Recipe: Chicken, broccoli and chickpea curry on flatbreads

This week’s main recipe is a very easy and healthy supper to rustle up for all the family. I roast the broccoli separately, so it’s slightly charred.

Chicken, broccoli and chickpea curry on flatbreads

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the marinade

• 1tbspn tomato purée
• ¼ red onion
• 1 red chilli
• 2tspn fresh grated ginger
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½tspn cumin seeds
• 1tspn cornflour
• 1tspn turmeric
• 1tspn garam masala
• 30ml vegetable oil
• A handful fresh coriander

For the curry

• 200g chicken breast
• 175g broccoli
• ¾ red onion
• 400g tinned cherry tomatoes
• 400g tinned chickpeas
• 1tbspn tomato purée
• 75g baby spinach
• A squeeze of lemon juice

To serve

• 4 flatbreads
• 200g natural yoghurt
• Extra coriander to serve

Method

To make the marinade, blitz all of the ingredients to a paste in a food processor. Cut the chicken into large cubes and shake around in a freezer bag with the marinade until well covered. Refrigerate for at least a few hours.

Preheat your oven to 180˚C/350˚F/gas mark 4. Chop the broccoli into florets, toss in a splash of vegetable oil and arrange in a baking tray. Roast for about 10 minutes or until it just starts to char.

Chop the remaining red onion and cook in a large, heavy-based frying pan with a splash of vegetable oil until soft. Add the chicken and the marinade to the pan and fry until the meat is lightly browned. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the broccoli, together with the chickpeas, tomato purée and spinach. Stir everything well, then place a lid on the pan to wilt the spinach. Give the dish another good stir and taste for seasoning. Squeeze over a little lemon juice.

Heat the flatbreads in a lightly oiled, hot frying pan. Put one on each plate, topped with a spoonful of curry, a dollop of yoghurt and a scattering of coriander. Serve immediately.

More ways with broccoli

Roasted broccoli with tahini dressing

Toss pieces of broccoli in olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet to roast in a moderately hot oven for about 10 minutes, until they’re beginning to blacken. Shake together 3tbspn of blood-orange juice with 1tbspn of tahini to make a dressing, drizzle over the broccoli, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Broccoli, salmon, anchovy and chilli tray bake

Arrange 4 salmon fillets in a roasting tray together with a head of broccoli (broken into florets) and 4 chopped spring onions. In a small saucepan, gently heat 100ml of olive oil, 6 anchovy fillets, 1tspn of chilli purée (or flakes) and a clove of crushed garlic until the anchovies disintegrate. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and salmon and bake in a moderately hot oven for 20 minutes (cover with foil after 10 minutes if the charring is excessive). Serve with brown rice.

Broccoli-couscous and Parmesan salad

Blitz a head of broccoli in a processor until it resembles couscous. Finely grate 100g of Parmesan into the broccoli, add a handful of chopped almonds and stir well. In a jar, shake together 4tbspns of olive oil, 2tbspns of lemon juice, a crushed clove of garlic and seasoning. Pour over the salad, top with toasted flaked almonds and serve.

Credit: Melanie Johnson

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