Man-Can-Nosh: woman-inspired meat & real-ale dishes

Big Smoke Passionfruit & Mango Moondrop is the perfect accompaniment to those January tropical holiday adverts. If only! This one is inspired for those of you craving a keg of vitamin D right now.

Spice level: MILD The mango and passionfruit Moondrop adds a slightly sweet, tropical finish, which complements the heat of the garlic, chilli and ginger and saltiness of the chicken broth, married all together by the creaminess of the coconut milk/cream. If you prefer Jamaican level spicy, replace the normal chilli pepper with a fresh bonnet chilli pepper and add an extra teaspoon of sugar, and salt to taste.

Serves: 2-6 The sauce is quite generous for just 2, so just add extra chicken pieces to the casserole pan and batch cook more than you need, and cool down to freeze for a future ready-to-go supper.

1. Take a packet of Chicken thighs/drumsticks (4-8 pieces) with skin on from freezer and defrost overnight. Or straight from refrigerator and allow to warm to room temperature before cooking (2-3 hrs ahead).
2. Put oven on gas mark 5 and prep the following ingredients ahead of cooking.
3. Slice a medium sized onion and gently fry in a generous knob of butter and dash of oil in an ovenproof pan until they start to brown on a medium heat, then spread onions to side of pan to make room for chicken.
4. Sprinkle the skin of the chicken thighs with salt and brown for a few minutes on each side in the same pan to seal in the juice. Turn down to a low heat to avoid the spices burning.
5. Add 2 teaspoons minced ginger and garlic paste (or fresh equivalent) and a finely chopped green chilli pepper or a sprinkle of chilli flakes and stir for a minute. If you don’t have jar of minced garlic/ginger, or fresh equivalent, else you prefer to cook with dried vs fresh spices, just add a teaspoon of garlic powder and ground ginger to the spice mix below.
6. Add the following ground/whole spices and stir for 1-2 mins: 1/2 teaspoon of each of: white pepper, dried thyme, paprika, all spice, cayenne pepper, coriander, nutmeg, a small cinnamon stick and 2 cloves to create the Caribbean vibe. Kitchen should start smelling tropical!
7. Pour in a can of Big Smoke Moondrop mango and passionfruit beer and stir for around 5 mins, until the alcohol has boiled off. Crumble in a chicken oxo cube and a stir in small carton of both coconut milk and coconut cream (or ½ normal sized can of each), a squirt of lime juice and stir for a few mins.
8. Put on lid and transfer to the oven and bake in the oven for around 40-45 mins on top shelf. Remove whole spices before serving and always check chicken has cooked through before serving (juices should run clear).
9. Serve with basmati rice cooked with petit pois peas/garden peas (½ cup of rice per person).

Sprinkle with optional fresh coriander and/or chilli flakes to serve.