Saffron Tomato Chicken with Chorizo and Red Lentils

Whew. That title sounds like a mouthful, literally!

Have you ever had one of those nights when you start off with a protein (in my case chicken legs) and just can’t seem to settle on a definite recipe? Or maybe you find a recipe and start cooking away only to realize you are missing a bunch of called for ingredients.  I do that very often but after that brief moment of panic I try to turn it into a bit of a challenge to see what I can come up with instead. It turns out that on this night, I was missing a good many ingredients and ended up really with no recognizable dish with regards to the original recipe. This dish became a creature on it’s own….

I originally really wanted to do something like a tagine so there are flavours of saffron and cinnamon, but then I liked the idea of adding chorizo and some sort of pulse. When the original recipe called for chickpeas and the only ones I had were still dried and sitting way back in the corner of my pantry I substituted red lentils which are much faster to cook and a lot easier to reach.

Saffron Tomato Chicken with Chorizo and Red Lentils

2 tbsp olive oil

1 diced onion

2 finely diced garlic cloves

200 g chopped chorizo

1 med diced yellow bell pepper

1 med diced red bell pepper

8-9 chicken pieces (I used legs)

1/4 tsp saffron threads

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 400 ml can of diced tomatoes or 400 ml cherry tomatoes chopped in half and de-seeded

3-4 cups reduced sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup red lentils

salt and pepper

In a heavy pan, saute onion until soft then add the chorizo. Let the chorizo lose it’s oil then add the garlic and peppers. Saute until the peppers are soft then add the spices. In another pan brown the chicken pieces. When browned add chicken to the first pan. Add tomatoes, lentils and chickens stock. Season.

Let simmer uncovered for a while to thicken the sauce, then cover and cook until chicken is done and the sauce is desired consistency.

Eat with crusty bread.