moroccan chicken, with basil, grilled apricot, mozzarella, toasted almonds and sugar snap peas

a roaring success.  this is easy to put together and wham bam, thank you mam, the flavour will suggest otherwise ….

the key to success on this baby is the strength of marinade in the chicken – depth is created with the touch of chilli, cinnamon and ginger, all balanced stunningly with my usual marinade faves – garlic, cumin, coriander …..

the grilled apricots match perfectly…. each bite of chicken will have you craving a slice of apricot to be on the fork too………………. so get into it.

serves 4

for the chicken

1 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3 inches grated fresh ginger

5 cloves garlic, crushed

4 tblsp rapeseed or avocado oil

3 tsp salt

6 chicken thigh fillets, or 4 chicken breasts – sliced into 1 inch thick strips

for the salad

6 apricots, halved

3 cups sugarsnap peas, ends cut and sliced in half

2 cups fresh basil leaves

2 cups torn lettuce leaves (i used curly lettuce leaves)

1 1/2 cups toasted almonds, roughly chopped

1 red onion, thinly sliced – place this in water with a tsp of white or rice vinegar (it takes the sting out!)

125g fresh buffalo mozzarella (cut into bite sized pieces, or substitute for crumbled cows milk feta – also very good!)

salt

avocado oil

 

for the chicken

place all marinade ingredients into a bowl or dish.  mix well.  add more oil if its a bit sticky.

add the chicken strips, mix well.  cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour.

stir every 20-30mins or so until ready to cook.

for the salad

heat a griddle pan to high.  using a pastry brush, lightly brush avocado oil over the apricot halves.  once the pan is hot, add the apricot halves.  turn 90 deg to create the square pattern.  remove from the pan when charred but still firm.

slice the apricots into about 5 slices per half.

prep all the other ingredients as per above and set aside to cook the chicken.

to assemble

heat fry pan to high. cook the chicken in batches if you need to.

you want the chicken to sizzle hard core so you get a nice crust from the marinade.  as the marinade sticks, i use a fish slice to scrap the yummy crusty and browned marinade off the pan… and i add these bits to the salad!

the chicken doesnt take too long too cook given you have sliced them to 1 inch.

once all the chicken is cooked, slice to the desired serving size.

toss the lettuce leaves with a dash of avocado oil.  combine all the ingredients onto a serving platter, or individual plates.

indulge.