Leamington and Warwick Living May - Jun 2024

combine. Mix through the chicken,
cover and leave in the fridge to
marinate for at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the cashew
paste. Soak the cashews in 100ml
of warm water for half an hour. Put
the cashews and their liquid in a
blender with the ginger and chillies,
blitzing to a smooth paste.
Heat the 2 teaspoons of vegetable
oil in a large, lidded saucepan on
a medium heat. Add the cloves
and cinnamon and let sizzle for a
couple of minutes until fragrant.
Add the shallots and cook, stirring
often, until golden – around 6
minutes.
Add the chicken and fry for 8
minutes until seared all over.
Lower the heat, add the sugar, a
pinch of salt and 100ml of water.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes,
stirring halfway through. Stir in the
cashew paste, simmer for a further
5 minutes, add the cardamom, and
take the pot off the heat.
Allow the curry to rest whilst making
the temper – heat the 1 tbsp oil in a
small frying pan on a medium heat.
Add the shallots and cook for five
minutes until starting to turn golden.
Add the cashews and fry for a
further 2 minutes. Add the mustard
seeds and curry leaves, cook for 30
seconds. Pour the temper over the
curry and serve with rice or chapati.
BEEF AND
SHALLOT
EMPANADAS
The filling of these empanadas is
a classic combination of Spanish
flavours – beef, shallot, sultanas and
olives. Deep fried until crispy, then
finished with a salsa verde inspired
shallot green sauce.
Serves: 6-8
Preparation Time: 25 minutes (plus
resting time)
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
For the dough
450g plain flour
1 tbsp salt
60g unsalted butter
1 egg
6 tbsp water
1 tbsp vinegar
For the filling
2 eggs, hard-boiled
1 tbsp of olive oil
4 echalion shallots, peeled and
chopped
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp dried oregano
500g beef mince
1 tbsp raisin
1 tbsp pitted green olives, roughly
chopped
½ a 400ml tin of chopped tomatoes
Vegetable oil for frying
For the green sauce
1 small bunch of tarragon
2 large bunches of flat-leaf parsley
2 round shallots, peeled
3 tsp Dijon mustard
40g small capers, drained, rinsed
and roughly chopped
200ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
Start with the dough - mix the
flour, salt, and butter in a bowl by
hand until it comes together as a
homogeneous dough.
In a separate large bowl, beat the
egg, water, and vinegar, and add the
mix to the flour dough.
By hand, knead the mixture on a
clean surface covered with a little bit
of flour until it comes together as a
rustic dough, and set aside, covered,
in the fridge for one hour.
To make the filling – peel and cut
the hard-boiled eggs into thin slices.
Heat the oil in a large pan on a
medium heat - cook the echalion
shallots until golden brown, then
add the garlic and oregano, and
stir for two minutes. Add the beef
mince and cook for 10 minutes until
browned. Add the raisins, olives,
hard-boiled eggs, and chopped
tomatoes.
Meanwhile, make the green sauce
by blitzing all the ingredients to a
chunky texture in a blender.
Heat 6cm vegetable oil in a large,
deep-frying pan on a medium heat.
Take the dough and roll out with
a rolling pin to form a rectangular
sheet around 2cm in thickness.
Then, using a small bowl or cup, cut
out circles around 12cm in diameter.
Take a circle of dough and fill it with
2 tablespoons of the beef filling.
Then, fold the dough over and mark
the edges with a fork to close the
empanadas.
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