Chicken with strawberries with quinoa rice and salted cashew salad

Although this sounds a little bizarre, it comes from a very old English recipe. I cooked this dish in the early 80s, it is delicious I promise. The acid breaks down the structure of the meat very well indeed, similar to the reaction of marinating meat in yoghurt, Indian style. It also utilises the very soft strawberries left over in the bottom of the punnet.

Serves 4

NB: The marinade will need to chill for at least 20 minutes.

Ingredients

For the chicken and the strawberry marinade:

4 chicken legs, skin on
250g ripe English strawberries
Juice 2 large lemons
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
75ml olive oil
1 tbsp strawberry jam (or another sort if preferred)
Salt and freshly milled pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp cornflour or arrowroot
2 tbsp cold water

For the quinoa rice and salted cashew salad:

150g quinoa
200g cooked basmati rice
5 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 2 large limes
Juice of 1 orange
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 large red onion, finely sliced
1 small bag rocket
1 small bag watercress
100g chopped salted honeyed cashews

Method

To make the chicken and the strawberry marinade:

1. Wash the strawberries well then place 200g in a liquidiser.

2. Add the lemon juice, onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, jam and salt and pepper, and whizz until smooth.

3. Strain well to remove the seeds, then adjust the seasoning if needed.

4. Remove the knuckle from the chicken legs, then pierce well with a sharp knife. Place the prepared chicken into a non metallic container and pour over half the strawberry marinade.

5. Place the other half of the strawberry marinade into a saucepan and cook for 10 minutes, then thicken with a little cornflour, then cool.

6. Cover and leave for 20 minutes or at most overnight.

7. Preheat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6.

8. Warm a large frying pan and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.

9. Remove the legs from the marinade, and pat dry, then season well with salt and pepper.

10. Heat in the pan skin side down and the pop into the oven for 15-20 minutes. Turn over and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.

11. Remove from the oven and cover with foil, then leave for 15 minutes to relax.

12. Add the chopped strawberries to the cooled relish.

To make the salad:

1. Place the quinoa into a pan and cover well with cold water. Cook until nice and nutty, do not overcook, then strain well and add the rice, mixing well.

2. Place the oil, lime and orange juices together, then add the garlic, sliced onions and mix well.

3. Roughly chop the watercress and rocket, then add to the rice and quinoa, along with the nuts.

4. Add the dressing and season well all over, mixing well.

5. Serve with the cooked chicken and relish.

Get more strawberry goodness with Phil's recipe for Strawberry splits