Yesterday morning I thought I would make something nice for me and my husband while the kids are having fun with the grandparents in Iceland. I knew I had some whole chicken legs, and then I looked at what else I had in the fridge and started picking things out and some went back into the fridge until I had put together a selection I was happy with. I started mixing and tasting until I was happy with the marinade. Poured it over the chicken and that was it for the rest of the day until I started cooking it. So quite a good Idea to start the process in the morning to save a bit of time in the evening. But if you only have half an hour that's great, but the longer the better!
I know the weather hasn't been the best the last few days here in the UK but I know that back home in Iceland it has been quite good and for all you Icelander I say "bring out the barbecue and cook the chicken on it"! For us here in the UK we cook this in the oven for now but I know it is just as good or even better on the grill.
What I can say about this recipe is that it is absolutely one of my all time best recipes! I know I will make it again and again. It is easy to make and packed full with flavour. You can swap out the quinoa for some noodles or rice but I just love quinoa so much I usually go for that. You can also use what ever type of chicken you want. I just had the whole legs but if I had the kids at home I would probably take a whole chicken and cut it into pieces because I know that is the perfect amount of chicken for us. If you have just thighs, breasts or legs thats perfect as well. I really hope you try this one because both me and the hubby are sure that this is a winner!
This recipe is for 4 whole chicken legs (thigh and leg) but you would use a same amount of marinade for one medium chicken, cut into pieces.
4 whole legs
2 tablespoons olive oil (not extra virgin)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons runny honey
juice and zest from one orange
zest of one lime
juice from half a lime
thumb size piece of ginger, grated
1 clove of garlic, grated ,smashed or finely chopped
1 red chilli, with or without seeds, I put half of the seeds, finely chopped
small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
salt and pepper (easy on the salt because of the soy sauce)
Start by mixing all the ingredients and season to taste. If you want it to be a little bit sweeter you can add a bit of honey but remember that once it is cooked it actually gets a bit sweeter so I found that 2 tablespoons was the perfect amount. Also, with the lime and orange juice, if the fruit are a bit on the dry side you can always add a bit more.
Now this needs to marinade for at least half an hour but if you remember to do this the night before or earlier in the day thats just perfect!
Cook this in the oven at 180° fan for around 40 minutes or until cooked through. Every 15 minutes or so it is a great idea to go in and pour over some of the cooking juices for a really sweet and sticky skin and juicy meat. Let the meat rest while you finish your quinoa salad.
Quinoa salad
250 ml quinoa
500 ml chicken stock
vegetables of your choice, I used broccoli, red onion, mushrooms, red pepper and asparagus. You just use your favourite veg
olive oil
salt and pepper
cooking juices from the chicken
Start by cooking the quinoa and there is a super easy way to do that. One part quinoa to two parts liquid, water or stock. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cook for 12 minutes and by then all the liquid should have evaporated. Do not remove the lid! Leave for 5-10 more minutes and then remove the lid and fluff with a fork.
Chop the vegetables up in bite size pieces and fry in a really hot pan for 2-3 minutes, season with a tiny amount of salt and pepper. Pour over most of the juices from the chicken and let it reduce until it thickens a bit. Mix the vegetables with the quinoa and serve with the chicken. Pour the rest of the cooking juices over the rested chicken. A nice green salad goes great with this. Enjoy!