Recipe of the week: barbecue spiced chicken with quinoa, mango and pomegranate salsa

Serves 2

250g pre-cooked quinoa

100g cucumber or courgettes, diced

2 tomatoes, chopped

50g green beans, chopped

50g mangetout, chopped

Sea salt and ground black pepper

8-10 chicken mini fillets (about 150g chicken per person)

2tbs Cajun or barbecue spice mix

2tsp olive oil

25g chopped cashews

A pinch of black onion seeds

A handful of baby spinach

Salsa

1 medium ripe mango, peeled and pitted

1 pack of pre-prepared pomegranate seeds (80g)

Small bunch of fresh mint

Small bunch of fresh coriander

Dressing

1tbs Thai fish sauce

1tbs soy sauce

1tbs sweet chilli sauce

1tbs extra virgin olive oil

To make the dressing, whisk the Thai fish sauce, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and extra virgin olive oil in a large bowl. Combine the cooked quinoa with half the dressing. Add the diced cucumber or courgettes, tomatoes, green beans and mangetout. Adjust the seasoning and set aside.

Make the salsa by first dicing the mango. Transfer to a bowl and mix with the pomegranate seeds, mint and coriander. Stir into the remaining dressing.

To make the spiced chicken, dice the chicken and marinate with the Cajun or barbecue spice mix for five minutes (allow one teaspoon of mild spice and one teaspoon of olive oil per 150g chicken).

Grill under a medium heat or pan-fry for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Arrange the quinoa salad, salsa and spiced chicken on plates. Sprinkle over the chopped cashews and black onion seeds. Serve warm or at room temperature with the baby spinach leaves for the perfect balanced meal.

Nutrition per serving Calories: 887; total carbohydrate: 97g; sugars: 42g; fat: 28g; protein: 65g; sodium: 590mg

• Taken from The Cycling Chef by Alan Murchison. Read the book review here