Grilled chicken
With roasted red peppers & herby rice
35 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 2
About the recipe
Blackened peppers tossed through grilled chicken (which is high in phosphorous, so great for our bones and teeth!) and its juices, then served with herby rice – what's not to love?
Ingredients
2 red peppers
175g white rice
1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley (15g)
3 spring onions
2 free-range chicken breasts
olive oil
25g shelled pistachios
extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
30g feta cheese
Top Tip
Blackening peppers over a flame or under the grill is a brilliant way to inject some delicious smoky, sweet flavours into your dish. Steaming them in a covered bowl is super important, too – it’ll help loosen the skins, which will make peeling them a lot easier.
Method
- Fill a medium saucepan with salted water, place on a high heat and bring to the boil.
- Meanwhile, place the peppers directly over the flame on your gas stove top or under a very hot grill. Char for 5 to 10 minutes, or until blackened and blistered all over, turning occasionally with tongs.
- Meanwhile, add the rice to the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain in a sieve, then tip back into the warm pan. Cover with a lid and set aside off the heat.
- Once the peppers are blackened all over, place in a bowl, cover with a plate and leave them to steam for around 10 minutes, then remove the plate and leave until cool enough to handle.
- Meanwhile, pick and finely chop the parsley leaves, then trim and thinly slice the spring onions.
- Rub the blackened skin off the cooled peppers, then halve and deseed. Tear into strips and set aside on a plate with the juices.
- Place the chicken breasts in a large unsealed plastic resealable bag and place on a board, then bash with the bottom of a heavy saucepan or rolling pin until ½ cm thick. Drizzle a little olive oil into the bag and season lightly with salt and pepper. Massage it into the chicken.
- Place a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat, adding the pistachios as it heats up and lightly toasting until smelling fantastic. Tip the pistachios onto a board and roughly chop. Return the pan to the heat.
- Discard the plastic bag and place the chicken into the hot pan. Cook for 6 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, turning halfway.
- Meanwhile, stir the parsley and spring onions through the cooked rice with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of black pepper. Finely grate in the lemon zest and squeeze over half the juice.
- Pile the herby rice onto a platter. Remove the chicken to a clean board and slice up, then toss with the roasted red peppers and resting juices. Spoon onto the rice, crumble over the feta, scatter the pistachios on top, then serve.
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