Harissa Chicken Salad and Sourdough Flatbread… A Weekend Feast and ‘Why Organic?..

I love Harissa paste, but for the amount we regularly use it’s actually quite expensive… It didn’t occur to me that I could make it, but the ingredients are really simple, and as with most things home-made, it’s possible to make a relatively large volume for a fraction of the price!  This paste is great with chicken, and this salad has a slightly morroccan feel to it… but it’s also good on salmon, or roast potatoes, peppers, and probably loads more that we haven’t investigated yet… Served with a side of flat-bread it’s really filling, but without it’s just as good and takes just about 1/2 hour to create… it’s great to hear your amends and substitutions so please continue to share when you get a good result (and if it’s a disaster!).

Ingredients (for 2)

Harissa Paste:

3 tbsp olive oil (1 for the pan, 2 for the blender)

3 tbsp tomato puree (for the blender)

1 pointed red pepper (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (chopped)

1 hot red chilli (chopped)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp maple syrup

zest and juice of 1 lime

salt & pepper

2 *organic chicken breasts

For the salad:

75g baby spinach

1/4 small red cabbage, finely sliced (shaved)

3 handfuls pitted green olives (chopped)

3 preserved lemons (chopped into quarters)

2 handfuls pinenuts (toasted)

For the Cous cous:

1/2 cup (100g) cous cous

Salt & Pepper Squeeze lemon juice

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 200C

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan on the hob.

3. Chop the pepper, garlic and chilli and add to the hot pan.

Soften gently for around 10 minutes.

4. Add the maple syrup, stir and remove from the heat.

5. Add the ingredients from the pan to a food processor and add the lime, salt & pepper, olive oil and tomato puree.

6. Blend to a smooth paste.

7. Line a baking tray with a sheet of baking parchment.

8. Put the chicken on the parchment and cover with all of the harissa paste.

9. Turn and coat the chicken with the paste & wrap the parchment up.

10. Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes or until the chicken breasts are cooked through.

11. While the chicken is cooking boil the kettle.

12. Put 100g cous cous in a bowl and cover with boiling water. It’ll take a few minutes for the cous cous to cook through. It should be soft and tender.

13. When the cous cous has absorbed the water, season with salt & pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

14. Heat a dry pan on the hob and add the pine nuts. Toast until just brown. This can be done on the griddle alongside the flat bread if you’re doing them!

15. Add the salad ingredients to a large bowl. Toss and stir through the cous cous.

16. Serve the salad, slice each chicken breast in to 6 and serve on top of the salad. Use any remaining harissa paste to pour over the chicken on top of the salad.

For the Flat-bread:

At the moment I’m keeping a sourdough starter going and using it to make a loaf a week. If you’re doing the same, or have some sourdough starter follow the recipe on this blog ‘Sourdough the worlds slowest bread’ . Instead of proving the bread though, pull off a fistful of dough after the first rise and roll flat. Add to a hot, lightly oiled pan or griddle pan for around 4 minutes either side. For a quicker home-made flat-bread, use the pizza dough recipe on the blog ‘big pizza pie that’s amore’. And add the rolled out dough to the pan as above. It’s worth it if you’ve got a bit of time. Or (as I do) mix it up when you’ve got 10 minutes and chuck it in the pan once you’re cooking food later on… Enjoy! And if you do… pintrest, instagram, facebook and tweet us! @holefoodfamily on all! See you there…

Lauren x

* If you’re wondering whether you should buy organic chicken or not it’s worth reading this article on wholefoods website. It’s pretty straightforward and gives the facts on what organic actually means! To give a brief overview though, buying organic means you’re cutting out: animal by-products, anti-biotics, genetically engineered grains, pesticides, chemical fertilisers and hormones.

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