Pan-fried chicken with green grains
Serves: 2
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Toby Scott
Pan-fried chicken with green grains
Recipe by Cate Dixon
Serves: 2
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
566Kcal
Fat
15gr
Saturates
5gr
Carbs
54gr
Sugars
44gr
Fibre
8gr
Protein
48gr
Salt
3.4gr
Cate Dixon
Cate is a professionally trained chef turned recipe writer and food stylist with a love of vibrant, seasonal and nourishing dishes. When she’s not experimenting in the kitchen, she’s cycling between local markets or tending to her many flowerpots
See more of Cate Dixon’s recipes
Cate Dixon
Cate is a professionally trained chef turned recipe writer and food stylist with a love of vibrant, seasonal and nourishing dishes. When she’s not experimenting in the kitchen, she’s cycling between local markets or tending to her many flowerpots
See more of Cate Dixon’s recipes
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra- virgin olive oil
- 1 small-medium leek, finely chopped
- 1 x 30g pack basil, finely chopped, reserving a few leaves to garnish
- 100g dried pearled spelt or pearled barley, rinsed
- 1 chicken stock pot, dissolved in 1 litre boiling water
- 1 x 240g pack chicken mini fillets
- zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 200g frozen peas
- 1 x 100g pack baby spinach
- 30g Parmesan, finely grated
Step by step
- Add 1⁄2 tablespoon of oil to the pan and sauté the chopped leek and half the basil for 2-3 minutes over a medium heat, until starting to soften. Add the pearled spelt or barley and the stock to the pan and simmer vigorously for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the stock has been absorbed and the grains are almost tender. Top up with boiling water if needed.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a separate frying pan and add the chicken mini fillets. Season and fry for 5-6 minutes on each side until evenly golden and cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat, add a squeeze of lemon and set the chicken aside to rest for 5 minutes.
- After the grains have cooked for 20 minutes, add the peas, spinach and the remaining basil and cook for 5 minutes until the spinach has wilted, and the peas are cooked. Remove from the heat and add the Parmesan, lemon zest and a generous squeeze of lemon; the grains should now have a pesto-like flavour. Season to taste.
- Serve the ‘pesto’ grains topped with the chicken and garnished with basil leaves.
