Aromatic cumin, coriander and cinnamon give this chicken a real Middle Eastern flavour, and serving them with chickpeas further enhances the ethnic theme. Zucchini and sugarsnap peas add colour and all the benefits of fresh vegetables.
Reader's Digest
Ingredients
400 g skinless chicken breast fillets
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cinnamon stick
300 g zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 can chopped tomatoes, about 400 g
200 ml vegetable stock
1 1/3 cups (250 g) couscous
400 ml boiling water
200 g sugarsnap peas
1 can chickpeas, about 410 g, drained and rinsed
10 g buttersalt and pepperchopped fresh coriander to garnish
Preparation
Cut the chicken on the diagonal into strips about 1 cm thick.
Heat half the oil in a wok or heavy-based frying pan. Add the chicken, onion and garlic, and cook over a moderately high heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes or until the chicken turns white with golden brown flecks.
Reduce the heat to low and add the cumin, coriander and cinnamon stick. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
Add the zucchini and stir well, then add the tomatoes with their juice and the stock. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, put the couscous in a saucepan and pour over the boiling water.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Stir well, cover and leave to soak, off the heat, for 5 minutes.
Add the sugarsnap peas and chickpeas to the chicken mixture. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir the butter into the couscous and cook over a moderate heat for 3 minutes, fluffing up with a fork to separate the grains.
Pile the couscous onto a serving platter. Spoon the chicken on top and garnish with chopped coriander. Serve hot.
Here's a great new way to scramble eggs – cooked in a double saucepan or in a bowl over simmering water, without any butter, then mixed with crème fraîche for a creamy result. With strips of smoked salmon and fresh dill, this is the ultimate luxury brunch dish.
Flakes of smoked trout, cream cheese and fresh dill combine to make a well–flavoured filling for this light spinach roll. It is much simpler to make than it looks – just make sure that the spinach is squeezed really dry before adding to the sauce base.
The hollows in hard–boiled egg halves make perfect containers for a tasty filling – here carrot and chive – and the eggs look attractive served on a bed of ribbon vegetables and lamb's lettuce. All you need is some bread to make a satisfying lunch.
For these delectable chilli–flavoured omelettes, the eggs are whisked with cornflour to give them a slightly firmer texture, suitable for folding round a colourful and tasty filling of stir–fried vegetables and rice noodles.