#Freekeh #Chicken This is my version of a dish originally published by Gausto.  This is a super healthy dish and is absolutely delicious, it’s my partner’s favourite. 

Level of difficulty – Easy

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Thigh Fillets

30g pomegranate seeds

1 tsp dried dill

100g Feta cheese

130g Freekeh (we get ours from Dolphin Fitness)

10g Fresh Mint

2 shallots

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 small bag of almonds (blanched or unblanched)

1 tsp ground allspice

2 cloves garlic

1 or 2 red chillies (deseeded and pith removed if you don’t like heat)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ 425°F/ Gas 7

Rinse the freekeh under cold water, then add it to a pot with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat.

Cook for 20-25 min or until tender but with a slight bite.

Meanwhile, combine the dried dill and ground allspice in a large mixing bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil and ½ tsp each of salt and pepper, then add the chicken thigh fillets and coat thoroughly.

Heat a large wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) over a high heat and, once hot, add the chicken and cook on each side for 3 min. 

Transfer the chicken to a baking tray (use tin foil to avoid mess!) and reserve the pan for step 6.

Put the tray in the oven for 10-15 min or until the chicken juices run clear when pierced. 

Once cooked, transfer the chicken to a clean board and leave to cool slightly.

Add the almonds to a separate tray, drizzle them with a little olive oil and place them in the oven for 5 min or until slightly darkened in colour.

Once done, remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt (optional).

Leave them to cool on the tray.

Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the shallots, garlic and chillies.

Return the pan to a medium heat and, once hot, add the chopped shallots cook for 2-3 min, add chillies and garlic and cook for 30 seconds more then add the cooked, drained freekeh and coat in the shallot, garlic, chilli and chicken oil.

Remove from the heat and set aside until serving.  

Strip the mint leaves from their stalks and chop finely (reserve a little for garnish!)

Break the feta up into rough pieces

Chop the cooled, salted almonds coarsely

Slice the cooked chicken finely with a sharp knife

Add the pomegranate seeds, almonds, mint and feta to the freekeh with a drizzle of olive oil and the white wine vinegar and mix gently to combine 

Serve the chicken over the freekeh

Enjoy!

Preparation  and Cooking Time – 35 minutes

Nutritional Information

All Nutritional Information is estimated:

Energy – 808 kcal

Fat – 36.2g

Saturates – 12.5g

Carbs – 57.9g

Sugars – 4.7g

Fibre – 9.7g

Protein – 65.4g Salt – 1.43 mg