Miso, Garlic & Chilli Chicken with Quinoa & Spinach

This week I decided to quit sugar for a month to see what happens. By this I mean I am not eating refined sugars but am allowing natural sweeteners like maple syrup and honey. So far I’ve found it not that hard; it’s so much easier to say no to a slice of cake when you have a whole ingredient you’re avoiding rather than just ‘trying to be healthy’ in general. Plus I actually love using maple syrup and honey in my cooking as they have so much more flavor than the white stuff. Since starting I’ve had to crank up my cooking a notch so I don’t crave what I’m missing (i.e. my work’s infamous Malteser Munch, ahem). The Soy Maple Salmon I blogged about has been a life-saver and my supper tonight was so delicious, that I had to share the recipe. It’s more of a placing together a myriad of healthy ingredients than anything else, the lengthy title belies it’s simplicity and it is very open to adaptation.

Miso is one of those ingredients that makes everything taste better and actually has a sweetness that comes purely from the fermented soybeans, so far so healthy. Paired with chili, garlic and olive oil, it makes a dreamy chicken marinade. With this I did a simple quinoa and spinach mix with the amazing sauce the chicken produces. I ate it with guacamole, humous, China Rose spouts and black sesame seeds for taste and healthiness.

Miso, Garlic and Chilli Chicken with Spinach Quinoa, Guacamole, Humous and China Rose Sprouts

Serves 2

For the chicken:

Preheat the oven to 190C

• Mix together 2tbsp Brown Rice Miso, 2 tbsp Coconut Oil, 1 tsp Fish Sauce and 1 sliced Red Chili. Add 4 Chicken Thighs and leave to marinade for 20 minutes.
• Put 6 whole, unpeeled Garlic Cloves in a baking dish and place the chicken, skin side up on top, along with it’s marinade. Bake for 25 minutes.

For the Quinoa

• Place 100g Brown and White Quinoa in a pan with double it’s volume in water. Cook until all it’s liquid is absorbed and then stir in a few handfuls of spinach with the juice from the cooked chicken.
• Serve with homemade guacamole, humous, sprouts and black sesame seeds.