COOKBOOK: Marie Claire - 10 Years of Great Food

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Paul was very excited about this recipe. I don’t know how many times he mentioned that he loves breasts……chicken breasts that is!

How worried was I that I was going to add vanilla bean to this mix. Lemon, palm sugar & vanilla bean. Wow, this was going to be different…….and it turned out to be delicious! I loved this combination with the greens.

RECIPE: I love Marie Claire recipes. They’re simple and easy to make. This is another great recipe. A change from the ‘just stick the breasts in the oven with same old seasoning’. Give it a go!

RECIPE

SERVES 4

1 vanilla bean (I also used some vanilla paste)

2 tablespoons of grated palm sugar (or brown sugar)

2 tablespoons soy sauce (optional)

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

4 chicken breasts, skin on (I bought with no skin)

Juice of 4 lemons

80mls olive oil

185g couscous

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon of parsley , chopped

50g snow peas

50g baby spinach

Preheat the oven to 200C. Using a sharp knife, slice the vanilla pod in half lenghways and scrape the seeds into a bowl. Add the sugar, lemon zest and stir.

Using a sharp knife, cut several long incisions in the skin of each breast, then rub the mixture into the incision. Put the lemon juice and olive oil in a small casserole dish or baking dish and add the chicken breasts. Roast for 15 mins ( make it longer than that - approx 25mins - 15 is insufficient) or until chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, put the couscous and butter in a bowl and pour over 250ml of boiling water. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes, then fluff up the grain with a fork.

Cover again and leave for a further 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and parsley.

Carve the chicken into thick pieces. Arrange over the snow peas and spinach and serve with couscous, with the juices spooned over the top