Wednesday 31 March 2010

March 2010 - Paprika Chicken with Quinoa Tabouleh

On to the last issue for March. I changed my mind a lot on what to make from this issue. On my menu plan for the month I was going to make Jill Dupleix's Larb Gai with mint & basil, which is a Thai-inspired dish that looked to be light and tasty. However come the end of the month there were some bills that needed paying so there wasn't a lot left for groceries and I had to be a bit frugal.

Jamie Oliver's Kumara Pyramid Salad was another possibility. I had most of the ingredients, or things that could be substituted. However I had made a salad using kumara from the last issue so I decided that, as nice as it sounds, something different would be better this time around.

There is a feature on Noosa in this issue with recipes from executive chef at Berardo's, Shane Bailey. His Spatchcock with Corn & Herb Couscous, using Israeli (or pearl) couscous looked so good. However I didn't manage to get to the butcher on Saturday before they closed so I wasn't able to get a spatchcock and the chickens at the supermarket were all quite big. I think that it would have been very nice though.

In the end I chose another recipe from Jill Dupleix's Lighten Up feature, Paprika Chicken with Quinoa Tabbouleh. I had all the ingredients on hand so it made for a cheap and very tasty stores meal. The recipe did not state what type of paprika to use. I have smoked and sweet in my cupboard so I used smoked on the chicken breast and sweet for the quinoa dressing. The smoked paprika was nice on the chicken however I think that I need to get something with a bit more spice to it. I think it would have been better with a bit of a kick to it, perhaps I didn't add enough cayenne pepper. I enjoyed the meal and it was a good way to use some of the quinoa that I seem to have built up in the cupboard.


Ingredients
  • 1 c quinoa
  • 600 ml water or vegetable stock
  • 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp mint, finely chopped
  • 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered (I used extra)
  • 3 spring (green) onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 c (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 100 g greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 x 180 g chicken breast fillets
Method
  • Combine 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp paprika and chicken breasts in a bowl and marinade for at least 20 minutes.
  • Simmer quinoa in water for 10 minutes or until cooked and then drain. Cool and then add herbs, tomatoes and onions.
  • Mix 1/4c oil, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp paprika, cumin, cayenne and sugar. Reserve 2 tsps and then mix the rest through the quinoa.
  • Cook chicken under the a medium-high grill for 7-8 minutes each side or until cooked.
  • Slice chicken breast and serve on a bed of quinoa then top with yoghurt and a drizzle of the reserved dressing.

Paprika Chicken with Quinoa Tabbouleh

6 comments:

  1. Oh i'm always on the lookout for quinoa ideas.

    I love reading the recipes you get in your version of Delicious magazine, i often wonder if you had our UK versions what recipes you would make from them! Do you ever visit the website for recipes?

    Any recipes you have saved for the Easter weekend especially- i will be making a pear and raspberry cake from our UK version.

    Oh and just a note on the choc tart- we have condensed milk here in tins that already is a caramel/dulche de leche version- do you get that over with you?

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  2. Ellie, I think that the UK version is different than ours, although it could be just that things are reversed for our different seasons. I do use the Taste website a lot for recipes as some times it is easier to search there then flick through a bunch of magazines.

    Nothing specifically Easterish to make this weekend but I plan on making several different things from April issues. :)

    We do have the tinned caramel, called Top'n'Fill here. It is nice but I wanted to make it from scratch. It is easy to make and I think is a bit thicker than the pre-made stuff. :)

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  3. I've made this recipe before and it is really lovely -especially the quinoa. I even enjoyed the dressing and I'm not a fan of cumin. Great photo, looks like you've used baby spinach under the quinoa which is a good idea, will try that myself.

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  4. Yes, the quinoa was very nice.

    I just used one of those bags of salad mix for underneath. I think that it just added another texture to the meal.

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