This is a great recipe for your fasting day dinner. It contains moderate amounts of protein and a small amount of carbohydrate with the quinoa. If you want to lower the carbohydrate content for your low carb day, just swap the quinoa for cauliflower rice.
When cooking with quinoa it is important to soak and rinse the quinoa prior to cooking. Quinoa contains a natural plant chemical called saponins which can irritate the digestive system in some people. Rinse the grains in a fine mesh sieve and stir with your hands or a spoon, you will see little bubbles/foam arise, this is the saponins (what soap is essentially made from!). Rinsing for several minutes will remove these saponins.
Poached Chicken with Pesto Quinoa
Author:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 350gm chicken breast
- ½ C quinoa
- ½ C olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ C pine nuts
- ½ C fresh basil leaves
- 1 bunch of Broccolini, florets trimmed for thick stems
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbs butter
Instructions
- Place the quinoa in a saucepan and cover with 1 C of water.
- Bring it to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for around 12 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.
- Once it is fluff the quinoa with a fork and stir the butter until it is melted and season with a little sea salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, place chicken in a pan of simmering salted water.
- Simmer gently for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, cover and stand for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the liquid and allow it to cool a little.
- Use your hands the roughly shred the chicken.
- Blanch the Broccolini in the poaching water for a minute until it brightens in colour and softens.
- To make the pesto use a food processor to process the basil, pine nuts and garlic, scraping down sides occasionally, until almost smooth.
- With motor running, add oil in a slow steady stream. Continue to process until combined.
- In a large bowl add the chicken, Broccolini and quinoa.
- Gently toss together and then stir through the pesto.
- Serves 2