West African jollof rice with chicken

This is easy to make, tasty and spicy (but you can alter the spice level by changing the amount of cayenne pepper and chilli added).

Ingredients

• 250g long grain rice
• 500ml chicken stock
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 1 chilli
• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• A couple of sprigs of Fresh thyme + a few extra to serve
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 320g chicken breast cut into mini fillets

Method

1. Parboil the rice with 500ml of chicken stock for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat; the rice will still be slightly hard and not all of the stock will be absorbed.
2. Blend the onion, tomatoes and chilli to a smooth paste.
3. Heat the oil, and add the paste along with the curry powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, leaves from the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes.
4. Put the chicken breasts on a tray with a drizzle of oil and add a spoonful of the sauce you just made onto each piece of chicken. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 190 degrees.
5. Add the parboiled rice and remaining stock to the sauce. Cover and cook for a further 15 minutes. Give it a stir after 10 minutes and add more stock if it feels sticky.
6. Once the chicken has cooked, add to the rice to serve up with some more of the fresh thyme.