Sticky Chicken & Jewelled Quinoa

Wow – the tangy, sweet, mouth-watering glaze you get when cooking the chicken is out of this world! You can cook the chicken straightaway but if you can do some advance planning it’s definitely best to leave it overnight to marinate. Chicken thighs are ideal to use as they stay nice and juicy. This colourful salad pairs well with the chicken, and if there happen to be any leftovers, add in some feta and enjoy for lunch the next day.

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Ingredients

garlic cloves 2 (crushed)
lemon 1 (juice)
bone in chicken thighs 1 kg
honey 2 tbsp
tomato purée 2 tbsp
ground coriander 1 tsp
ground cumin 1 tsp
caster sugar 1 tsp
olive oil 5 tbsp
quinoa 200 g
vegetable stock cube 1
spring onions 4 (chopped)
celery 2 (diced)
cucumber ½ (diced)
bell pepper 1 (diced)
fresh mint 1 handful (chopped)
fresh coriander 1 handful (chopped)
pistachios 1 handful (chopped)
pomegranate seeds 4 tbsp

Method

Marinate and cook the chicken

Peel and crush the garlic. Juice the lemon.
Prepare the chicken. In a large bowl combine the chicken, honey, tomato purée, garlic, coriander, cumin, sugar, 1/2 of the lemon juice and ½ of the olive oil. Leave to marinade in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight. If you're able to get pomegranate molasses, you can use this instead of the honey and lemon juice.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.
Place the chicken thighs onto a large roasting tray, skin side up. Add all the marinade into the tray and toss the chicken in it.
Bake for 40–45 minutes until the chicken is sticky and golden, basting halfway through and adding a splash of water if needed.

Cook the quinoa

Make up the vegetable stock cube with 125 ml boiling water per serving.
Cook the quinoa as per the packet instructions replacing water with the vegetable stock. Leave to cool when cooked.

Make the salad

Finely chop the spring onions and celery. Deseed and finely dice the cucumber and pepper. Finely chop the mint and coriander. Roughly chop the pistachios.
In a large bowl combine the quinoa, spring onions, celery, cucumber, pepper, the remaining lemon juice, mint, coriander, pomegranate seeds (reserve some seeds for garnish) and the remaining olive oil. Season to taste with salt.

Plate up

Serve the quinoa salad with the sticky chicken, scatter with the reserved pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios. Enjoy!

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