Tangy chicken drumsticks

Chicken with tangy tamarind is served it up alongside fresh salsa and a fibre-rich salad, both bursting with the raw goodness of vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Credit: The Healthy Food Guide

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 8 free range chicken drumsticks, skin removed

Marinade

• 4 tbsp select tomato relish
• 3 tbsp steak sauce
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Quinoa salad

• 1¼ cups red or white quinoa (the tv team used a mix of about ½ white, ½ red)
• 2½ cups salt-reduced chicken stock
• 3 spring onions, chopped
• 3 tbsp peppadew peppers, chopped (see Note)
• 3 tbsp walnut pieces
• 3 tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint

Balsamic tomato and cucumber salsa

• 2 cups fresh cherry tomatoes
• 2 cups diced cucumber
• 2 tbsp savoury seed and nut mix (see Note)
• 2 tbsp coconut balsamic dressing

Garnish

• lemon wedges
• fresh small mint leaves

Marinating time: 1 hour

Instructions

Trim drumsticks of visible fat. Make several deep slashes in the fleshy end of each stick. Place in a non-metallic bowl. In a separate small bowl mix marinade ingredients together. Coat drumsticks Cover and marinate for at least 1 hour in the fridge.

Heat oven to 190°C. Place marinated drumsticks on a non-stick baking tray with 2 tbsp of water and pop into a pre-heated oven.  Cook for 30-40 minutes. (Alternatively, you could cook these on a BBQ.)

Meanwhile, rinse quinoa under running water. Put quinoa and stock in a pot, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. When cooked and slightly cooled, mix with the spring onions, pepperdews, walnuts and mint.

In a separate bowl, mix salsa ingredients then set aside.

When the chicken is cooked through, serve with quinoa salad and salsa. Garnish with lemon and mint.

Note

• Pepperdew peppers are small, sweet preserved capsicums, available at delis and some supermarkets. Substitute piquillo or roasted peppers.

• The Healthy Food Guide team used Ceres Organics Paleo Savoury Mix, a mix of seeds, nuts, herbs and spices. It is available from health stores and selected retailers.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.