London - Arabstoday
Serves 4 2 chicken carcases 2 red onions 2 inches of ginger 2 green chillies 1 tsp allspice 1 450g/1lb tin of whole tomatoes, rinsed of their juice 1 bunch of coriander A few leaves of tarragon, dill and mint 100g/4oz spinach 1 pinch dried oregano 200ml of sunflower oil 2 10cm corn tortillas 2 tbsp fresh ricotta 1 small ball of buffalo mozzarella • Preheat the grill in your oven. Hack the chicken carcases into three or four pieces and cut the onions, ginger and chillies in half. Place the chicken and vegetables flat in a roasting tray and grill for a few minutes until slightly blackened. Turn over the pieces in the tray and grill a little more. Once quite nicely brown and a little bit black, transfer the contents of the tray to a large saucepan and just cover with water. Add the allspice, the stems of the herbs and the tomatoes, then cover with cold w ater. Skim any scum that rises to the surface and try not to let the pan boil. Simmer for two hours. • Shred the spinach and chop the herbs with a large sharp knife, then mix together, leaving a few leaves of coriander whole on the side to garnish. Heat the oil in a pan, cut the tortillas into strips and fry them until crispy in the hot oil. • Strain the chicken stock you have made through a colander, pushing through any of the vegetables that will go into the stock. When you are ready to eat, add the spinach and the herbs including the dried oregano (but not the coriander you have set aside) and boil for a few minutes. Season with salt. Put the broth into bowls and top with little bits of mozzarella and ricotta, the fried tortillas and the coriander leaves.