A SPECIAL RECIPE AND GIFT IDEAS
Mother’s Day is nearly upon us. I’m lucky enough to be a mother myself and I know how important it is to me, far more so than anniversaries, birthdays or Christmas as being a mother to my own children and a maternal presence for my nephews, nieces, godchildren and the children of my friends is something that has made me happiest in my life.
Mother’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate all the kind and caring women in our life whether a mother in the narrow traditional sense or not.
In these worrying times it seems especially important to celebrate these moments and give thanks for the mothers and mother figures in our lives be it with a special meal, a small gift, a card or a phone call.
On Mother’s Day we will be celebrating with a special meal we will all cook together – nothing fancy – it’s about time with the family and enjoying each other’s company.
The chicken recipe ‘Orange-Oregano Roast Chicken with Olive Gremolata is taken from Diana Henry’s excellent book ‘Simple’.
We allow 2 thighs per person and marinate them for 3 hours in a mix of olive oil, garlic, oregano, orange zest and juice with a teaspoon of sugar, simply roasted and garnished with a sort of gremolata of finely chopped green olives, garlic, deseeded red chilies, the zest and juice of a small orange, extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
This is the kind of approximate casual cooking I love.
We serve it with steamed basmati rice flavoured with cardamom and saffron and spring cabbage, simply stir fried in very hot olive oil.