Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Getting back on track chicken

I've been having just a teeny tiny bit of a problem getting back on track with my nutrition plan after getting back from my holiday, and being sick, and being very undisciplined in general. I thought I really need to make something that is healthy but doesn't taste healthy. Something which packs such a punch of flavours that I don't think about all that unhealthy bad food I've been craving. I needed something that is healthy, high in protein, low in fat and full of flavour. Also, I happened to have some parsley and coriander which had been hanging around my fridge for just a bit too long, so I needed to use  them up asap. Looking around in my kitchen, I spied a huge garlic and my omnipresent piece of ginger root (fresh ginger root is one of those things I always keep in my kitchen). And my eyes landed on my mortar and pestle which I bought probably a year ago, with the aim of making all sorts of spice mixes and my own pesto. But as so many of my other impuse buys, the mortar has just been serving as a garlic bowl. The sad truth is, I haven't used it, not even once. So now I finally thought I would break it in.

Back on track chicken (serves 4):
4 boneless chicken thighs (or fillets, if you prefer)
1 clove of garlic
a piece of fresh ginger about half the size of your thumb (ok I know, we all have different sized thumbs, but you know... just wing it!)
a bunch of fresh coriander (I used about 1/2 of a 31 g pack)
a bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley (I used about 1/2 of a 31 g pack)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or other oil of choice)

The howto:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Place chicken in an oven proof dish. Roughly chop the garlic, ginger, coriander and parsley, and place in a mortar. Using a pestle, grind until the garlic and ginger has been thoroughly smooched together with the herbs to a nice paste, and add olive oil. Spread the paste on top of the chicken, and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until juicen from the chicken are clear. 

The verdict:
Not only did my improvised herb-y chicken taste really freshly of herbs and ginger, it also filled my kitchen with the most amazing aroma. Admittedly it's not the most beautiful dish I have ever cooked, but this is obviously your first time here if you were looking for pretty food. My food may not be pretty, but it is good. And this time, it's also healthy. This dish almost made me think spring might be silently creeping closer. Could it be?

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