Spending eight years in Dubai you get accustomed to the great outdoors even if the temperature reaches 57c in the summer with 100 % humidity. I became friend’s with a Sheik who owned an R.V. camp in the dessert in the northern Emirate of Ras al Khaimah. Where I was also the head of Food and Beverage in the hospital. We used to cook fish from the market, bbq chicken, vegetables around a fire pit fuelled with wood gleaned from the dessert. The winter was wonderful sitting out wrapped in a blanket on a star lit night, such a magical experience. This recipe saved us a trip into town. Served with bread, pickles, salad, garlic & chilli dressing, was the perfect late evening snack.

Meeting “My Learned friend” Neil at Gatwick airport to fly to Lyon, on a “Sideways” wine tour of Burgundy and the southern Rhône. We went during ‘Semaine du Gout’ the yearly, weeklong festival focusing on educating and promoting culinary appreciation.

The dish that year commemorate Henry IV dish to feed every French person on a Sunday in the 17^th century. We drove to Bresse, the home of black feathered chicken and purchased probably the most expensive chicken I have ever bought.

You can enrich this dish with cooked mushrooms; a tablespoon of flour stirred into a small tub of crème fraiche and whisked into the cooking liquor.

This is a milder version of the green curry. You can spice it up with fresh red chilli and extra red curry paste. Served with Thai Jasmine rice. This is a good easy mid-week dish to make for two; with plenty of leftovers! Alternatively, you can make a vegan version by omitting the chicken, adding extra vegetables, a courgette, an aubergine, and bean sprouts.