Rainbow Food

Pan-Fried Chicken Breasts with Herb and Tomato Relish
It's true, tomatoes aren't at their best in mid winter but organic and vine-ripened ones are better than the 'battery' variety. This relish is teaming with so many other tangy flavours you won't notice if the tomatoes are having an off day. If you like an extra kick, add some finely chopped chillies.

Serves 4

4 x free range chicken breasts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 small garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper
lime wedges, for garnish

For the relish
6 medium size ripe tomatoes
4 spring onions, sliced, including part of the green stem
1 small red or green chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped, optional
1 bunch of fresh coriander, about 75g, roughly chopped
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

• Lay the chicken breasts in a large shallow dish.
• Mix together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper and pour over the chicken. Marinate while you prepare the tomato relish.
• Cut the tomatoes into quarters, scoop out the seeds and cut the flesh into small dice. Place in a bowl and combine with the other ingredients.
• When ready to cook, heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Take the chicken out of the marinade and allow it to drip off a bit.
• Lay the chicken in the dry pan, top side down (it will have enough oil from the marinade) and fry for 4-5 minutes on each side until done, depending on thickness. Try and get a nice golden colour by not moving it around for the first couple of minutes' cooking time. If you have a ridged grill pan, so much the better as it will pick up the grill lines when left alone.
• Serve with the relish spooned generously over the chicken and garnish with lime wedges.

Ice Cream and Fruit with Mango Puree
Pureed mango is the colour of liquid sunshine and will brighten up even the simplest fruit salad. A scoop of ice cream or sorbet makes this recipe worthy of a dinner party dessert.

Serves 4

1 large ripe mango
2 passion fruits
juice of one small orange
a selection of fresh fruit, for example 150g strawberries; 2 kiwi fruits peeled and sliced; 2 crisp red apples, skin-on, cored and thinly sliced; dark red grapes cut in half; cherries with the stems left on
4 large scoops vanilla ice cream or orange sorbet fresh mint sprigs, to garnish

• Peel the mango, remove the large pip and cut the flesh into pieces.
• Halve the passion fruits and scoop out the seeds and pulp.
• Place the mango, passion fruit pulp and orange juice in the bowl of a food processor and whiz. Pass through a sieve to remove the black seeds.
• Place a scoop of ice cream or sorbet in the middle of a dessert plate and arrange the fruit around it.
• Pour over the mango puree and garnish with the mint sprigs.

A few simple ideas to brighten up:

• For a chic starter to serve four, lightly steam 275g purple sprouting broccoli and serve with bernaise sauce.
• Make some pitta pizzas for the kids by slicing wholemeal or white pitta bread in half and spreading with tomato ketchup, mixed with a little crushed garlic. The sky's the limit with the toppings: miniature sliced rings of chorizo, salami, pepperoni or cooked sausage; ham and pineapple; chopped green or yellow peppers, olives, red onion, fresh tomato slices, mushrooms, sweetcorn, etc. Finish with grated Danish mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses and bake in a 200C/gas mark 6 oven for ten minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bases crispy(wholemeal pitta makes a softer pizza base while white pitta produces a crisper base).

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