Chermoula Chicken with Tabbuleh

Inspired by an article in the Slimming World magazine this month, as well as my raffle winnings in group, I set out to make Chermoula Chicken for dinner tonight. I adapted the recipe to fit with what I had in the fridge / cupboards, and as we have already had couscous this week, I thought I'd serve it with tabbuleh instead. Tabbuleh is a more recent discovery of mine – the first time I had it was in a Lebanese restaurant in Tripoli in Libya in 2005. It was love at first bite. 

Tonight's version was a variation on a theme, adding more vegetables to ensure I got the required amount of superfree, and I used coriander rather than mint as that is what was lurking in the fridge drawer. You can of course add any vegetables you would like to the tabbuleh; it's great for using up leftovers too.

Serves 2

Syn free on Extra easy

2 chicken breasts

1 tin chopped tomatoes

5-6 cloves garlic

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp celery salt

small handful of coriander leaves and stems

zest and juice of a lime

1 tsp sumac

Mix together all the ingredients except the chicken and the sumac and whizz through a liquidiser. Make deep cuts in the chicken breast and place in a shallow bowl. Pour over the liquid and bake in the oven at 200°C for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Slice the chicken and serve on top of the tabbuleh, sprinkled with the sumac.

Serve the rest of the cooking sauce separately to pour over the chicken at the table.

Tabbuleh with a Difference

a couple of handfuls of bulghur wheat

juice of 1 lime

100g tomatoes. chopped (I used golden pomodorino)
a handful of chopped coriander
a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

100 g cooked green beans, chopped

2 tinned roasted red pepper, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

Place the bulghur wheat in a large bowl and pour in the lime juice and enough boiling water to cover. Leave to infuse while the chicken is cooking, adding more water if the mixture looks too dry. Add all the other ingredients and mix well.