Easy Moroccan Chicken with Sweet Potato and Garlic Mash

...Does what it says on the tin. Chicken's one of those meats that lends itself to being marinated the hell out of, and this is one of my favourite 'easy' recipes - perfect when you don't have much time, but want to create something impressive.

Serves two.

You will need:

Free Range Chicken Breasts, skin on, please.

Marinade: A couple of teaspoons of turmeric, ground coriander, a good chunk of chopped fresh ginger, some chilli flakes (as many as you like), a dash of lemon juice, a little olive oil, and a little ground black pepper and some salt.

1. Firstly, make some slashes in the chicken breast, and cover liberally in the marinade above and leave to rest in a large dish or bowl for at least an hour. The longer, the better.

Meanwhile, you can make the mash:

Peel four large redskin sweet potatoes, and chop into roast-sized chunks. Arrange in a roasting dish with a good drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of good salt and a little fresh Rosemary. Add the whole cloves of garlic, and make sure the skins are left on.

Roast the sweet potato and garlic for about 30 minutes; they will turn pulpy when done.

Then, whack the chicken breasts under a hot grill and cook until done. When the meat is ready and resting, you can pull the veg from the oven, place in a bowl and mash. Pop the garlic from thier jackets and work this into the sweet, orange mash.

Arrange as you like and you're done.

Not only does this meal look like a lot of effort but if you're a garlic lover (who isn't?) it's heavenly. The sweet mash compliments the sweet notes in the chicken marinade, and isn't too heavy a meal either. As a beer match I chose William's Red, a fruity- peppery, full-on beer that is robust enough to take on all that garlic and spice and still come through.

This recipe was inspired by A Merrier World's campaign to heighten awareness of the importance of buying free-range chicken. For the record, I buy my chicken at Hunt's Game & Poultry in Leeds Kirkgate Market. We all know the importance of buying free-range meat, not just from a moral standpoint but from a quality one, too. It simply tastes better, and the people that produce free-range meat - and independent food and drink producers in general - need our support wherever possible. Without them, we'd be in a really depressing state.

Bistro Classics: Scallops wrapped in Ham with Alhambra Reserva 1925

I've been really getting into 'Bistro' style food recently, which for me means a really hot pan or griddle, some unadulterated meat and lots of Garlic. Maximum flavour, minimum effort. For the ham, I have opted for Serrano - Prosciutto seems to be the 'classic' but I sometimes find it a little salty. Smoked, streaky bacon would also give a new variant on this.

Pan-Fried Scallops wrapped in Ham (Serves two)

You will need:

6 Fresh Scallops

50/60g of Parma or Serrano ham

6 Cocktail sticks

1. Heat your pan, with a little olive oil and if you want, some crushed garlic.

2. Carefully wrap each scallop in the ham and secure with the cocktail stick. This is often harder than it looks but persevere!

3. If you have put garlic in the pan , scoop it out (it would have burned off by now) and throw in the scallops. They'll need about 4-5 minutes on each side. Season with a grind or three of black pepper.

4. Serve with some crusty bread rubbed with garlic and oil.

I had a few large prawns in reserve, so I simply chucked them into the hot pan and dolloped on a spoonful of chili jam - after spitting furiously at me for a couple of seconds the prawns took on that coating really well - sticky sweet with a lethal chilli aftertaste!

A great tapas-style supper, and you can instantly see why this is a Bistro classic. The creamy, firm scallops don't need much other that the sweet, slightly salty ham to set them off.

With this in mind, my beer choice was Alhambra's Reserva 1925 - a lofty title for possibly the most complex 'lager' I have ever tasted. In fact, to call it a lager doesn't really do it justice; below the dry, super-resiny hoppy tang lies a much darker, boiled-sweet body that disguises its hefty abv (6.4) well. Really moreish and thirst-quenching, I'll be reaching for this great beer again this year, and I recommend you do the same if you're serious about having a home beer cellar.