Creamy spinach and turmeric chicken for an easy weeknight meal.
Yes, I could eat this every night. Frozen spinach has my heart.
This simple recipe is a pretty good example of my favourite kind of meals to eat: one cast-iron pan for ease (can be taken right to the table) and with the warm spices that form the base of lots of my favourite meals.
Frozen spinach is such a superstar ingredient to have in the freezer. I love it. Amazing for jazzing up curries, pasta and eggy dishes. Here, you’ll need to thaw it a bit beforehand but otherwise it’s just a matter of adding at the end to bring some green goodness.
This recipe is weeknight perfect.
Creamy Spinach and Turmeric skillet chicken
Serves 4
500g boneless chicken thighs
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger root
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup runny coconut cream (coconut milk will work too)
1 rounded teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste.
250g frozen spinach, mostly thawed, squeezed of most liquid
Squeeze of lime or lemon juice
Olive oil as needed
Heat a glug of oil in a sauté pan (I loved cast iron for this) over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs and brown for a couple of minutes on each side. They don’t need to cook all the way through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Wipe out the pan, set the temperature to medium and add another glug of oil. Cook the onions until translucent and tender. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further few minutes.
Add the spices and sauté for a minute until fragrant.
Stir through the stock, coconut cream and sugar. Bring to a boil, before reducing to a simmer and cooking for around 8 minutes.
Put the chicken thighs back in the pan and simmer for 15 minutes until cooked through. It can be helpful to use a lid here. Taste the sauce and season generously with salt and pepper.
Add the spinach and heat through for 2-3 minutes.
Remove from heat and squeeze some lemon or lime juice over the top.
Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
I’m enthusiastically endorsing……
Going to a protest or rally (with a caveat).
I went along to an Auckland rally this past Sunday afternoon along with others who also couldn’t bear what we all saw coming out of Rafah last week and in Gaza for these last 7 months. These rallies have been happening every single weekend since this conflict began and this is the third or fourth time I’ve gone along. I should go more.
I find the raising of voices in solidarity and channeling that outrage and grief as a group to be a really cathartic experience. It’s not that it makes me feel better per se, but taking my opposition to something out of my home (or posts on social media) and into the real world feels right to me.
The caveat to my endorsement of attending a rally is that this kind of feet-on-the-ground opposition is not for everyone. I know some folks find these big-crowd situations a bit overwhelming. In this case, writing an email to the Prime Minister, foreign minister and your local MP is a good move. It’s quick and actually feels pretty good.
(Some of you will want to sit political engagement out entirely and it’s absolutely your right.)
Over dinner with friends last weekend, I mentioned how the Toitū te Tiriti Budget day demonstrations from last week, the pro-ceasefire rallies, and the upcoming march against the government’s fast-track bill actually make me kinda hopeful. I love seeing people get involved in political matters beyond just voting every 3 years. We discussed the conundrum of also having to afford those we disagree with the same benefit of the right to protest and freedom of speech. For some, this becomes tricky. I lean pretty squarely on the side of letting all viewpoints be heard. I’m not sure we can adjudicate who gets to protest; that's a bit dicey.
What do you think?
Things I enjoyed reading in the last week
Emily Writes shared a beautiful piece on grief and the Māori wisdom around this on her substack. It made me cry. Lovely and hopeful. HERE.
This might be a bit niche to my food world but the talented Hetty McKinnon wrote HERE a while back about the brand partnerships that food writers need to enter into if they want to have income doing what they love. The food media world has changed SO much in the decade I’ve been involved in it. The number of food media jobs is getting fewer and fewer. I’ve found these brand partnerships to be occasionally amazing and sometimes / often a bit awkward. Hetty’s piece was in response to this good piece HERE by Alicia Kennedy, which had the subtitle: Should we be worried about brand deals as the only way to make money in food media?
Other things worth making this week
Dish Magazine this week, highlighted a Kumara recipe of mine from a few years back. It’s a goodie. Kumara and Saurkraut Rosti with Smoked Fish and Horseradish Cream
On my website there’s a good recipe for a Salted Dark Chocolate and Olive Oil brownie. It’s gluten free and easy to make and exactly what I’ve been feeling like lately.
Listening to:
Taylor Swift, TTPD: I’m the mum of an extremely committed tween swiftie. I ensured she was there lining up to buy this new record on vinyl within minutes of it being released. Like or not, it’s constantly in my ears or running through my head. Some of it I like. My picks for this album: Tortured Poets Department, The Black Dog, So Long London
The Beths, Expert In A Dying Field: The Beths are our family band*. They are one of a handful of bands that we can listen to all together. Fantastic car music. Fun to put on the record player at home. Their wins at the Aotearoa music awards put them front of mind again this week. This is a catchy record. I really like Your Side. Hoping we can get tickets to their September show.
*family music is a good topic for another time. The stuff we grew up listening to and what we listen to with our kids now. Let’s earmark that.
My new cookbook was shortlisted for a NZ Booklovers award a few months ago….
And here’s what the judges said:
‘This visually stunning cookbook celebrates the joy of coming together with loved ones to enjoy a delicious meal. Cooked and photographed in Kelly Gibney’s home, Enjoy bursts with personality. Kelly’s writing style is imminently appealing, and her photography is mouth-watering. This beautifully presented book will inspire cooks to find new favourites the entire family will enthuse over. A must-have for any kitchen, from the beautiful blue cover to the stylish photography and easy-to-use, unfussy recipes.’
What a lovely way to start the day, thanks Kelly! Really enjoying the mix of food & chat in these blogs.
Your recipe says to use onions but your ingredients list is missing onions FYI