Get in my tummy!

Chicken with preserved lemon couscous

When you taste a new dish and think to yourself ‘holy crap that’s friggin awesome!’ you know you have a winner. This dish not only made me think it but I said it out loud, I will definitely be making it again. Enjoy.

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 birds eye chilli (chopped finely, if you like it hotter add more)
• 1tsp finely chopped ginger
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1tsp finely diced preserved lemon
• 25g butter
• 1tbls olive oil
• 2 large chicken breasts

Couscous

• 1/2 brown onion (chopped super fine)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• olive oil
• 375 ml chicken stock
• salt & pepper
• 300g couscous
• 3tsp finely diced preserved lemon
• chopped parsley

Method

Chicken

Preheat oven to 160oC

On a medium heat put oil and butter in a large heavy, oven proof, frypan and allow butter to melt.

Add chilli, garlic, preserved lemon and ginger to the pan and fry for a couple minutes.

Place chicken in pan, shiny side down, and cook for 3min, baste the top of the chicken breast with the butter mixture as the chicken cooks. Turn chicken over, add 1tbls of water to the pan and place in the oven.

Cook for 20min

Couscous

Place onion and garlic into saucepan, add a touch of oil, do not colour, and make transparent.

Add stock, simmer for 3 minutes.

Bring to boil, add a little salt and pepper.

Place couscous in bowl, when stock comes to simmer pour over couscous, leave for 10 minutes to absorb.

Dice preserved lemon, add to couscous, and mix through parsley.

Once chicken is cooked, remove it from pan and allow to rest. While chicken is resting reduce the pan juices slightly.

Place couscous on plate, slice chicken and place on top of the couscous then put pan juices over chicken.

Enjoy!

Chicken satay skewers with peanut dipping sauce

Chicken skewers

Ingredients

• 1 lemongrass stem, trimmed, outer layers removed, chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbs ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbs finely grated palm sugar (see note)
• 2 tbs peanut oil, plus extra for basting
• 600g chicken breast, cut into 2cm cubes
• Peanut sauce (see related recipe) and cucumber wedges, to serve

Method

Pound lemongrass to a paste with a mortar and pestle. Mix well with spices sugar and oil. Place chicken in a glass or ceramic dish, rub with paste, cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, soak about 18 wooden skewers in boiling water for 10 minutes. Thread 5 chicken pieces onto each one.

Heat a barbecue or large chargrill on medium-high heat and cook skewers, in batches, turning and constantly basting with extra oil, for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked and slightly charred.

Peanut sauce

• 150g unsalted peanuts, dry-roasted in the oven until dark
• 2 tbs peanut oil
• 2 eschalots, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp chilli paste or sambal oelek
• 2 tsp finely grated palm sugar (see note) or raw sugar, plus extra to taste
• 2 tbs tamarind concentrate (see note)
• 1 tbs lime juice
• 2 tsp shrimp paste (see note) or 4 anchovy fillets
• 270ml can coconut milk
• 250ml water

Method

Finely grind peanuts in a food processor.

Heat oil in a deep frypan over medium-low heat. Add eschalots and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes until onion is soft. Stir in peanuts, chilli and shrimp pastes, sugar, tamarind, lime, coconut milk and 250ml water until well combined. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Adjust salt and sugar to taste.

Serve skewers with sauce and cucumber. Serves 6.