Spiced chicken salad with cashews and cucumber
This aromatic chicken salad from Persian cooking guru Sabrina Ghayour is perfect for a middle-Eastern dinner party spread. Serve it in a big dish and let everyone dig in
- 600g skinless and boneless chicken thigh fillets
- 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
- olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 lemon1/2 zested and 1 juiced
SALAD
- 1 large cucumbercut into 1cm dice
- 2 tbsp cumin seedsdry toasted and roughly crushed
- 2 tbsp coriander seedsdry toasted and roughly crushed
- 1 tbsp chilli flakes
- 200g dried sour cherries or dried cranberries
- a bunch spring onionsthinly sliced
- 150g spring onions
- a bunch corianderleaves roughly chopped and stalks thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- extra-virgin olive oil
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal426low
- fat23.2g
- saturates5.1g
- carbs30g
- sugars22.8g
- fibre3.9g
- protein22.5g
- salt0.4g
Method
step 1
Marinate the chicken thigh fillets in the yogurt, 3 tbsp oil, spices and lemon zest and juice for at least 30 minutes (longer is better). Remove from the fridge 20 minutes before you are ready to use, season and mix again.
step 2
Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat and once hot, drizzle in a little olive oil and fry the chicken thighs gently (turn the heat down if they are burning or browning too quickly) for about 10 minutes on each side until they have a nice, deep golden brown crust all over and are cooked through. Remove and slice.
step 3
Mix the chicken, cucumber, cumin and coriander seeds, chilli flakes, sour cherries, spring onions, cashews and coriander in a bowl and add the rice vinegar, honey and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Season, and serve in a wide, shallow bowl or platter.
