Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for crispy chicken with zhoug and jersey royals | Quick and easy
You can’t go wrong with crisp, panko-fried chicken, and this version with zhoug is an absolute winner.You could describe zhoug as a green chilli sauce, but that wouldn’t quite do justice to this amazing Yemeni condiment, which is packed with flavour from preserved lemons, cardamom and garlic.Use some to stir through the hot, just-cooked jersey royals, then serve the rest as a sauce for the chicken.The only accompaniment you then need is a light green salad: a handful of whatever leaves are to hand, some finely sliced fennel and a few pumpkin seeds, all dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt.Prep 20 min Cook 16 min Serves 2350g jersey royals, cleaned and halved2 chicken breasts 4 heaped tbsp plain flour 2 tsp za’atar (optional)1½ tsp flaky sea salt 1 egg 75g panko breadcrumbs Olive oil, for fryingGreen salad, to serveFor the zhoug 50g coriander (if you dislike coriander, use an extra 50g parsley)15g flat-leaf parsley 1 preserved lemon, skin and flesh roughly sliced1 small garlic clove, peeled6 green cardamom pods, seeds only2 green chillies, pith and seeds removed if you prefer less heat½ tsp caster sugar ½ tsp ground cumin 50ml olive oilCook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling water for 10 minutes, until cooked through.
Meanwhile, put the chicken breasts on a large board, spacing them well apart, and cover loosely with a double layer of clingfilm.Use a rolling pin evenly to bash out the chicken to 3mm thick (by the time you get round to coating it in breadcrumbs, it will have bounced back to about 5mm); if the chicken breasts have mini fillets attached, separate them and flatten them, too.Get three shallow bowls or trays, each one large enough to hold one piece of the flattened chicken.Mix the flour, za’atar, if using, and half a teaspoon of salt in one dish, beat the egg in another and tip the breadcrumbs into the third.Dip each chicken piece first in the flour, then in the egg, and then in the breadcrumbs (use a different hand for the dry ingredients and for the egg, or you’ll end up with crumbed fingers), then put on a large plate or tray.
Repeat with the remaining chicken,Heat a tablespoon of oil in your largest saucepan – if it’s not large enough to do both pieces at once, do them in turn,Fry the chicken on a medium-high heat for three to four minutes on each side, until cooked through, adding a little more oil as needed,Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain while you fry the rest of the chicken,Meanwhile, tip all the ingredients for the zhoug, plus a teaspoon of salt, into a small food processor or high-speed blender, and blitz to a smooth, green sauce.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, then stir four heaped teaspoons through the potatoes.Serve the chicken with the potatoes, a green salad and the remaining zhoug in a bowl alongside.
UK interest rates fall to 4.25% as Bank of England announces a quarter-point cut
Bank of England policymakers have cut interest rates by a quarter point to 4.25% to cushion the UK economy against the impact of rising economic uncertainty.The widely expected move from the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC), its fourth cut since last August, also carried a warning that the UK economy would slow by a further 0.3% over the next three years in addition to dramatic cuts to its forecasts made earlier this year.In a blow to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, the MPC said a combination of uncertainty surrounding the impact of US trade policy on the global economy and clouds hanging over the outlook for the UK meant growth would be almost stagnant for the rest of the year
British Gas owner suffers shareholder rebellion over CEO pay packet
The owner of British Gas has suffered a shareholder rebellion after handing its chief executive a multimillion pound pay packet while energy bill payers struggle with record levels of debt.Nearly 40% of Centrica’s shareholders voted against the board’s pay plans at the energy company’s annual investor meeting in Manchester on Thursday, after rising criticism of boss Chris O’Shea’s pay during the energy crisis.O’Shea’s basic salary rose 29% last year to £1.1m to take his total pay packet, including bonuses and share-related pay, to £4.3m for the year
Bank of England cuts interest rates to 4.25% and welcomes US-UK trade deal – as it happened
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has hailed the news that Britain and the United States are expected to announce a trade agreement in a couple of hours.He tells journalists at today’s press conference that the Bank has been following the issue very closely.Bailey says he hasn’t been briefed about the situation, and doesn’t know the content of the deal.But he says:We do now have news that suggests there will be an announcement, and we welcome that news.I very much welcome it, and I think it’s very well done to those involved
Mood-boosting rate cut is a fillip for Reeves but leaves future uncertain
Thursday’s interest rate cut to 4.25% is the fourth in a run of reductions that kicked off last August. It represents a fillip for Rachel Reeves, who will hope it helps revive the feelgood factor for gloomy British consumers.The Bank of England’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) has passed judgment on the impact of Donald Trump’s trade war for the UK – and expects modestly weaker growth and inflation to be the result.Lower global energy prices as markets anticipate weaker demand, and cheaper Chinese imports, are likely to bear down on costs, the MPC has judged
BlackRock to order senior managers back to office five days a week – reports
BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset management company, is reportedly preparing to order its senior managers to work from the office five days a week.The New-York based company is expected to tell its staff as early as Thursday that about 1,000 managing directors around the world should work in the office full-time, the Financial Times has reported.BlackRock last told staff in 2023 they had to go into the office at least four days a week. More junior staff will still be allowed to work from home one day a week under the new guidance, according to the report.BlackRock, which has more than 21,000 staff around the world, is one of many big American corporations calling time on an era of remote and hybrid working triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic
EU targets US aircraft and car exports in new list of potential tariffs
The EU is considering imposing tariffs on US aircraft and car exports in a fresh attempt to persuade Donald Trump to drop his current and proposed tariffs against the EU.If acted on they will hit Boeing hard but also include further categories of US exports including chemicals, electrical equipment including cameras, health-related products and some foods such as sweet potato and nuts.At the same time Brussels has launched a consultation with member states on potential litigation against the US over the blanket 20% reciprocal tariffs the US president announced last month.As the EU prepared for the possibility of a prolonged transatlantic trade war, Trump reached an agreement with the UK and appeared to softened his position on China.The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and Washington’s chief trade negotiator, Jamieson Greer, are due to meet China’s vice-premier, He Lifeng, in Switzerland on Saturday for talks that could be the first step toward resolving the trade war between the two countries
Pro-Russian hackers claim to have targeted several UK websites
‘It cannot provide nuance’: UK experts warn AI therapy chatbots are not safe
Amazon makes ‘fundamental leap forward in robotics’ with device having sense of touch
‘The crux of all evil’: what happened to the first city that tried to ban smartphones for under-14s?
Mark Zuckerberg tried to convince us he was human. Sorry, ZuckBot: you’ve failed | Arwa Mahdawi
OpenAI reverses course and says non-profit arm will retain control of firm