Plan for sunday brunch

For a relaxed Sunday brunch, when you are having friends over, it’s best to have few food items ready and ensure the other dishes you have planned on the menu don’t have to be monitored while being cooked. Here are some fuss-free, light dishes that I can whip up in a jiffy. I like to have a salad to start with and the fig and arugula is one of my favourite dish.

Since I enjoy cooking, when I travel, I pick up local spices and those always add an interesting dimension to the food. Fish in ponzu sauce is a delicate Japanese flavour with lots of herbs. The chicken thighs recipe has gone through many iterations to come to this form and I think it is easy for everybody to tweak and make it more in tune with their tastes. Cous cous is one of the first things I learnt to make and makes for an easy side dish, to eat with both chicken and fish.

Fig and arugula salad
4 cups fresh arugula leaves
6 figs quartered
2 tbsp feta or goat cheese
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
Dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste

To make the dressing combine all the ingredients in a small glass jar and shake to emulsify. Taste the dressing and adjust the ingredients so that it has a nice tart flavor to it.

To assemble the salad, toss the arugula with the walnuts and half the dressing. Then top the leaves with the quartered figs and drizzle the remaining dressing. Finally sprinkle the cheese on top and if desired some salt and pepper can also be sprinkled.

Lemon caper Chicken

Lemon caper Chicken
4 chicken thighs
2 tbsp butter
1.5 cups chicken stock
1 chopped onion
1 tbsp chopped garlic
8 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lemon
2 tbsp capers (isha farms
 has some great capers)
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and brown them in the butter. Once they are a nice golden (around 5 mins) remove them. Add the chopped onion and garlic into the remaining butter and fry till fragrant. Add the chicken stock, squeeze the juice of the lemon and add the rosemary and Italian seasoning. Let the stock come to boil and turn the heat to low. Add in the chicken pieces and cook on a low flame for about 30mins. Once the sauce thickens add in the capers and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve hot over the cous cous.

Fish in Ponzu sauce

Fish in Ponzu sauce
4 filets of murrel (I prefer to use the freshest fish available)
1 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup chopped spring onions (white part)
2 chopped green chilies
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
4 tbsp ponzu sauce ( if not available, light soya mixed with lemon juice)
4 sheets of aluminum foil
2 tsp olive oil (can be made without)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together the coriander, spring onions, green chilies and garlic in a bowl.
Coat the murrel fillets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place each of the fillet on an aluminum sheet. Divide the herb mixture into four parts and cover the each of the fish fillet. Fold up the foil to create a packet, making sure to seal the edges. Bake the fish for 20 mins in an pre heat oven at 180 Celsius. Open the parcels and serve in shallow dishes so that sauce can be eaten with the fish.

Mediterranean Cous Cous

Mediterranean Cous Cous
1 cup cous cous
2 cups boiling water
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 tomatoes
½ cup coriander
1 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp feta cheese optional

Add boiling water to the cous cous and keep covered. After 10 mins, fluff the cous cous so that the grains do not stick to each other. Dice the peppers and tomatoes and mix into the cous cous after it is fully cooked (takes 20mins). Finely chop the coriander and mix it in along with the spices. Top with the feta cheese.