Cous Cous Salad with Beets, Sweet Potatoes, Halloumi & Sweet Chilli Chicken Skewers

Tue, 23 March 2021

Chef: Aisling Larkin

 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 mug cous cous
1½ mugs BOILING water / stock ( ½ stock cube )
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Zest ½ orange/lemon
1 tbsp cumin
1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp onion and garlic powder
1 tin drained chickpeas
1 heaped tsp dried herbs ( parsley / chives )

Fillings
1 sweet potato ( peeled and sprinkled with ½ tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp honey, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp oil )
1 red onion ( diced )
4-6 baby cooked beets ( quartered )
200g block halloumi
Handful nuts
Lots of chopped fresh herbs - basil, parsley, coriander, chives, mint
Top with salad leaves

Sweet Chilli Chicken Skewers
4 chicken fillets
100mls sweet chilli sauce
50g melted butter
Orange
Skewers

Method:
1. Chicken: Cut the chicken into long, thin strips. In a S-shape wind the chicken on the the skewers. You can add a slice of orange between each one if you wish.
2. Melt the butter, stir in the sweet chilli sauce. Pour ½ the mixture over the chicken and cook on a BBQ or a griddle pan. It can be baked in the oven too. ( 180? for 20-25mins until the chicken is white in centre - not opaque or shiny )
3. Sweet Potato: Roast the sweet potato in the oven. Pre-heat the oven to 180?. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle over the spices, salt and honey. Bake for 25minutes until tender on the inside and crisp on the outside.
4. Cous Cous: Make the cous cous salad. Boil the kettle and get the cling film ready. Measure 1 mug cous cous into a large bowl. Add in all the spices and dried herbs. Open and drain the chickpeas. Rough up a little to remove the skins. Add these to the dried cous cous. Zest in the orange /lemon zest. Stir this all together until well combined. Pop the stock cube into the mug and fill up with boiling water. Now you need to work quickly. Pour the boiling hot stock over the cous cous, then add the extra 1/2 mug. Immediately cover with cling film and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
5. Dice the red onion and the baby beets.
6. Cut the halloumi into cubes. Pop on a baking tray, drizzle with a little oil and bake while the oven is on with the sweet potato for about 10 minutes just until golden brown.
7. When all the component ingredients are ready, remove the cling film from the top of the bowl. Using a fork fluff up the cous cous. Add in the sweet potoato, beets, halloumi and red onion.
8. Add the chopped fresh herbs, season to taste and garnish with some fresh salad leaves.
9. Serve with the sweet chilli chicken skewers by drizzling with the remaining sweet chilli sauce on the side.