Nigel Slater’s midweek dinner: grilled chicken, harissa paste

Using a food processor, make a spice paste with a tsp each of ground coriander and cumin, a half tsp of whole caraway seeds, 3 cloves of peeled garlic, 1 roasted red pepper (bottled is fine) and 1 tsp of tomato purée.

Serves 2. Ready in 45 minutes.

Add 1 tbsp of sherry vinegar, 1 long red chilli and 1 tsp of smoked paprika. Continue processing, adding 2 tbsp of olive oil as you go. Season with a couple of pinches of sea salt.

Put 2 boned chicken legs in a shallow dish and spread the paste over them, turning them, so they are thoroughly coated, then set aside for half an hour.

Heat an overhead-oven grill. Place the marinated chicken under the grill and let it cook until crisp and tender. Check it is cooked right through, then spread with any remaining paste from the dish.

Remove the chicken from the grill when the surface is scorched here and there and serve with thick yoghurt and a light scattering of mint leaves.

• Eat with a salad of soft, buttery leaves, dressed with just a little olive oil and red wine vinegar.
• Ask your butcher to bone the chicken legs for you.
• You can marinate the chicken for an hour or more if you wish.
• The exact timing will depend on the thickness of your piece of chicken, but reckon somewhere between 10-12 minutes.
• To make sure the chicken is cooked right through, pierce the meat at its thickest point and check the juices are running clear with no trace of blood.
• You can speed this up immeasurably by mixing the grilled pepper with the tomato purée and 3 heaped tbsp of harissa paste.

Photograph by Jonathan Lovekin