Persian Chicken with Jewelled Rice and Preserved Lemon Mayo

Steps

1. Finely dice onion and grate carrot. Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium pot on medium heat. Cook onion and carrot for 1-2 minutes, until softening. Add turmeric, salt, rice and water and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils, cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce to lowest heat to cook for 12 minutes.
2. Turn off heat and leave to steam, still covered, for a further 8 minutes. Do not lift lid during cooking. Pat chicken dry and cut into steaks. Place your hand flat on top of chicken and slice through horizontally. Place in a bowl with a drizzle of oil. Season with salt and coat in Persian blend. Set aside to marinate.
3. Thinly slice spinach and grate courgette.
4. While rice steams, cook chicken. Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium fry-pan on medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 2-4 minutes each side (depending on thickness), or until cooked through. Set aside, covered, to rest for 2-3 minutes before slicing thickly.
5. While chicken cooks, prepare mayo. Scoop out flesh of preserved lemon and discard. Finely mince lemon peel and place in a small bowl with mayonnaise. Mix to combine, season and set aside. When rice is cooked, season and fold through spinach, courgette and pistachio nuts and apricots.
6. To serve, spoon preserved lemon mayo onto plates and smooth out. Top with jewelled rice and slices of chicken. Sprinkle with coriander leaves before serving.