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. 

 

Moroccan Tuna with Fennel and Orange Salad

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 fresh tuna steaks

For the marinade:

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp chilli flakes

salt and pepper

juice of half a lemon

For the salad:

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 large orange, peeled and cut into segments

1 tbs white balsamic vinegar

handful fresh coriander, chopped

salt and pepper

Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade and smear over each side of the tuna steaks. Leave in the fridge for at least two hours.

Meanwhile, mix together the salad ingredients and leave for at least 20 minutes for the flavours to develop before serving the salad topped with the tuna steaks. 

 

 

Carrot and Chick Pea Tajine

You can use tinned chick peas if you prefer, but I like to use the dried variety as I prefer the taste and texture. I have several different types of chick peas in my store cupboard, and for this recipe I used the brown ones. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

120g dried chick peas, soaked overnight

2 onions, chopped

3-4 carrots, thickly sliced

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp chilli flakes

½ tsp freshly ground white pepper

1 tsp sweetener

Drain the soaked chick peas and rinse under cold water. Cook in salted water according to the packet instructions, usually an hour. Sauté the onion in a little Fry Light over a medium heat until soft. Add the carrots, cooked chick peas and spices and stir well. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan (I use some of the leftover water from cooking the chick peas) – you don't want it to boil dry, but you don't want soup either. Transfer to a tajine or oven proof dish, cover and bake in the oven at 220°C for 45-60 minutes. 

 

Serve with couscous (I like to cook mine in bouillon powder and grate some courgettes and/or carrots into it for the last few minutes, just to bulk it out and add extra superfree); a pomegranate salad and some plain yogurt swirled with harissa paste.

 

Lamb and Apricot Tajine

A tajine is a Berber dish from North Africa which is named after the earthenware pot it is cooked in. Of course you don't have to own a tajine to cook this dish, any oven proof casserole will do. I always think a large part of the enjoyment of any meal is the visual aspect of it, so I go to great lengths to ensure the table settings look good and the food is presented nicely. I collect plates and other crockery, much to my husband's dismay, as he can never find anywhere to put them. Maybe we need a bigger house?

Lamb and Apricot Tajine with couscous, harissa yogurt and pomegranate salad

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy providing you use the apricots as your Healthy Extra B

300g diced, lean lamb

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp paprika

120g dried apricots, roughly chopped

boiling water

100g couscous

1 carrot

1 courgette

125ml stock

1 tsp mint sauce

1 tub 0% natural yogurt

1 tsp harissa paste

1 packet of pomegranate seeds

½ red onion, thinly sliced

small handful of coriander leaves, chopped

juice of ½ lime

6g toasted almond slivers (optional) – allow 1 syn if using

Sauté the onions and garlic in a little Fry Light until soft. Mix all the spices together and add the lamb, making sure the meat is well covered. Constantly stirring, add the lamb to the onions in the pan and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the chopped apricots and enough water to cover. Transfer to an oven-proof dish and bake at 150°C for 2.5 – 3 hours.

Grate the carrot and courgette and place in a pan with the couscous and mint sauce. The instructions on the couscous packet suggests 125ml water or stock, but I always find I need to use more. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring to ensure the couscous doesn't stick to the bottom (my husband always berates me for welding food to the pan – it makes the washing up doubly hard for him).

Lightly stir some harissa paste into the yogurt. I always use much more than a teaspoon, but it depends on your taste and the strength of the harissa – mine is home made and very hot!

Mix together all the ingredients for the pomegranate salad.

Top the lamb tajine with the toasted almonds and serve with the couscous, yogurt and pomegranate salad.

Bob apetit.

I find this is such lovely comfort food, perfect for a cold dark Saturday evening such as today. The seratonin in the chilli always lifts my spirits and I love the combination of flavours, colours and textures.


I bought the tajine in France and brought the mats back from Burkina Faso. The brown plate is from the Range and the red bowls from John Lewis. The gold plated wooden-handled cutlery was bought over the internet. 

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