I absolutely adore this harissa chicken and rice salad. For me, it’s pure summer on a plate; bursting with vibrant sun-ripened colours and flavours. Think of combining refreshing cucumber, mint and lime, with the mildspice of red chilli, ginger and harissa. Afterwards, you can cool and complement all this with thick and creamy Greek yoghurt and fresh herbs.
I’m giving you the recipe for 4 people, but we sometimes double up the quantities if friends are coming round for a barbecue. It’s a complete meal in itself if you want it to be, but it also makes a great accompaniment to other marinated chargrilled meats or fish. You could also just make the salad without the chicken, and serve it with these these ginger and coriander crab cakes. I like to enjoy my harissa chicken and rice salad with a freezer cooled beer topped with a slice of lime.
Think of combining refreshing cucumber, mint and lime, with the mild spice of red chilli, ginger and harissa. Then cooling and complimenting all this with thick and creamy Greek yoghurt and fresh herbs...
Ingredients
4 chicken thighs, boneless but with skins on
95ml Greek yoghurt plus a couple of tablespoons to serve
2 tbsp rose harissa and a little extra to serve
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red chilli powder
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
225g basmati and wild mixed rice
½ cm ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
½ cucumber, deseeded and cut into small cubes or slices
1 tbsp sesame oil
Small splash of soy sauce
The juice of 1 lime and the zest of ½ of that lime
Handful of fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
Mix the harissa, garlic, olive oil, ginger, soy sauce, yoghurt and mint in a bowl, then add the chicken thighs, coating them all in the marinade. Set aside for at least 20 minutes to absorb the flavours.
Whilst the chicken marinates, cook the rice in salted boiling water until tender, normally around 10 to 12 minutes. Drain it, then rinse it through briefly with cold water.
Drain it again and put it into your salad serving bowl.
Once cool, mix in the cucumber cubes, lime juice and zest, and the red chilli powder.
Turn the grill onto high. Arrange the chicken on a grilling tray and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side or until cooked throughout and golden in colour. I recommend crisping up the fatty side first.
Once the chicken is cooked, cut it into thickish slices and mix about half of it straight into the salad. Top the salad with the rest of the chicken and sprinkle over the fresh coriander. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix a little more yoghurt and harissa together and serve in a little bowl with a teaspoon along with the salad.
Notes
Requires about 20 minutes marinating time in addition to the preparation time.
A Chinese-style lemon chicken dish that you can make at home. Serve it with plain boiled rice or a medley of yummy veggies. For more Chinese chicken recipes, why not try this hot and spicy chicken with almonds?
Ingredients:
475g chicken breasts, boneless
2 tsp dry cornflour, and 1 tsp cornflour mixed with water
1 egg white
A generous pinch of salt
245ml groundnut oil
The juice and zest of 4 lemons
90ml chicken stock
A generous dash of dry sherry
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
A slug of sesame oil
1 clove garlic, skin removed and finely sliced
1 bunch spring onions, very finely sliced
1 fresh red chilli pepper, finely sliced
1cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and shredded
Salt and pepper to season
Steps:
Make the chicken coating by mixing the egg white, dry cornflour, and salt together in a bowl.
Cut the chicken breasts into strips and stir them into the mixture, coating them well all over, and leave to one side for 25 minutes.
Whilst the chicken is resting, juice and zest the lemons and prepare the remaining ingredients.
Put a large wok on a high heat, and once very hot, add the groundnut oil and heat until it begins to smoke. Take it off the heat and add the chicken, moving it about to prevent it from sticking, and stir-frying until it becomes white all over. Remove the chicken, and drain off the oil – be careful as the oil may be extremely hot, so drain it over a heat-proof bowl. Leave the chicken to one side. Let the cooking oil cool, discard it, and then clean out the wok with kitchen paper.
To make the lemony sauce, add the following to the wok: lemon juice and zest, chicken stock, soy, dry sherry, sugar, garlic, ginger and chilli. Bring the mixture up to the boil and then stir in the cornflour and water mix. Turn the heat down to a simmer for 20 seconds, adding the chicken pieces and half of the spring onions. Move the chicken pieces about to coat them all over and ensure that they are thoroughly heated.
Here is a simple recipe bursting with flavour.  Chicken marinated in herbs and garlic with roasted red peppers is quick and easy to prepare, so don’t let the long name fool you! You can be getting on with other jobs whilst the peppers are roasting in the oven – and before you fry the chicken.
Place the peppers drizzled with oil onto a roasting tray, sprinkle over with the herbs, and season with salt and black pepper.
Roast the peppers in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on their size.
Whilst the peppers are roasting, place the chicken fillets into a bowl, cover with the oil, stir in the garlic and the fresh parsley. Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge for 20-25 minutes.  For extra flavour and softness, marinate the night before.
About 15 minutes before serving, take the chicken out of the fridge, and in a large frying pan, spoon in the oil from the marinade. Heat the oil on high, testing that the oil is ready for the chicken by dropping a bread crumb in. If the crumb sizzles, the oil is ready! Fry the chicken with the rest of the marinade, making sure that each piece of chicken fully touches the bottom of the pan. First seal the chicken on a high heat for a few minutes on each side, then turn the heat down to medium and continue to fry until the chicken is cooked throughout, about 10 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the fillets.
Present the whole peppers with the chicken on a plate. Serve with fresh granary bread or rocket leaves drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
Recipe for: 4 main courses
Duration:15 minutes to prepare (some of this is done during the peppers’ roasting time) and 45 minutes to 1 hour cooking time.
Paprika garlic chicken with beans and potatoes is a meal I cook at least once a month. It’s a modern twist on a classic meat and two veg dish: simple, wholesome and healthy. Something for the weekend.
Ingredients:
4 chicken breast fillets, about 1cm in thickness
4 garlic cloves, peeled and pushed through a garlic press
2 medium to large potatoes, skins on, chopped into 1.5cm rounds
Pack of fresh runner beans, topped & tailed, then sliced into halves lengthwise before cutting at a shear angle into 4-5 cm lengths
Juice of ½ lemon
Fresh ground black pepper
Steps:
Put the chicken in a bowl, pour over the olive oil, and stir in the garlic and a pinch of salt. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can do this some hours, or even the night before, if you like.
When you are ready to prepare the meal, steam the potatoes for 5 minutes before adding the beans and steaming both together for about another 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked and tender. Try to retain a slightly firm consistency in the potatoes so that they don’t fall apart at the next stage.
Whilst the vegetables are steaming, pour a little of the marinade oil along with the garlic into a frying pan over a fairly hot heat. Seal one side of each of the chicken fillets in the frying pan. During the sealing, sprinkle a pinch of paprika over each chicken breast fillet, and when you turn the chicken to seal the other side, sprinkle paprika across the other side of the breast too. Continue to fry the chicken until cooked throughout. Remove from the heat.
Coronation Chicken is normally eaten cold. However, it’s also delicious served warm with rice. Here’s one that I often cook in the spring and the summer. Sometimes I make extra quantity; eat some hot, then store some in the fridge for a picnic.
The invention of the dish is accredited to a florist called Constance Spry and a chef called Rosemary Hume, who prepared the combination of cold chicken and a creamy curry sauce for the Queen’s coronation in 1953. There are many variations of the dish, including this warm coronation chicken.
In a large saucepan, add the whole chicken breasts, the onion, carrot and bay leaves. Cover the ingredients with water and season well with salt and pepper. Bring the water up to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove the pan from the heat and place the chicken breasts onto a plate to cool down.
In a shallow-based frying pan, heat the oil and fry the shallots on a low to medium heat for 3-4 minutes until soft.
Slice the cooked chicken breasts into 1.5cm pieces.
In a separate bowl, add the yoghurt or crème fraîche along with the mayonnaise, stirring them together before adding them to the frying pan. Taste the sauce, and if necessary, add some extra seasoning.
Place the chicken pieces into the frying pan and coat them all over with the sauce. Add the flaked almonds. Turn off the heat and sprinkle all over with the fresh coriander.
Serve with plain boiled rice.
Duration:preparation and cooking time less than an hour Recipe for: 4 people
Home-made nutritious chicken nuggets use unprocessed meat, less salt and more natural ingredients than the ones you get in most restaurants and frozen sections of the supermarket. They are very quick to make and taste good, leaving the kids with happy tums and the mums with happy minds!
Let’s face it – children just love chicken nuggets; and the ones they fill their tummies with are not always the healthiest. I know for my part, that I cringe a little inside when my daughter picks nuggets off a menu. ‘If only she’d pick the soup, or something with vegetables, or something at least vaguely healthy,’ I think, and I worry about it. So I’m always looking for ways to create healthier alternatives at home. Making these give me some peace of mind knowing that at least my little one is getting a healthier version of the much loved chicken nugget.
If you can find organic chicken breasts, that’s fantastic. We make these at least once a month now and serve them with home-made chips and peas. For a grown up meal that you could eat with your children try this roast chicken with home-made chips. If your’e looking to introduce your children to slightly more adventurous foods, try this mild vegetable curry.
Home-made nutritious chicken nuggets use unprocessed meat, less salt and more natural ingredients than the ones you get in most restaurants and frozen sections of the supermarket.
Ingredients
4 chicken breast fillets, skinless
2 tbsp cornflour
2 eggs
A little salt and fresh ground black pepper to season.
A little olive oil to fry
Instructions
Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them together.
Add in the cornflour, a twist of pepper and a pinch of salt.
Cut the chicken breasts into nugget size pieces, about 4-5cm long.
Put the chicken pieces into the bowl with the egg mix and coat them thoroughly.
Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken nuggets on a medium heat for around 8-15 minutes (depending on their size) until they are cooked throughout and turn golden brown.
Here’s a really lovely midweek meal to put together in no time and leave cooking whilst you relax or get on with other things. Chicken and pesto are always a wonderful combination. Sometimes I make this chicken and pesto open tart with green pesto, as in this recipe – but I also like to vary it with red pesto or aubergine and olive pesto when I can find it.
Another nice variation is to throw over a few walnuts or almond pieces 10 minutes from the end of the cooking time to add a little crunch.
We had friends over at the weekend who are about to go abroad to their homeland to get married (exciting times), and we served up this chicken and pesto open tart and tucked into it together, accompanied by a glass of sparkling white wine – now that we are getting into the warmer season. The tart is also really nice served with this lamb’s lettuce salad with serrano ham and apricots.
Here’s a really lovely tart to put together in no time and leave cooking whilst you relax or get on with other things.
Ingredients
1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry, defrosted
4 tbsp green or red pesto
A little beaten egg or milk for the glaze
225g chicken, skin and boneless, cut into thin strips
60g frozen spinach leaves, thawed
6 cherry tomatoes
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to season
Fresh basil leaves to garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Open out the ready rolled pastry flat onto a baking tray.
Put the chicken pieces into a mixing bowl, spoon in the pesto and stir them together, coating all of the chicken. Spoon the chicken out onto the pastry, leaving a 2.5cm border filling free around each edge.
Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves and arrange them on top of the chicken, with the cut side up.
Arrange the spinach leaves around the tomatoes.
Turn the pastry edges up and press the corners together to create a border casing for the tart.
Beat the egg in a little bowl and brush it around the pastry border.
Bake in the oven for around 20-30 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the pastry is nicely risen and golden brown.
Now that the summer is coming, I’m starting to think more about eating outside. Chicken and pineapple skewers can be cooked on a barbeque or in the kitchen under the grill as in this recipe. Juicy pineapple goes really well with the subtlety of chicken, and peppers are always mouth-watering when grilled or flame roasted. This side dish is great accompanied by a rice dish. Why not try this Indian-style brown rice?
I use tins of pineapple chunks for my chicken and pineapple skewers so that I can add the juice to the marinade, and save on preparation time. For a nice variation to the peppers, and as a further time saver when you need it, thread whole cherry tomatoes onto the skewers instead.
2 green peppers, deseeded and cut into bite size chunks
2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into bite size chunks
3 small pots of natural sweetened yoghurt
⅓ cucumber, chopped into very small cubes
Handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
Instructions
Make the marinade for the chicken by mixing the lime, soy sauce, honey and oil together in a shallow bowl.
Add 4 tbsp of the pineapple juice from the can into the mixture and stir well.
Coat the chicken pieces in the marinade in the bowl, cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge for a minimum of half an hour to absorb the flavours. You can even do this the night before to save preparation time on the day.
When you are ready to assemble and cook the skewers, turn the grill onto a medium heat.
Thread the skewers with the chicken, pepper, onion and pineapple chunks. Coat the ingredients with some more marinade and place them under the grill for about 8 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Turn the skewers occasionally as they grill.
Whilst the kebabs are grilling, make the minty yoghurt dip.
Mix the yoghurt, little cucumber cubes and the mint together in a serving bowl.
Chicken and chips: a good old British classic, right? But these are home-made chips, and you’ll eat them fresh, hot, crispy and spicy. And that’s a real treat! Roasting chicken always fills the house with a homely, cosy smell; and chips have to be near the top of the list of the ultimate comfort foods – go on, admit it!
Roast chicken legs and home-made chilli chips is a good Sunday roast alternative to throw in to the mix of home cooking once in a while. Children will love it, though you may want to leave out the chilli powder for them; just pop some chips in a separate bowl before adding the spice. Sure, those chips are full of calories, but if you enjoy them occasionally and don’t get tempted to make them every other day, that’s fine isn’t it?! (Also, try these lemon and parsley chicken with chips which aren’t as spicy.)
Ingredients:
4 large chicken legs on the bone, with skins on
2 pinches of ground cumin
2 pinches of rock salt
Fresh ground black pepper
6 large potatoes
Bottle of olive oil
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
Lay the chicken thighs on a baking tray, skin side up, and season with the ground cumin, salt and ground black pepper. Roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the chicken legs. Check that the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer before serving, and if necessary, return the chicken to the oven.
Whilst the chicken is roasting, wash, peel and cut the potatoes into long, thin chip shapes. Fill a deep frying pan halfway with olive oil (enough to entirely cover the chips). Bring the oil up to a very high heat, and when the oil begins to bubble, gently lower in all of the potatoes and fry them until they are crispy and golden brown. This will take between about 10 and 20 minutes, depending on the size of the chips, how crispy you enjoy them and the size of the pan. If the pan is small, you may need to cook the chips in a couple of batches. Remember never to leave hot oil unattended.
Once cooked, lift the chips out of the pan with a slotted utensil and drain them on kitchen paper in a large bowl. Sprinkle over the chilli pepper and the cumin seeds to your taste, and season well with salt.
Try serving the chicken and the chips together with a mixed side salad and a great big blob of lemon mayonnaise.
Duration: 15 minutes preparation, around 45 minutes cooking time.