Category Archives: Chicken

Roasted carrot & chicken salad

July 8, 2018 9:40 am / Leave a Comment /

This is one of those salads that you could just live on!

A perfect one-dish lunch, dinner or picnic dish that you can effortlessly cook in the combi all in the same pan.  Less mess, washing up and really only three stages.  Another fantastic thing about the combi is that you can be doing other things while these elements are cooking.  You don’t have to be worrying about forgetting what is on the stove, it burning or boiling dry.

Another one of my salads that will become a favourite, remember to use other things in it that you may have on hand or something you need to eat up in the fridge.

Ingredients:  Serves 4-6

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into julienne sticks
1 cup freekah, washed thoroughly
1¼ cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 large chicken breast, trimmed and cut open on thick side
¼ cup currants
bunch of fresh asparagus, cut into thirds
handful of fresh parsley and coriander, chopped
Juice and rind of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Sunflower kernels, nuts or seeds of choice to sprinkle

Method:

  1. Line a sold tray with baking paper, toss carrots in a little olive oil and roast in combi @ 200°C for approximately 20 minutes until soft.
  2. Slide out of tray onto a rack to cool.
  3. Now add the drained grains to the same tray, cover with stock and cook on 100°C steam only for 20 minutes.
  4. In the last two minutes, open the steam oven and add the asparagus.  Close the door to cook.
  5. Remove from steam oven, stir through the lemon zest and juice and scrape into a serving bowl.
  6. Reset the steam oven at a lower temperature to cook the chicken breast here. Slice on the angle when cool and set aside.  Don’t overcook, it is easier to add another minute if need be.
  7. Combine all the ingredients together, toss well and add fresh herbs and currants.
  8. Sprinkle with seeds and serve.
Posted in: Chicken, Combi Steamer, Gluten free, Healthy eating, Salads, Steam Oven

Combi oven roast chicken

August 4, 2015 11:53 am / 2 Comments /

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

As I have mentioned in the other posts and the Combi roasting table here there are two ways you can get a delicious, moist and tender roast chicken in a combi steam oven.

If you have a Miele there is an Auto Roast Chicken program but be aware it is only for a small, approximately 1-1.2kg chicken which isn’t very big at all.  By all means try the automatic program if you have a small bird as it really is the quickest and easiest way to use the combi.  Basically, season the bird, put it directly onto the oven rack with the solid tray underneath to catch the fat and set Auto: Roast chicken: Start.  The program should take about an hour.  Make a note if you were happy with the browning as next time you can set this to be more or less before you start.

We are having a casual Sunday, family dinner tonight with a roast chicken and I thought I would season with a little sumac, oil and salt and roast on the combination setting.  Serve with my pearl cous cous with dried figs and coriander here for a delicious and simple dinner.  The results were amazing.  The breast meat was so moist and tender and although the oven was dirty afterwards it was worth the effort of cleaning it the following day!

You can also try cutting out the backbone and cooking my Spiced Chicken if you want a little more flavour and a reduced cooking time.  Cooking the chicken flat in the solid tray also reduced the ‘spitting’ factor in the oven so not as much cleaning needed afterwards.

Ingredients:  Serves 4

1 x 1.5kg chicken
splash of olive oil
1 tsp Sumac
½ tsp salt & ground black pepper
few slices lemon & fresh herbs (optional)

Method:

  1. Prepare chicken by rinsing out cavity, removing any giblets and excess fat and pat dry.
  2. Drizzle the chicken on both sides with a little olive oil.
  3. Mix together the seasoning ingredients and rub all over the chicken.
  4. Put the lemon slices & some fresh herbs if you wish into the chicken cavity and tie the legs together with a little piece of string.
  5. Place breast side up directly on the wire rack with the solid tray underneath and cook on Combination Mode Stage 1: 200°C + 95% moisture for 40 minutes then Stage 2: 200°C + 30% moisture for 20 minutes.  If your chicken is larger than 1.5kg then you will need to alter the time or temperatures you are cooking at.  Check the roasting table and also look at the temperatures I used when cooking the Tarragon roast chicken here.
  6. Rest the chicken before carving.  This will be the most delicious and moist roast chicken ever with a crispy skin!

Afterwards remember to do a soak program to help with the cleaning.  You can find this in the ‘Maintenance’ programs in your appliance.

Posted in: Chicken, Combi Steamer, Main Courses

Spicy chicken & quinoa salad

January 9, 2015 10:15 am / Leave a Comment /

Spicy chicken & quinoa salad

It’s been hot here in Sydney this week.  I have probably mentioned this before but I tend to use the steam oven more in Summer and the combi more in Winter.  It is so easy to create a new salad like this one, just by combining a few ingredients that you have in the fridge.

After a massive New Year’s Eve dinner party I am not really feeling like cooking much at the moment, but that is the beauty of a steam oven; you can produce a fantastic dinner without really trying too hard!

Feel free to change the ingredients to use what you have on hand, just remember to keep the Asian theme.  Green beans, broccoli and red capsicum would work.

I cooked everything in this recipe in the same stainless steel steamer tray at different times as you can see below.  I also managed to cook some rhubarb as well with the pumpkin.

Ingredients:  Serves 4-6

1 cup tri coloured quinoa
1 large chicken breast, kept whole, but cut to flatten to similar thickness
2 cups chicken stock
juice and rind 1 lemon
1 cup steamed pumpkin, cubed
1 bunch asparagus, cut into thirds
handful fresh mint
handful fresh Vietnamese mint
few cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup dressing from mango salad here
1 birdseye chilli, seeds removed and diced finely
¼ cup macadamia nuts, toasted

Method:

  1. Wash quinoa, place in solid tray and add stock.
  2. Set steam oven to 20 minutes @ 100°C.
  3. When the steam oven has 7 minutes to go, add the chicken breast on top of the quinoa and the diced pumpkin scattered around the chicken.
  4. Now when there is 2 minutes to go, add the asparagus.
  5. Remove, put the asparagus into a bowl of iced water and stir through the lemon rind and juice.
  6. Set aside for everything to cool.  If you want to cook more pumpkin than is needed then use another dish.
  7. Sprinkle the chicken breast with a little sea salt.
  8. Slice chicken into bite-sized pieces then stir through with all the other ingredients once everything is room temperature.
  9. Drizzle over the dressing which has been mixed with the fresh chilli and top with toasted nuts.
Posted in: Chicken, Gluten free, Healthy eating, Salads, Steam Oven

Tarragon roast chicken

July 14, 2014 8:25 am / 2 Comments /

Tarragon roast chicken

This French recipe from Damien Pignolet’s ‘French’ book is the perfect roast chicken dish to cook for Bastille Day, 2014.

A great classic roast chicken recipe that I have adapted for cooking in the combi steamer on the Combination mode.  Have a look at the percentage of steam for the first stage, an amazing 95% which is why roast chicken cooked in a combi is SO moist and tender.  You know those giant ovens that the chicken shops and supermarkets use?  They are combi steamers!

I have cooked roast Spiced chicken here before but that time I used less moisture.  This time I want to see how the two stage program will work and if it produces a ‘better’ roast chicken?  Result; a crisper skin and moist chicken.

The original recipe included instructions on how to rest the cooked chicken, upside down in a bowl to allow the juices to moisten the breast.  A good idea in theory (and a lot more washing up) but you don’t really need to rest chicken when cooked in a combi.  You will lose the crispy skin if you cover it at this stage so just let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

There is also an Auto program for chicken in the Miele but be aware it is based on a small, 1- 1.2kg chicken.   My chicken tonight is nearly 1.8kg so I am not going to use the Auto program this time.

Make a simple sauce to serve with the chicken from the pan juices, a little chicken stock and some fresh herbs.  Carved and served over French lentils here, some roast potatoes or a crisp green salad.

A wonderful Bastille Day dinner 🙂

Ingredients:  Serves 4

120g softened, unsalted butter
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
3 tbsp. lightly snipped French tarragon leaves
Ground pepper & salt
1 x 1.8kg chicken
6 sprigs tarragon
a little olive oil

1 tbsp Madeira or brandy
125ml reduced chicken stock
Little more chopped tarragon

Method:

  1. Combine the butter, garlic, snipped tarragon leaves, a pinch of salt and some pepper into a small bowl and mix well until smooth.
  2. Using your fingertips and starting at the neck end, gently ease the skin away from the breast, taking care not to break it.  Evenly divide the butter between both sides of the breast and gently spread it between the flesh and the skin.  This is easy to do once you have separated the skin.  You can actually put a spoonful under the skin at the opening and then using your fingers ‘squeeze’ it down the breast and into the top of the drumstick.
  3. Insert a pinch of salt and the extra tarragon into the cavity, truss the legs together around the parsons nose with a piece of string and set aside in the fridge, uncovered for as long as possible (1-2 hours is best if possible) to dry the skin out a little.  This will help make the skin crispy.
  4. Remove from fridge, rub the chicken all over with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place directly on the oven rack in the combi with a solid steamer tray under to catch the drips.
  5. Cook on Combination mode @ 200°C + 95% moisture for 40 minutes then add another stage: 180°C + 30% moisture for 50 minutes.
  6. I added some potatoes to the bottom solid tray one hour before the end of cooking.
  7. Remove chicken from combi and set aside for a few minutes while you make the sauce.
  8. In a small saucepan warm the Madeira or brandy over gentle heat.  I didn’t flame it but just added the chicken pan juices and stock and reduced the sauce a little.

Serve over the warm, carved chicken 🙂

If you don’t have a combi then Damien suggests cooking it, laying on its side @ 180C for 15 minutes, turning it to the other side for another 15 minutes.  Now sit it breast up, lower the temperature to 160C and cook another 20-30 minutes basting frequently.  Rest for 10 minutes upturned in a bowl so that the juices run back into the breast.

 

Posted in: Chicken, Combi Steamer, Main Courses

Chicken & coriander empanadas

June 16, 2014 3:07 pm / Leave a Comment /

Empanadas

These would have to be the ultimate food to serve for the World Cup!

We loved eating the empanadas in South America and as I am never shy of an opportunity for a new post I had to make these for the blog.   A perfect thing to cook at home in the combi steam oven, especially when the soccer is on.

From when we found the tiny basement restaurant in Buenos Aires where we tried our first ‘carne picante’ empanada (spicy meat) then the local market in Santiago when we devoured the classic ‘carne’ (meat) empanadas, we were hooked.  The perfect ‘fast food’ they were being carried around the market on a tray, straight from the oven wrapped in towels to keep them warm for the locals lunchtime treat.  This is the type of thing that us foodies just love.  Local authentic food that is cooked to perfection!

We then tried a few different varieties, ham and cheese, chicken and corn.  I thought I would adapt the chicken recipe from a cookbook we were given, Argentinian Street Food by Enrique Zanoni & Gaston Stivelmaher.  This recipe is definitely tastier than the standard chicken empanada we ate in the streets.  Absolutely delicious served with a fresh tomato and chilli salsa (or a fresh tomato sauce if you have one with a bit of chilli added).

There are heaps of other fillings you can do, the options are endless.

Ingredients:  Makes approx. 12 for the filling with a little pastry remaining

Pastry:  Classic dough for baking

165g unsalted butter
500g plain flour
pinch salt
175ml water

  1. Cut the butter into cubes.
  2. Put the flour and salt into a food processor, add the cubed butter and process until combined.
  3. Pour in water and process until it starts to come together.
  4. Remove from processor and knead into a ball.  Wrap in plastic and set aside in the fridge to rest for 1 hour.

Now make the filling:

250g chicken thigh fillets, cut into very small dice.  Extra fat removed
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced finely
1/2 red or yellow capsicum, diced
1 tbsp. grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. tomato paste
little chicken stock or water
1½ tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp. chopped fresh coriander

  1. Heat oil in shallow frypan and sauté onion, garlic, ginger.
  2. Add chicken and stir well until sealed and mixed well together
  3. Add tomato paste and cook 1 minute
  4. Now add the cumin and oregano and cook another minute.  You may need to add a little water now or chicken stock.
  5. Add capsicum and continue to cook with the lid off for 5-8 minutes.  It should be dry but well combined and not sticking to the base of the pan.
  6. Set aside to cool, add coriander just before filling.

Assembly:

  1. Roll the dough out until a little thicker than you would roll puff pastry.  The pastry doesn’t rise but an empanada should have thicker pastry than say a curry puff.
  2. Cut into 14cm circles and set aside, rolling out the remainder until all used.
  3. Pick up one circle, add a heaped dessertspoon full of cool chicken mixture on one side
  4. With your finger spread some water on half of the pastry circle and fold the top over to make a half circle.
  5. Now wrap the pastry over itself along the edges which makes the lovely scrolled edge.
  6. Lay on baking tray lined with baking paper and when finished put in the fridge to cool before baking.
  7. Brush with beaten egg yolk before cooking
  8. Bake @ 190°C + 30% steam for 20 minutes.  If you don’t wish to serve them all then freeze uncooked ones layered with baking paper in a plastic container.  Defrost at room temperature before baking then brush with egg wash.

Serve with a fresh tomato salsa made with tomatoes, red onion, chopped coriander and a seeded and finely chopped chilli.

Yum, pastry is so much better cooked in a combi steam oven 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in: Baking, Chicken, Combi Steamer, Party Food, Pastry

Moroccan chicken

March 2, 2014 8:41 pm / Leave a Comment /

Moroccan chicken

I wanted to try a combi-steamer recipe that wasn’t a roast.  As good as a roast is in this appliance, it is good to try other ideas and see what the benefit is of the added moisture with the radiant heat when applied to smaller cuts of meat or chicken.

With this type of dish you want the radiant heat to brown or almost caramelise the chicken and the vegetables so that you get moist, tender chicken with just the juices from the meat and vegetables.  It isn’t meant to be a saucy curry.  If you want that see my eggplant curry here 

Delicious comfort food, this dish is impressive enough to serve for a casual dinner or a family meal.  No cleaning required in the combi on this occasion.

Excellent with the added moisture when reheated, we couldn’t tell that it wasn’t freshly cooked.  As with all spicy dishes, they always taste better the next day!

Apologies, not my best pic 🙂

Ingredients:  Serves 6

6 chicken thigh fillets, each cut into half or thirds for large ones
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. grated ginger
2 tsp ground cumin
½ salt
1½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp sweet paprika

1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges
1 small eggplant, sliced and slices halved
2 tbsp. olive oil, extra
juice 1 lemon juice
1-2 tbsp. honey
8 fresh dates, pitted and quartered (substitute pitted dried dates or prunes)
½ can chickpeas, rinsed
2 tbsp. chopped preserved lemon (about one half, chopped finely)
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds to serve (optional but would be nice for texture)
Chopped parsley or coriander to serve (it needs something green)

Method:

  1. Mix spices & salt together then add garlic, ginger and oil.  Mix well.
  2. Combine with chicken.  Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
  3. Position grease filter in rear of Combi steam oven.  Preheat on Fan Plus 200°C.
  4. Combine onion, eggplant and extra oil.  Line a solid tray with baking paper and add vegetables.  Cook for 10 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven, add lemon juice, honey, dates, preserved lemon and chicken to onion mixture and mix to combine.  Return to oven.  If using dried fruit ‘hide’ them under the chicken pieces so they don’t dry out.
  6. Select Combination mode 200°C + 50% moisture for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven, place the chickpeas around the chicken and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
  7. You can literally slide the whole dish out of the steamer tray onto your serving platter and pull out the paper.  Great, less washing up!

Serve with cous cous here.  Would also be great with Pearl cous cous.

Remember you can’t add the cous cous to the combi whilst the chicken is cooking as you are also using radiant heat, not just steam alone.  As it only takes a few minutes you can cook it when the chicken is resting.  Keep the door open to cool down when you remove the chicken.

Recipe adapted from Miele

Posted in: Chicken, Combi Steamer, Dinner parties, Main Courses

Chicken & spinach gow gees

January 26, 2014 3:10 pm / 5 Comments /

Gow gees

I love dumplings in all shapes and forms.  The only requirement I have for my dumpling passion is that they are steamed, not fried.  I think my love of dumplings (and other yummy Asian foods)  actually had a lot to do with my decision to buy a steam oven.  As we eat Asian most nights of the week, especially when we eat out, there are so many fabulous things that can be steamed in the various Asian cuisines.  I never run out of ideas or new dishes to try.  Even when cooking for one it is really easy and really healthy to do something like the 3 minute Salmon & Udon noodles here.

Honestly, who can be bothered with the wok boiling dry and the bamboo baskets anymore?  It is so much easier cooking just about everything in a steam oven.

You can easily make a double batch of dumplings and freeze the remainder for another meal.  Reheating is a dream as they only take 10-12 minutes from frozen.

Ingredients:  Makes approx. 24

70g English spinach, washed (about 1/2 bag of baby spinach leaves)
250g chicken mince
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp. chopped coriander
1 tsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fish sauce
1 small red chilli, finely chopped and seeds removed
1 packet gow gee wrappers

Dipping sauce:

1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. water
3/4 tsp fish sauce
1 small red chilli, finely chopped

Method: 

  1. Place spinach in solid tray. Steam at 100°C for 1 minute
  2. Place into sieve and when cool, squeeze out all the moisture and finely chop.
  3. Combine spinach with other ingredients.
  4. Place a large teaspoon of mixture on each gow gee wrapper.  Brush edges with water and seal.
  5. Place gow gees on perforated trays lined with baking paper.
  6. Steam at 100°C for 15 minutes.
  7. Whilst the gow gees are cooking, make the dipping sauce by combining all ingredients in a small saucepan and stiring over low heat until the sugar dissolves.

Tip:  Slightly oil your serving plate so they don’t stick.

Freeze any remaining gow gees in a covered container with baking paper in between.

 

Posted in: Chicken, Dumplings, Party Food, Steam Oven

Spiced chicken

January 13, 2014 8:48 am / 4 Comments /

Spicy chicken

This is my lighter version of a recipe from Frank Camorra from the SMH last year that I thought would be a perfectly delicious thing to cook in the combi steamer.  You will get succulent, juicy chicken with a crispy skin as the steam and radiant heat will work together.  The automatic chicken program on the Miele is excellent but this time I have taken the back-bone out of the chicken and flattened it which will make it quicker to cook so use Combination mode for this one.

If you don’t have a Miele then some of the the other brands will also allow you to put in your time, temperature and moisture level.

Serve it with the Pearl Couscous with dried fig and coriander that I am also posting (and cooking in the steam oven).

Ingredients:

1 x 1.2kg Chicken
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 heaped teaspoons smoked paprika
2 heaped teaspoons ground cumin
2 heaped teaspoons ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
pinch salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
1 lemon, rind & juice
Olive oil to moisten marinade to a paste

Method:

  1. Mix all ingredients except chicken in a freezer bag or flat dish.  You may add a little oil here if you wish.  I find it turns the spices into a paste with the lemon juice which is better than a dry spice rub.
  2. Add flattened chicken and rub the paste all over the bird.
  3. Marinate overnight
  4. Before cooking, remove from fridge and place into the solid steamer tray
  5. Let it sit to come to room temperature, just before cooking drizzle with about 1/4 cup of olive oil.  I tend not to add the extra oil if I added it to the marinade paste.
  6. Ensure that fan cover is in place on the back wall to protect the fan
  7. Cook @ Combination mode 180°C plus 30% moisture for 45 minutes.  If your chicken is larger you will need to increase this time up to 1 hour.  I have also cooked a 2kg chicken for 1 hour 15 minutes (turning it over for the last 20 minutes) and it was cooked perfectly.  For a larger chicken baste about half way through cooking.  Turning did moisten the breast too.
  8. Remove from the oven, baste with the juices and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.
  9. Cut into portions to serve with a bowl of natural yoghurt that has a little garlic added.

You can see the chicken is perfectly cooked.  It was so juicy and tender!  If you are cooking for a longer time I would probably cover it with foil for the last 15 minutes.  The juices were delicious, remove the fat and serve with the chicken too.

 

 

 

Posted in: Chicken, Combi Steamer, Gluten free, Main Courses

Crunchy Mango & Chicken salad

December 16, 2013 10:08 am / 1 Comment /

Crunchy mango chicken salad

I remember making a salad similar to this for Christmas Eve when my children were small.  One thing I do recall is that it had a mayonnaise type dressing.  Nice to drizzle over sometimes but these days we are not eating thick, heavy dressings so there are two dressing options here.  This dressing is the lighter, first option and was particularly delicious.

I have cooked the chicken on the BBQ this time but you can also remove it from the marinade and cook it in the steam oven.  Use the instructions from the Tips & Tricks for cooking chicken breasts here  Steamed chicken is perfect for a salad as you are not wanting the crispy chicken skin.  We were cooking some other meat on the BBQ so sometimes it is easier to just do everything together.  Which ever way you decide to cook it make sure that you rest it and serve just warm or even at room temperature.  The marinade gives this chicken a wonderful flavour.

This is the perfect Summer salad that everyone will enjoy!

Ingredients:  Serves 4

3 chicken breast fillets

Marinade:
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp fish sauce

Salad:

2 cups mint leaves
1 cup coriander leaves
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1-2 Lebanese cucumber, sliced diagonally
Large handful of baby rocket leaves
1 large mango, peeled and sliced
1-2 bunches asparagus (optional) or green beans
50g cashews, toasted and roughly chopped

Dressing Option 1:

2 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. palm sugar, finely grated

or Serve with Yoghurt & Lime Dressing Option 2:

2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp yoghurt
2 tbsp light sour cream
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp grated lime rind
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp chopped chives
1½ tbsp. sweet chilli sauce

Method:

  1. Trim chicken fillets and cut thick side to ‘open it up’ as described in steaming chicken in Tips & Tricks here
  2. Marinate chicken fillets in the ingredients listed overnight
  3. Steam @ 95°C for 8-10 minutes.
  4. Add beans or asparagus for last 2 minutes.  Add to ice water to cool.  Remove chicken to rest.  OR Fan-grill or BBQ until just cooked, approx. 10 minutes.  Set aside to rest.
  5. Place dressing ingredients into a screw top jar and shake to combine
  6. Just before serving place salad ingredients into a large bowl and toss to combine with half the dressing
  7. Arrange salad and mango on a serving platter, slice cooled chicken and place over salad
  8. Drizzle salad with remaining dressing just prior to serving.  Scatter cashews over the top.

 

Posted in: Chicken, Gluten free, Salads, Steam Oven

Quinoa salad with chicken & asparagus

October 2, 2013 8:45 am / 4 Comments /

Quinoa salad with chicken & asparagus

Time to get back into cooking and posting after our US trip.  Now that Simon is home at least I have someone else to eat and enjoy it!

The weather has been warm so we are in salad mode after being in the US for the end of their Summer.  It has been easy to move back into eating well after all those meals we ate out.  You know how you feel when you get home don’t you?  You really just want to cut back and try to eat and drink less.

So it’s Spring which means asparagus season for me!  This is a light and delicious salad that you can alter the ingredients to suit.  It is also delicious as a vegetarian dish without the chicken.  In that case add some drained chickpeas for a healthy option.

Would also be delightful with some baby green peas and peeled baby broadbeans as it really is a Spring dish.

Ingredients: Serves 4

2 steamed chicken breasts, sliced
1½ cups chicken stock plus juices from chicken to make total 2 cups
1 cup quinoa, washed
juice and rind of 1 lemon
2 bunches fresh asparagus, cut into thirds
half a preserved lemon, drained, diced, washed and soaked to remove excess salt.
Handful of mixed fresh mint and parsley, finely chopped
½ cup toasted pine nuts

Method:

  1. Cook the chicken first at 95° as explained here.  Reserve any stock that you get from the chicken to add to the quinoa to make up the liquid.
  2. Cook the quinoa for 20 minutes @ 100°
  3. Add the asparagus in a separate steamer tray for the last 2 minutes
  4. Plunge the asparagus into cold, ice water while you prepare the other ingredients
  5. Stir the lemon rind, juice and preserved lemon into the quinoa while it is still warm.
  6. Set aside, it still has some liquid to absorb
  7. When cold add the other ingredients and mix well.
  8. Taste for seasoning.  My preserved lemons and the stock were adequate for salt.  Add some cracked pepper.
  9. Serve at room temperature sprinkled with the toasted pine nuts.

Extremely healthy with no added fat except what may be in the stock.  Be mindful of using gluten free stock if necessary.  See my stock here.

Posted in: Chicken, Gluten free, Healthy eating, Salads, Steam Oven, Vegetarian