Herby Chicken with Blueberry Salsa

A great dish for the whole family to share at lunch or dinner. Serve with our Summer Salad or Crunchy Rice Salad.

Ingredients

1 garlic clove
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
Handful of fresh basil
Handful of fresh coriander (optional)
2 x 15ml spoon olive oil
1 lemon (½ x 5ml spoon grated lemon rind and
1 x 15ml spoon fresh lemon juice)
¼ x 5ml spoon freshly ground black pepper
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
125g blueberries
2 x 15ml spoons balsamic vinegar
½ x 5ml spoon honey
½ red onion
1 small red chilli
Low-fat cooking spray

Equipment

Grater
Juicer
Small plate
Chopping board
Small knife
Food processor or hand blender
Saucepan
Wooden spoon
Large bowl
3 x small bowls
Measuring spoons
Baking tray

Instructions

1. Finely grate the lemon rind onto a small plate. Using a clean, dry chopping board, cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl.
2. Crush the garlic and wash the herbs. Put the garlic, parsley, basil, coriander (if using), olive oil, grated lemon rind, lemon juice and black pepper into the food processor or beaker to hand blend. Process until finely chopped.
3. Combine the herb mixture and chicken in a bowl. Toss the chicken in the mixture, making sure it is fully coated. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Preheat grill to medium-high heat, or oven to 180°C.
5. Place marinated chicken pieces evenly onto grill/oven tray.
6. Grill on medium heat for 10 minutes each side, or oven cook for 20 minutes. To check that the chicken is cooked, make sure that there is no pink meat and the juices run clear.

Blueberry salsa

1. Combine half of the blueberries, vinegar, and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low heat for 10 minutes or until thickened, pressing with a spoon to break up the blueberries. Leave to cool in a medium bowl.
2. Add the remaining blueberries to the food processor; pulse until the mixture is roughly chopped. Chop the red chilli finely and the onion. Add the chopped blueberries, red onion, and red chilli to the cooled blueberry and vinegar mix.
3. Serve the cooked chicken with blueberry salsa and a fresh crispy salad.

Skills used include:
Measuring, grilling, grating, chopping, food processing, boiling, washing.

Top Tips

• If you don’t have a food processor or hand blender, just chop all of the marinating ingredients as finely as you can, you can use scissors to cut your herbs in a mug as an alternative to using a knife.
• Do not marinade your chicken longer than 1 hour as the lemon juice will start to cook the chicken.
• The blueberry and vinegar mix will be very hot when cooked, once removed from heat, leave to cool.
• Blueberries from Chile are in season from January – March, and British Blueberries are in season from June – September.

Something to try next time

• This dish is great all year round. If making in the summer, why not cut the chicken into small pieces and thread onto kebab sticks and BBQ for 10 minutes on each side.
• A great vegetarian alternative is to use tofu or chunky vegetables (cauliflower is a great alternative) – marinade for the same time as chicken.

Prepare now, eat later

• The blueberry salsa can be made in advance and stored in a fridge for up to 2 days before eating.

Get more from your food

• The blueberry salsa makes a lovely sandwich filling with any leftover chicken.