Chicken and Moroccan Carrot Purée with Orange and Green Olive Salsa

, from Issue #31. September, 2015
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Chicken and Moroccan Carrot Purée with Orange and Green Olive Salsa

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

2–3 single, boneless chicken breasts
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ cup milk
1 egg
2–3 tablespoons olive oil
knob of butter
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Carrot purée
800 grams carrots, peeled and sliced 1 cm thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
knob of butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
¼–1 teaspoon harissa

Salsa
2 oranges
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup large green or black olives
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup picked flat-leaf parsley

METHOD

Purée: Cook the carrots in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and tip back into the saucepan. Place back over a low heat to drive off excess moisture. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a sauté pan and cook the onion, garlic and ginger with a pinch of salt until the onion is very soft. Add the orange zest, harissa and the carrots and cook for 5 minutes turning to combine. Scrape the contents of the pan into a food processor and purée until smooth. Season well.

Salsa: Place the olives on a board and lightly crush with the flat side of a large knife. Pull the two halves apart discarding the stone.

Use a sharp knife to peel the oranges, making sure to remove all the white pith. Holding the oranges over a bowl to catch the juice, cut between the membranes to release the fillets. Squeeze the
membrane to release the juice and whisk in the olive oil and garlic. Season. Add the orange fillets, olives and red onions.

Chicken: Cut each chicken breast horizontally into 3-4 thinner pieces. Put the flour and spices in a shallow dish and season well. Whisk the egg and milk together in another shallow dish and season.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and drop in the butter. Coat the chicken in seasoned flour, shake off the excess then dip in the egg, letting the excess drip back into the dish. Sauté the chicken in batches on both sides until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

To serve: Spoon the purée onto a serving platter and top with the chicken. Add the flat-leaf parsley to the salsa and scatter over the chicken.