Moroccan Crispy Chicken Salad
Donal's Notes
Chicken thighs are one of my favourite parts of the chicken – both to cook and to eat. Cooked slowly skin-side down in a fuzzy dust of North African spices, they are simply irresistible. Savour them warm from the pan or with this fresh and hearty salad, which is easily adapted with whatever appropriate ingredients your fridge may offer.
For the salad:
For the dressing:
Whisk
Tongs
Frying pan
Large bowl
Chopping board
Chopping knife
Microplane
Instructions
1
Cook the bulgur wheat first and allow it to cool. Bring 400ml water to the boil in a saucepan. Add the 200g bulgur wheat and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes and fluff with a fork once all the water has been absorbed. Allow to cool.
2
Next prepare the chicken thighs. In a bowl whisk together the oil and all the turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin and ground coriander.
3
Add the chicken thighs, massaging them with the spicy oil. Season with salt and pepper.
4
Place a large frying pan over a low-medium heat and fry the chicken, skin-side down, for 8–10 minutes, by which time the skin should be super crispy. Turn and cook for a further 8 minutes on the other side, or until cooked through.
5
While the chicken is cooking, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and season to taste: extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and grated garlic.
6
Prep the salad ingredients by halving the cucumber lengthwise and cutting out the seeds. Chop into small cubes.
7
Peel and thinly slice the red onion and roughly dice the tomatoes.
8
Roughly dice the roasted red peppers. Roughly chop the parsley.
9
Place the cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, red pepper and parsley into the bowl with the dressing, along with the cooked bulgur wheat and the drained and rinsed chickpeas. Toss to mix through and coat.
10
Serve up with the spiced chicken thighs, still hot from the pan.
