Fancy a bite to eat?
In the first in a new series for London Loves Business, Henry Omereye, head chef at ‘SMITHS’ of Smithfield at Cannon Street, offers weary commuters something to whet their appetites ahead of the weekend.
It’s a great privilege to be asked to contribute to London Loves Business. It’s my aim to get you to eschew the oven-ready Chicken Kiev and microwave Lamb Madras in favour of some easy-to-prepare, outstanding dishes.
To start things off, this is a simple way to make a nutritious meal, but one which is equally tasty, combining tender pan-fried chicken breast with the kick of red chilli, the fragrance of Rosemary and a trinity of superfoods.
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 2 heaped tbsps Coconut oil (coconut oil is very nutritious and full of healthy benefits, I highly recommend that you try to incorporate this ingredient into every meal)
- 4 Skinless chicken breast
- 150g Quinoa
- 150g Wild rice
- 150g Puy lentils
- Bunch of Italian wild rocket
- Rosemary
- Garlic
- Red chilli
For the dressing
- 40 ml extra virgin oil
- 20ml freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp runny honey
For garnish
- Handful chopped coriander (optional)
- Handful pomegranate seeds (optional)
Right let’s get cooking:
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil.
- First put your grains on to boil. This includes all 3 (quinoa, wild rice and lentils). Until tender for each, timings vary for each
- Quinoa
- Wild Rice
- Lentils
An easy way to identify when each one is cooked is very simple: wild rice will crack to reveal a white appearance, quinoa and lentils should be tender to the bite. Of course, timings are guidelines so I strongly recommend regular checks.
- Once the grains have cooked, drain off the excess water and set aside. Add one tablespoon of coconut oil into a frying pan, whilst the oil heats to a moderate temperature, lightly season your chicken breast.
- Infuse oil for five minutes with rosemary, garlic and chilli. Remove and discard.
- Place chicken breast in the pan, cook until golden brown on the outside and tender with moisture in the middle. This will take roughly 10-15 minutes followed by 5 minutes resting time.
- Next comes the dressing, which can be done whilst your chicken breast is cooking. You will need 40ml of extra virgin oil and 20ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice, whisk both in a bowl( tip; you can add 1 teaspoon of honey to jazz it up).
- Add all your grains to the mixture ensuring the dressing is evenly distributed and coating all the grains.
- Place rocket in a shallow sided service platter and pile the dressed grains in the middle. Cut the chicken breasts in half, on the diagonal, and lay the pieces leant up against the pile of grains.
- To finish scatter with chopped coriander and pomegranate seeds for a decorative yet appealing look.
Dinner is served! Next month I will be focusing on some of the great seasonal produce available in May and creating a delectable dish with some of the best ingredients on offer.
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