Sticky Almond Chicken & Superfood Salad

It's been a while since I've posted a savoury recipe, and when I was sent a Good Food Mystery Box by Alison's Pantry, I was inspired to create a delicious dinner recipe jam packed with some amazing superfoods. In my bag, I received almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, dried cranberries and prunes; to which I combined with chicken, feta, pumpkin, kale, yoghurt and some herbs to create this tasty, nutritious meal.

I brushed the chicken marylands with a glaze made from the prunes with the addition of wholegrain mustard, and then sprinkled with a crumb made from the almonds and cashews; baked in the oven until sticky and golden. With this, I've created a super filling salad that used quinoa as the base, combined with roasted pumpkin, pumpkin seeds toasted with chilli, creamy feta, almonds, fresh kale, and sweet but tangy dried cranberries which have been soaked in red wine vinegar. Finally served with a generous dash of creamy cumin and herb yoghurt dressing, it's safe to say I'm obsessed!

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 chicken leg quarters

1/3 cup dried prunes, soaked in 1/3 cup hot water

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

1/4 cup almonds

1/4 cup cashews

1 tbsp fresh rosemary

Salad:

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/4 pumpkin, diced and roasted

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

4 large kale leaves, stalk removed

1/4 cup almonds, toasted

1/4 cup dried cranberries, soaked in red wine vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

S&P

Dressing:

3/4 cup greek yoghurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

S&P

1/4 cup of mint and sage, finely sliced

1 tsp ground cumin

Method:

In a pan, brown off the chicken pieces, then transfer onto a tray. In a food processor, blitz the soaked prunes with the liquid and the whole grain mustard into a paste, then spread all over the chicken.
In a processor, blitz together the almonds, cashews, rosemary and S&P until it forms a crumb. Sprinkle this over the chicken, and bake in a 180c oven until golden, sticky and cooked through.
In a large bowl, add the cooked quinoa, roasted pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, chilli powder, feta cheese, toasted almonds, soaked cranberries, lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning. Tear the kale leaves into smaller pieces, add to the salad and toss everything together. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the yoghurt, lemon juice, seasoning, herbs and ground cumin. Taste, and season more with lemon or salt if needed.
To serve, plate a generous serving of the salad, top with a chicken quarter and add a spoonful of the yoghurt dressing. Enjoy!