Recipes, Chef Mike Olaleye

Day fiveChicken adobo

Philippines
Serves 4
Marinate 20 min
Cook about 40 min

My best friend Josh is Filipino. We were roommates our first year of college, and in the first week he handed me a container of his mom's chicken adobo. I've been cooking it ever since. Chicken thighs marinated in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and bay leaves, then simmered with black peppercorns until the sauce turns into a sticky glaze. Easy to make, easy to get wrong. The sauce looks watery right until the end, so leave it alone.

So to start with, here are the ingredients you need.

Ingredients

Chicken thighs. Boneless and skinless. Not breast, the sauce needs the fat to turn into a glaze.
Soy sauce. Regular or light, not dark.
White vinegar.
Garlic, lots of it, minced.
Bay leaves.
Whole black peppercorns.
Onion, finely chopped.
Brown sugar, a little.
Water and neutral oil.
Steamed white rice and sliced spring onion, to serve.

Method

Marinate the chicken in the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and bay leaves for at least 20 minutes.
Lift the chicken out of the marinade and sear it in a hot pan until browned on both sides. Set aside. Keep the marinade.
Soften the onion and a little extra garlic in the same pan.
Pour in the reserved marinade, the water, the brown sugar and the peppercorns.
Return the chicken to the pan and bring it to a simmer. Do not stir until it has boiled.
Simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy.

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Day fourRagù alla bolognese

Italy
Serves 4
Prep 20 min
Simmer 3 hours

I met my wife at a pasta-eating competition in Italy in 2023. She won, eating ragù alla bolognese, and we have had it on every anniversary since. This is the classic from Bologna: beef, pancetta, a soft base of onion, carrot and celery, wine, tomato and milk, simmered for three hours and tossed with fresh tagliatelle. No garlic and no herbs. It only asks for time.

So to start with, here are the ingredients you need.

Ingredients

Coarse ground beef.
Pancetta, unsmoked, finely minced. Smoked takes over the whole pot.
Onion, carrot and celery, finely diced for the soffritto.
Olive oil.
Dry red wine. It goes in twice, in two different pans.
Tomato passata and tomato paste.
Whole milk.
Salt and black pepper.
Fresh egg tagliatelle. Wide ribbons hold the sauce. Not spaghetti.
Parmigiano Reggiano, to serve.

Method

Render the pancetta in olive oil in a heavy casserole. Add the diced onion, carrot and celery and sweat them to a light gold. Turn the heat off.
In a separate wide pan, sear the beef until all the water cooks off and it sizzles dry.
Pour half the wine over the beef and scrape the pan clean. Turn off the heat.
Put the casserole back on the heat, pour in the rest of the wine over the vegetables and let it cook away completely.
Scrape the beef into the casserole, add the passata and tomato paste, and stir.
Cover and simmer at the lowest heat for two hours.

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Day threeDoro wat and injera

Ethiopia
Serves 4 to 6
Injera batter ferments 2 to 3 days
Cook about 2 hours 30 min

Years ago a family in Addis invited me in off the street and fed me doro wat and injera at their table. I didn't know them. They didn't care. I've been chasing that plate ever since. Doro wat is Ethiopian spiced chicken stew: onions cooked down for nearly two hours until they practically dissolve, then berbere, spiced butter, chicken and hard-boiled eggs. Injera is the spongy sourdough flatbread made from teff that acts as your plate and your spoon. Tear, scoop, repeat.

So to start with, here are the ingredients you need.

Ingredients

Onions. Six medium, minced in a food processor until almost a puree. The onions are the whole dish.
Niter kibbeh. Ethiopian spiced clarified butter. Plain ghee with a pinch of cardamom, fenugreek and turmeric works.
Berbere. Homemade or store-bought. You need a serious amount, not a pinch.
Chicken. Thighs, cut into chunks. Bone-in is traditional.
Garlic and fresh ginger.
Chicken stock and lemon juice.
Tej, Ethiopian honey wine, or white wine with a little honey.
Hard-boiled eggs, peeled and pierced all over with a fork.
Teff flour, water and salt, for the injera. Dark teff gives the classic colour.
Neutral oil and salt.

Method

Start the injera two to three days ahead. Whisk the teff flour with water, cover loosely and leave it at room temperature to ferment until it smells sour and bubbles.
Mince the onions very finely. Heat oil and spiced butter in a heavy pot and cook the onions low and slow, stirring often, for about an hour and a half until deeply golden and jammy.
Add the garlic and ginger, then the berbere, and cook until the fat turns red and the paste is fragrant.
Add the chicken and turn it through the paste. Pour in the stock, the lemon juice and the tej.
Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender and the sauce is thick.
Add the pierced eggs and spoon the sauce over them.

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Day twoPineapple fried rice

Nigeria
Serves 4 to 6
Prep 40 min, plus cooling
Cook about 45 min

This is Nigerian fried rice with a twist. The rice cooks in pineapple juice, then gets fried with shrimp, curry powder and vegetables, and served back inside the pineapple. It looks like a centrepiece and eats like the fried rice you grew up on. And yes, I'm Nigerian, so this one hits home.

So to start with, here are the ingredients you need.

Ingredients

Rice. Sella basmati, washed until the water runs clear. Long-grain parboiled works too. Nothing starchy.
A whole ripe pineapple with a firm crown. The flesh becomes juice for the rice, the shell becomes the bowl.
Shrimp. Cleaned. Prawns, chicken, turkey, beef or mushrooms all work instead.
Vegetables. Carrot, green beans, peas, red bell pepper, spring onions. Small, even dice.
Curry powder. The star. It gives the flavour and the colour.
Thyme, black pepper, garlic, ginger, onion, bouillon, salt.
Garlic powder and onion powder, for the shrimp.
Meat or chicken stock.
Neutral oil.
Scotch bonnet or chilli flakes, optional.

Method

Wash the pineapple well and pat it dry. Keep the crown on. Cut it in half lengthwise from the base right through the crown.
Cut around the inside edge of each half, score the flesh into cubes, and spoon them out until the shells are mostly empty. Set the shells aside.
Blend the flesh and strain it. Keep half a cup of juice for the rice.
Cook the washed rice in stock, the pineapple juice, salt and a little water until soft. Fluff it, spread it on a tray and let it cool completely.
Season the shrimp and sear them in a hot wok for two to three minutes. Set aside.
Fry the onion, garlic and ginger, then the vegetables, five to seven minutes.

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Day oneOne-pot butter chicken rice

India
Serves 4 to 6
Marinate 30 min or overnight
Cook about 1 hour

This one-pot butter chicken rice is a dish from India, and a favourite of the athletes I cooked for. Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, then cooked in a rich tomato, butter and cream sauce. Here I take those same flavours and cook the rice straight in the sauce, so every grain soaks it up.

So to start with, here are the ingredients you need.

Ingredients

Chicken. Boneless, skinless thighs and breast. I use both: thighs stay juicy, breast gives a leaner bite. Either alone works too.
Plain yogurt. Tenderises the chicken and helps the spices cling to every piece.
Lemon juice.
Spices. Garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder or paprika, salt. Kashmiri chilli gives the colour without too much heat.
Tomato paste and passata. Paste for depth, passata for the silky sauce.
Rice. Long-grain sella basmati. Regular long-grain or basmati also works; adjust liquid and time to your rice.
Butter and oil.
Onion, garlic and ginger.
Chicken stock. Homemade if you can. I show you how.
Heavy cream.
A small pinch of sugar. Optional, to balance the tomatoes.
Fresh cilantro, to serve.

Method

In a large bowl, combine the chicken with the yogurt, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika and salt. Mix until every piece is coated. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
For the stock, add the reserved bones and skin to a pot with an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a little salt and curry powder, and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, simmer for about an hour, strain.
Heat a little oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and cooked through. Remove and set aside.
Melt the butter in the same pot. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for one to two minutes until soft and fragrant.
Cook the tomato paste for two to three minutes, stirring, until it darkens a shade.
Pour in the passata and stir. Add the spices, bouillon, salt and sugar.

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