Hot chicken, green bean and Israeli couscous salad

Tam West

This recipe forms part of the October 15 meal planner created in partnership with New World. The chicken can be marinated 24 hours in advance and the couscous can be boiled 24 hours in advance, tossed with a little extra virgin olive oil and reheated in the microwave.

For the dressing

½	Preserved lemons, use the peel, finely diced
4 Tbsp	Golden raisins
75 ml	Extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp	Lemon juice
1 small	Red chilli, thinly sliced

For the salad

1 tsp	Ground turmeric
½ tsp	Ground cinnamon
½ tsp	Ground ginger
1 pinch	Chilli flakes, a generous one
2	Garlic cloves, crushed with 1 teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
700 g	Chicken breasts, skinned and boned, free range (Main)
400 g	Israeli couscous (Main)
250 g	Green beans, stalk ends cut off (Main)
¼ cup	Pine nuts, roasted (Main)
1 small handful	Mint, parsley and coriander sprigs for serving

Directions

1. For the dressing, put everything into a small bowl, mix well, taste and season. Reserve.
2. Heat the oven to 200C. Line a small baking dish with baking paper.
3. Put the ground spices, chilli flakes, garlic, salt and oil into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Add the chicken and turn over until it is evenly coated with the spice mix.
4. Place the chicken breasts side by side in the paper-lined tray and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until cooked and browned. Remove from the oven and rest 5 minutes in a warm place.
5. Meanwhile, boil the couscous in plenty of well-salted water for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserve and keep warm.
6. Drop the beans into a saucepan of boiling water. Bring back to the boil, boil 3 minutes and drain.
7. Slice the chicken across the grain of the meat.
8. Put the hot couscous on a warm shallow serving platter, place the hot beans and then the chicken on top. Spoon the dressing over everything and sprinkle with pine nuts and sprigs of mint, parsley and coriander.