Jerk chicken with pineapple and couscous salsa
This lovely jerk chicken will add a little bit of fire and sunshine into your dinner repertoire, putting a smile on everyone’s faces. You may not be in the Caribbean but a big mouthful of this is the next best thing. The pineapple gives a heavily burst of sweetness which contrasts wonderfully with the fiery kick from the jerk seasoning and fresh chilli. I’ve cooked my chicken skewers under a standard oven grill but this would also be amazing cooked over a bbq in the summer months.
Ingredients
6 boneless and skinless chicken thighs
4 tsps jerk seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsps soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
Small tin pineapple chunks, drained and diced
1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
½ red pepper, finely diced
½ red onion, finely diced
Large handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
100g dried giant couscous
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Cut the chicken thighs into small chunks and place into a shallow dish. Mix together the jerk seasoning, olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce and honey. Pour this mixture over the chicken, ensuring everything is well coated, then leave to marinade in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the salsa by mixing the diced pineapple, pepper, onion, chopped chilli and coriander together in a bowl. Make up the giant couscous according to pack instructions (this usually requires boiling in salted water for around 15-20 minutes). Once the couscous is cooked, drain it well then set aside to cool slightly before mixing with the pineapple salsa. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Once your chicken has marinated, thread the chicken evenly onto wooden skewers. until cooked through. Place the skewers side by side under your grill and turn every couple of minutes until the chicken is golden brown, caramelised and cooked all of the way through.
To serve, place a few heaped spoonfuls of the pineapple and couscous salsa onto a plate and top with 2 or 3 of the chicken skewers.
Serves 2 (but makes really big portions)
Tastes delicious!