Persian Chicken with Pomegranate Rice
In this easy to cook dish, chicken is paired with brown rice and green veg for a well balanced meal. Juicy chicken thighs are marinated in a warming mix of cumin, cinnamon and lemony sumac and high-fibre brown rice is studded with pomegranate.
Chicken - good protein source
Cinnamon - anti-inflammatory
Brown rice - low GL, good source of fibre and B vits
Pomegranate - source of folate and vit C
Broccoli - for fibre, magnesium and B vits
Parsley - for vit C and vit A
Serves 2 - easily doubled, and good for a left-overs style lunch the next day (needs extra chopped parsley)
INGREDIENTS
4 chicken thighs
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sumac
juice of one lemon or lime
80g brown basmati rice
1 pomegranate
good handful of chopped parsley
broccoli and green beans, to serve
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Boil the kettle. Add the olive oil, cinnamon, cumin and sumac to the chicken in a large bowl, mix well and leave to marinade for a few minutes. This can be done overnight and kept in the fridge for a deeper flavour.
2. Rinse the rice and place in a saucepan with 400ml of boiling water. Simmer for approx 20 mins, until cooked.
3. Place the chopped onion in a baking tray and top with the marinated chicken. Place in the oven for approx 30 minutes. Check the chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
4. 5 mins before the chicken and rice are cooked, lightly steam or boil the broccoli and beans until al dente. Slice the pomegranate and remove the seeds and save the juice.
5. Drain the rice and add the lemon/lime juice, the pomegranate seeds and juice, and chopped parsley. You can also add a few spoonfuls of the chicken cooking juices for extra flavour.
6. Spoon the pomegranate rice onto two warm plates and top with the persian chicken thighs. Add the roasted chopped onion and serve alongside the broccoli and green beans.
7. Drizzle with additional lemon/lime juice and extra chopped parsley.
