Poached Chicken & Roast Veggie Quinoa Salad

During my uni days whilst watching daytime TV one afternoon, I stumbled across this fabulous method for poaching chicken. The original recipe uses store-bought stock to poach the chicken in but, as all fructose malabsorbers know, it’s nearly impossible to find a store-bought stock that is made without onion or garlic. My simple solution – just use water. With the addition of plenty of herbs and spices, you will not miss the stock. In fact, by using this method, you end up producing a lovely chicken stock you can freeze for future use (or reserve for cooking your quinoa in!).

It’s so handy having stock readily available in the freezer. Especially a homemade stock with no preservatives or additives. However, when I am short on time and have run out of my freezer stash, I use Massel 7’s cubes, the only fructose friendly stock alternative I’ve been able to find.

Poaching is not only a healthy way to cook chicken, but this method leaves the chicken unbelievably tender. I now poach my chicken all the time. I use it in delish avocado sandwiches, healthy stir fries and, my favourite, in warm quinoa salads. Definitely give this a go!

As for the quinoa, I will leave my rant on how much I love this wonderful little seed for another day. From breakfast to dinner dishes, I’ll be sure to have many delicious quinoa recipes and fun facts for you.

Poached Chicken Breast

1 chicken breast
500ml water, room temperature
Half a lemon
A bay leaf
Dried thyme
Ground cardamom
Ground cinnamon
½ tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp salt

Place chicken breast in a medium sized pot, along with 500ml of room temperature water, and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to the boil then turn off the stove. Keep the lid on and leave chicken to poach in the pot, for 20-25 minutes, then remove and set aside. Strain stock and freeze for a later date.

Poached Chicken & Roast Veggie Quinoa Salad with Tahini Yoghurt
Serves 2

1 poached chicken breast
1 cup stock, reserved from the poached chicken
1/2 cup quinoa
1 capsicum
1 zucchini
Half a sweet potato
Handful of spinach
A fresh chilli
Juice of ½ a lemon
Hot paprika
Ground cumin
Cinnamon

Dressing
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 tbsp tahini
A squeeze of lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Turn oven on to 200˚C, and prepare vegetables by evenly chopping into bite sized chunks. Place vegetables in a bowl and coat with a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of spices (paprika, cumin, cinnamon) and salt and pepper. Mix with your hands to get the veg nicely covered, and place on a tray. Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until beautifully roasted, stirring half way. Meanwhile, place quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly. Place in a small saucepan with the reserved stock. Bring to the boil then reduce to simmer until cooked, approximately 15 minutes.

Prepare dressing by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl. Shred chicken and place in a serving bowl along with the cooked quinoa, roast veg and spinach. Stir to combine and add a drizzle of olive oil, fresh chilli, lemon juice, more of the spices, and salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Enjoy.