Lemon chicken with spinach

Serves 8

Season to taste and serve with basmati rice and a dollop of plain yoghurt (David Loftus)

This is a fresh and healthy dish, bursting with gorgeous flavours

2 tbsp olive oil
8 fat or 16 small chicken thighs
50g/2oz butter
2 onions peeled and sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp each of ground cinnamon, cumin and coriander
1 walnut-sized piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
250g/9oz baby new potatoes, cut in half
400g/14oz tin of chickpeas drained
500ml/18fl oz good chicken stock
400g/14oz young spinach, washed
Grated zest of one lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil on a medium to high heat in a large pan with a lid. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Reduce the heat, dump the butter and onions into the pan and sautée for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle in all the spices, the ginger, garlic, some salt and a really good grind of pepper. Stir through and gently fry for five minutes.

Add the potatoes, chickpeas and stock and return the chicken to the pan. Leave to simmer for 45 minutes. Stir in half the spinach and the lemon zest and cook down for five minutes. Add the rest of the spinach and cook for a further 20 minutes. Season to taste and serve with basmati rice and a dollop of plain yoghurt.