Spiced Chicken with Apricot, Red Onion and Garlic Quinoa

This weekend was fantastic. Yesterday was my daughter Esme’s birthday and we planned to have a small get together on the Saturday. With the usual crowd embarking on to Brewers grounds we all had a superb time together.

For my daughter she had loads of fun, opened presents from friends and family, saving the majority for yesterday and we all had great food made by me of course. My wife is the best host so together we make a great pair with our friends and family not ever going without.

From all the great food made the one I am going to focus on for this post is my adaptation to a recipe found on BBC Good Food, Spiced Spicy chicken quinoa.

The reason behind making this quinoa is our newfound routine. We have decided to consciously improve some of our meals. I am a great believer to keep trying new foods especially for my kids. The good thing is they always try these new foods although not essentially to their tastes on every occasion however this occasion was a success, they loved it, ‘result’.

I did actually learn that quinoa is pronounced ‘keen-wa’ so everyday is a school day as the saying goes.

The recipe also calls for a Cajun seasoning which is actually a little spicy for our kids so I used my all-round seasoning mix which has enough spice but not to the point that my kids are put off. My wife and I do like more of a kick so if it comes to it we normal have a chilli grinder to add more spice once cooked.

The quinoa is actually really good too keep and we used it as a salad the following day with some diced feta added but to be honest you could anything you like to bolster the dish or even serve as a side to some other salads and grilled meats.

Spiced Chicken with Apricot, Red Onion and Garlic Quinoa

A superb, light and flavoursome quinoa that goes brilliantly with a spiced grilled chicken.

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 45 mins

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp. Spice mix
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 200 g Quinoa
• 125 g Cooked puy lentils
• 900 ml Chicken Stock
• 100 g Ready to eat apricots finely sliced
• 8 Garlic bulbs peeled
• 2 tbsp. Parsley roughly chopped
• 1 lemon juice and rind of
• 50 ml Cider vinegar

Instructions

 

• Marinade the chicken breasts in the spice mix and olive oil and leave covered for at least 30 minutes. There is no need to put back in to the fridge unless marinating for longer of which remove at least 10 minutes before you plan to start cooking.
• Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC. Wash the quinoa in a sieve then place in the stock and bring to a steady boil for 20 minutes.
• During this time pan-fry the chicken breasts on either side in a medium to hot frying pan to get some good colour and place on to your baking tray.
• After 20 minutes turn the heat to the quinoa down to enable a slow simmer, stir and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Place the chicken in to the oven on a tray and cook for 5 to 7 minutes dependent on their size. If you want to ensure they are cooked all the way through, take the largest breast and slice through the middle. The breasts will be moist and a lovely white in colour.
• Place the frying pan back on the heat and then fry the red onions and garlic for 7 minutes in a little oil. Add the apricots lemon juice and rind and the cider vinegar and then reduce the liquid by half. This does not take too long so try not to reduce all of the liquor.
• Add the puy lentils to the quinoa for the last minute and strain any remaining liquid if any. Add the apricot mix to the quinoa with ¾ of the parsley and stir all together. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
• Serve with a nice heaped spoon of the warmed quinoa on a plate topped with your chicken breast and an extra sprinkling of parsley.

Notes

This recipe was adapted from Spicy Cajun Chicken Quinoa from BBC Good Food.