Harissa Chicken & Arabic Style Salad

Katy Hofstede-Smith creates a seasonal recipe perfect for the picnic or long Summer evenings outside.

In my mind there are two types of picnic, both equally good; the impromptu throw together anything in the fridge and head out with a jumbled assortment of bits to pick and share and then the infinitely more elegant al fresco meal suitable for the finest of outdoor events and which won’t look out of place with the kitchen sink approach that many people take to packing for these occasions.

The incredibly quick and easy recipes below, combined with some canapés and a starter will easily stand up to the summer event picnic or packed with a selection of other salads and whatever else you have in the fridge the throw it together style. Or if the thought of packing everything up and carting it out into the big outdoors is too much, a lovely lunch in the garden.

Harissa Chicken Ingredients

• 1 skinless chicken breast cut into 2″ cubes
• 1 tbsp Greek yoghurt
• 2 heaped tsp Harissa paste (feel free to increase it you like it spicier)
• Squeeze lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Mix together in a bowl the yoghurt, Harissa and add a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken, stir thoroughly and leave for at least 1 hr to marinate. Thread the chicken onto skewers and cook for the chicken on either a griddle pan, barbecue or under the grill until golden and leave to cool.

Arabic Style Salad Ingredients

• 350g mixed quinoa and bulgur wheat
• Large handful pistachios roughly chopped
• Large handful of pomegranate seeds
• Small bunch fresh mint chopped
• 1/2 red onion very finely sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tsp sumac (a middle eastern spice that you should be able to buy in most supermarkets)
• Squeeze lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

This salad uses a mix of bulgur wheat and quinoa which you can buy from most supermarkets and health stores and gives a great variety of texture. If you can’t find any feel free to make up your own mix or use just bulgur wheat.

Place the bulgur wheat in an pan, cover with water and add salt and bring to the boil. Once boiled this should take approximately 15 minutes to cook but will depend on your mix so check regularly. In a jug mix together the olive oil and white wine vinegar, add the sumac, a good squeeze of lemon juice and season to taste.

Add the finely sliced onions to the jar, mix well and leave. Once the bulgur wheat is cooks drain and leave to cool slightly. In a bowl mix the cooled bulgur wheat, mint, pistachios, pomegranate and dressing and stir thoroughly.