Gratinated pine nut-basil chicken with saffron mayo
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This delicious chicken canapé from Vineet Bhatia is simple to prepare and combines some wonderful flavours including ginger, saffron, cardamom and basil. Make the dip earlier in the day and keep it in the fridge. The Indian spice mix, chaat masala, is easy to buy online or from Indian specialist shops.
First published in 2015
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Chicken
- 1 chicken breast, boneless and skinless and cut into 4 slices
Marinade recipe
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp green chillies, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp ginger, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
Masala cheese recipe
- 40g of mozzarella cheese, grated
- 40g of mature cheddar, grated
- 1/4 tsp ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp of pine nuts
- 1/4 tsp green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1/4 tsp chaat masala
- 1 tsp basil, chopped
Saffron and cardamom dip recipe
- 1/2 tsp saffron
- 1/4 tsp cardamom seeds, ground
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 0.5g of caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, ground
- 6 tbsp of Greek yoghurt
- 2 tbsp of mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp of water
- salt
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Fine sieve
Method
1
Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade and rub it on the chicken slices. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp green chillies
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
2
Mix together all the ingredients for the masala cheese and then chill
- 40g of mozzarella cheese
- 40g of mature cheddar
- 1 red onion
- 1/4 tsp green chillies
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/4 tsp chaat masala
- 1 tbsp of pine nuts
3
To make the dip, very briefly dry roast the saffron in a small frying pan over a very low heat, then soak it in 2 tablespoons of hot water for 30 minutes
- 1/2 tsp saffron
- 2 tbsp of water
4
Mix together the Greek yogurt and mayonnaise, then stir in the saffron water. Add the lemon juice, fennel seeds, cardamom, sugar and salt, mix well and pass through a very fine sieve. Store in the fridge
- 6 tbsp of Greek yoghurt
- 2 tbsp of mayonnaise
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 0.25g of caster sugar
- salt
- 1/4 tsp cardamom seeds
5
Sear the chicken pieces on a chargrill pan until they are almost cooked. Arrange on a baking tray, sprinkle the cheese mix on top and flash under a hot grill for 1 minute, or place in an oven preheated to 190°C/Gas Mark 5 for 3 minutes, until browned and bubbling
6
To serve, pile the chicken on to plates and serve with the dip on the side
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