Although I’m putting this dish out there in summer, it is a great autumn warmer.
As with all of my recipes, it’s easily swapped around and for a vegan option, the ratatouille and quinoa makes a lovely combo.
I love the chicken in this dish and it’s great to change around with whatever spices you fancy. The halloumi is mainly because I love it and I was hungry on this evening!
I’ve broken it down below so its pretty clear as to which component is which if you choose not to do it all.
Serves 2
For the Quinoa:
- Quinoa 100g
- 1 kallo veg stock cube
- 300ml boiled water
For the chicken:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 100g flour
- 1 medium egg
- salt and pepper
- Schwartz Moroccan seasoning
- Sunflower or Vegetable Oil
For the Ratatouille:
- frozen Mediterranean Vegetables (if using fresh it consists of yellow pepper, red pepper, red onion, aubergine and courgette) but for our family, using frozen works best for us in a hurry.
- carton of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tsp sugar
- fresh basil
For the Halloumi:
- half a pack of halloumi
Method for Quinoa
- Cook your quinoa. Add 100g (rinsed in cold water) to a pan with 300ml boiling water (or check what it says in your packet). I also add a stock cube to give it lots of flavour. This should take around half an hour and then leave to stand for 10 mins. As with rice, check your water levels all the time as you don’t want it running out. If it absorbs it all but the quinoa is still hard, add more boiling water.
Method for Chicken
- Preheat your oven to 190c/170c fan/gas mark 5
- Cut your chicken breasts in half and take off any of the bits you don’t like the look of.
- Set up two bowls, one with the egg, whisked with a little salt and pepper, and the other with the flour and Schwartz seasoning. Put them close together.
- Now for the messy bit! Set up a foil lined baking tray with a good glug of oil and pop your chicken into the egg, coating thoroughly. Pop the chicken into the flour until its covered in a loose covering, tapping off excess. Then repeat by putting back in the egg, then back in the flour mix, then straight onto the baking tray. Repeat for the other 3 pieces and then get rid of the mixes if you have any left over.
- Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes turning once half way. The chicken should brown and crisp up slightly around the edges and be fully cooked through before serving.
Method for Ratatouille
- In a pan on the hob whilst the chicken and quinoa is cooking, fry the med veg on a medium heat in a little oil.
- When you see they are softening and no longer frozen, add the tomatoes and sugar and warm through on medium until the rest of the meal is cooked. The tomatoes should have reduced considerably and it should form a thick tomato sauce.
Method for the Halloumi
- Usually I grill halloumi but as I have the oven on, I added to the chicken in the oven about 10 minutes from the end. It doesn’t go crispy like it does in a pan, but if I’m honest, I had run out of good hob space!! Plus I quite liked the change of the soft and warm halloumi against the chicken.
To serve, I put the quinoa out first and piled high with a big spoon of ratatouille with the chicken on top. I only used half a chicken breast and that was enough for me so used the other piece in a wrap the next day.
Another recipe that you can experiment with flavours and spices; let me know what combination works for you!
