Lazy meals: Dukkah oven-roasted chicken

Dukkah is undoubtedly one of my favourite discoveries, food-related that is, of the last few years. I really think one of the keys to success to implementing a healthy diet is the vast array of amazing and delicious spices out there – there is infinite variety and creativity in the spice world (no, not *that* Spice World). Dukkah is a ground nut and spice combination with a few varieties available. It can be bought at either a spice store, specialist grocery store or even in the big supermarkets – the brand I like is Table of Plenty which is available at Coles.

At home, chicken and fish seem to be the most complimentary options when cooking with Dukkah. This recipe is for Dukkah oven-roasted chicken and it’s super easy to prepare, taking only 10 minutes before it goes in the oven.

Ingredients

4 tbsp dukkah
2 tsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 or 4 half (or 2 full) chicken breasts with bone in. Skin either on or off.

Dukkah chicken ingredients

Method

Preheat oven to 180 deg celsius or 160 deg celsius for fan forced oven. Combine the dukkah, oil and lemon juice in a small bowl then coat the chicken breasts with the mix.

Breasts take between 30 and 50 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts. To check they’re ready, stick a fork in the chicken – if the juice runs clear (not pink) then they are done.

Serve with roasted and steamed veggies and baba ganoush.

Dukkah roasted chicken with roasted and steamed veggies

Condiments: Baba ganoush

Listen up, hommus lovers. There’s a far better dip out there – creamier, tastier and simply a garlic explosion. It’s called baba ganoush. When made to the traditional recipe, it’s also Paleo-friendly, since it doesn’t contain chickpeas which hommus does. My tip is to avoid the packaged baba ganoush as most of them contain unnecessary fillers like vegetable oil – either make it yourself or pick up a tub of the good stuff from a Middle Eastern restaurant or takeaway place. It goes really well with chargrilled meats and is a great condiment to have around to jazz up casual meals, especially lunch which I usually have trouble finding inspiration for. It would also make the perfect accompaniment for homemade veggie chips, which have been languishing on my to-do list a little too long.

The ingredients of traditionally made baba ganoush are: eggplant, tahini (sesame paste), garlic and lemon juice. Nothing beats simple right!

Here’s a Lifestyle Food recipe for baba ganoush if you fancy trying it – it does taste much better if you can BBQ the eggplant or chargrill it on a gas hob. I don’t have a gas stovetop, so I get my baba ganoush from Grandpa’s which is a Lebanese takeaway place in various parts of Sydney.

Baba ganoush