Dukkah Crusted Chicken with Tomato and Basil Salad
Serves: 2
Time: 20 minutes
Some ingredients will forever be a great match and tomato with basil is definitely this. If you can find heirloom tomatoes (in most Harris farms and Coles supermarkets) then I recommend doing a wide variety of tomatoes instead of just using the plain large ones.
Leftovers
Tonight’s dinner was so good I literally licked my plate clean, so we are having one of our pantry staple lunches tomorrow, tuna wraps.
What you'll need
2 free-range chicken breasts
1 x small store-bought dukkah
What is Dukkah?
A delicious blend of herbs, spices, crushed nuts and seeds. I have used a store bought pistachio and thyme dukkah, generally found around the spice section. But it's just as easy to make your own. What you'll need - 3 tablespoons toasted pistachio - 1 teaspoon sesame seeds - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin - 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme - 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano - sea salt flakes. Toast lightly in a pan then blitz to a rough crumble.
1 packet of medley cherry tomatoes (assorted colours)
1 packet baby vine tomatoes
2 large tomatoes
1/4 bunch of basil
1/4 bunch flat-leaf parsley
From the Pantry
olive oil
sea salt flakes
cracked black pepper
Optional Extras For Lunch
2 wraps
rocket
1 carrot
1 beetroot
1 tablespoon veganaise
2 small tins Sirena chilli tuna
Feeding Four
I have added an extra 2 chicken breasts to your shopping list plus 1 extra packet of baby vine tomatoes, and two large tomatoes; use another 1/4 bunch of your basil and the rest of your dukkah.
Prep and Cook
Preheat Oven to 180c
Prep Salad
Wash tomatoes under cold water. Slice all you baby medley in half. (To make this salad more visually beautiful, I like to slice each colour differently. You can go in half lengthways with the baby plum tomatoes and in half horizontally with the baby kumato and then small sliced circles with the baby yellow cherry tomatoes).
Use a small kitchen knife to cut the end off the large tomatoes then slice each one into 4 rounds.
Wash basil and flat-leaf parsley, pick the leaves off the stalks and roughly chop the parsley and add to the tomatoes. Pick the leaves off your basil and add these to the tomatoes.
Cook Chicken
Oven Safe Fry Pans
A really good non stick fry pan that is oven safe (usually this means has a metal handle) is an absolutely golden tool to have in your kitchen and saves you transfering your food to an oven tray. It also means less dishes and because the pan is already hot, it also will cut down on the cooking time. A win win in my book.
Empty your dukkah out onto a small plate and tap the plate gently on the bench to level out the dukkah.
Roll the chicken breast in the dukkah so that they are well coated then season lightly with salt and pepper.
Heat a medium-sized oven-safe fry pan on high heat with 2 tablespoons of oil.
Once the pan is hot gently lay your breast in and cook for one minute.
Turn the chicken over and place in the oven to roast for 10-12 minutes.
Once the chicken is cooked right through, it should be firm to touch in the centre but still have a slight spring. You don’t want that baby rock hard or you’ll get dry boots. If in doubt, turn it over and make a slice in the underside to check it’s cooked right through.
Plate it Pretty
Remove chicken from oven and place the breasts on a clean chopping board to rest.
Add a drizzle of olive oil and a really good sprinkling of salt and pepper to your tomato salad.
Take the large tomato slices and place them on each plate, layering each one in a slight crescent shape.
Load the rest of the tomato salad evenly over each plate.
Slice each chicken breast into five pieces, cutting down on a 45-degree angle and fan the chicken over the edge of each salad.
Enjoy!
Lunch tomorrow
Tuna salad wraps. Use up the last of the beetroot: peel and grate beetroot and carrot, squeeze the excess juice out of the beetroot. Heat wraps for 20 seconds in the microwave, spread with vegenaise, scatter a handful of baby spinach leaves across the centre. Add carrot and beetroot and top with tuna then fold in the sides and roll-up.