Spiced chicken maryland with olives, capers and preserved lemon

This is a really quick and delicious weeknight meal that punches in flavour and texture far beyond the effort it takes to put together.

Spiced chicken maryland with olives, capers and preserved lemon Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 2 free-range chicken marylands, about 200 g – 300 g each
• 200 ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 50 g pine nuts
• 50 g currants
• 50 g preserved lemon, pith removed, skin cut into 1 cm pieces
• 50 g capers in brine
• 50 g Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 50 g finely diced red onion
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 75 ml sherry vinegar
• salt, to taste
• 1 bunch thick green asparagus, woody ends trimmed
• vegetable oil, for pan frying

Spice mixture

• 5 g ground bush tomato, optional
• 3 g ground black pepper
• 3 g smoked paprika
• 3 g ground anise myrtle, optional
• 3 g ground pepper berry, optional
• 3 g ground cinnamon myrtle, optional
• 5 g ground yeast flakes
• 40 g flaked salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190˚C.
2. For the spice mixture, place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine well.
3. Heat a large, oven-proof frying pan over high heat. Season the chicken skin with a generous amount of the spice mixture. Add a good drizzle of oil to the pan, add the chicken, skin-side down and cook until the skin is crisp and golden brown. Turn the chicken over, then place the pan in the oven and roast for 25–30 minutes or until cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, heat a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook, shaking the pan continuously, until the nuts are evenly golden. Add the olive oil to stop the cooking process. Add the currants, preserved lemon, capers, olives, onion, garlic and sherry vinegar to the olive oil and pine nuts and cook, stirring regularly for about 15 minutes or until all the ingredients have lightly softened.
5. Bring a medium saucepan of well salted water to the boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes, then drain.
6. Once the chicken is cooked, spoon the sauce onto a large serving plate, top with chicken, then place the asparagus alongside and season with a touch of salt.

 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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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.

Stream free On Demand

Go To Weeknight Dinner

Watch The Full Episode Here

G

Watch The Full Episode Here

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