Tuesday Tasties No.52

A while back I featured a chicken recipe which relied on the use of Harissa Paste, a really delicious mix of Moroccan spices. The brand Bart make one of my favourite varieties as it's the right mix of chilli and garlic for my liking, Tesco's version is equally pretty tasty. I would recommend trying a few different brands to find one that's right for you, some are considerably warmer chilli wise than others. Tonight, I want to share a slight shake up of my Cajun Chicken recipe which I've been enjoying, it still relies heavily on the Harissa though, don't worry.

Harissa Chicken with Pickled Onions and Broad Beans

With this recipe, you're pretty much going to get what it says on the tin, the pickled onions really add something extra which I can't quite put my finger on. It shouldn't work, but you're going to have to trust me on this one. 

I'm also going to add, I'm not afraid to use cheats in my kitchen, I don't have time to sit over the stove mid-week so, here I'll be honest, I used pre-cooked broad beans and I cooked the bulgar wheat in the microwave. You obviously don't have to, but this is what I did!

You'll need:

• Skinless Chicken Thighs (for two, four ought to do it)
• 2 tbsp of Harissa Paste
• Either some chilli flakes or one chopped chilli
• 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 150g cooked broad beans
• 1 cup of bulgar wheat (sorry guys, I measure my rice and stuffs using cups, it's easier!)
• 1 chopped red onions
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Olive oil
• Chopped parsley

Right, first of all, whack your oven on and stick it at around 200 degrees, then grab a tray and line with some foil etc.

Then in a bowl big enough for marinading add the Harissa, garlic, chilli and a tiny splash of olive oil and give it a good mix. Then pop in your chicken thighs, make sure they're all coated in the marinade and leave for 30 minutes or so, this means they'll absorb all the yummy flavours.

Once they're done marinating, stick the chicken thighs in the oven for around 25 minutes to cook. Be sure not to waste any of the marinade, I slather my left-overs on top! 

While the chicken is cooking, it's time to cook your bulgar wheat, just add water and cook as per the packet instructions. For added flavour, you can always pop a chicken stock cube into the water.

Next step is to pickle the onions! Combine the vinegar and sugar and give things a mix before adding the onions and leaving for at least 10 minutes.

Once the bulgar wheat is cooked, add the broad beans, pickled onions (be sure not to waste the pickling liquor) and the chopped parsley before giving everything a good stir.

Then it's time to plate up. Pop the bulgar wheat on the bottom and plonk a couple of the cooked chicken thighs on top. Who said good food had to be complicated?

I hope you've enjoyed this twist on the Cajun Chicken recipe, the pickled onions add a real sweetness and the whole thing takes less than 30 minutes to fling together.