Name: Lime, Coriander and Cayenne Marinated Chicken with Vegetable Couscous
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1 chicken breast; Small bunch coriander; 35ml olive oil; ½ lime juice + zest; ½ tsp grated ginger; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; ½ tsp chili flakes; 2 tsp Frank’s Red Hot Sauce; 1 tsp paprika; 2 tsp sugar; 2 tsp honey; ½ red bell pepper; ½ yellow bell pepper; 3 mushrooms; ½ red onion; ½ cup sweetcorn; ½ cup green beans; ½ cup cooked carrot; 1 cup couscous; 1 chicken stock; 125ml boiling water

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One of our favourite things to do with chicken is to marinade it. Let’s face it, chicken doesn’t have a huge amount of flavour on its own, but it does take really well to having a coating of herbs, spices and other ingredients. This recipe uses lime, coriander and cayenne marinated chicken and is served with a vegetable couscous for a filling accompaniment.

What is cayenne pepper?

There’s no shortage of peppers out there from bell peppers to black peppercorns so I thought it would be worth just getting to know cayenne a little before we dive into the recipe. That’s because it is the main ingredients in the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce that we used in the marinade. For UK readers, you can grab this at Tesco so don’t worry!

Cayenne pepper comes from the same family as chili pepper but is a moderately-hot version. There’s a few different types but they are mostly red or yellow – there were some purple varieties available in some parts of the world! In relation to their hotter cousins, they are about 3 out of 5 on the hotness scale so they pack some punch but not too much.

More recipe inspiration

For a marinated chicken recipe that’s a little gentler on the flavoured, check out this Marinated Grilled Chicken Breast. Or sticking with spicy chicken, try the Sizzling Skillet Chicken Fajitas for a delicious Mexican-inspired dish.

What you need to make lime, coriander and cayenne chicken

For the chicken

1 chicken breast
Small bunch coriander
35ml olive oil
½ lime juice + zest
½ tsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp chili flakes
2 tsp Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp honey

For the couscous

½ red bell pepper
½ yellow bell pepper
3 mushrooms
½ red onion
½ cup sweetcorn
½ cup green beans
½ cup cooked carrot
1 cup couscous
1 chicken stock
125ml boiling water

Kitchen equipment

Small glass bowl with lid
Griddle or frying pan (or a skillet)
Baking tray
Measuring jug

How to make the recipe

STEP 1: Mix the garlic, herbs, spices, sauce and lime olive oil then add sugar and honey and mix thoroughly

STEP 2: Cut slits into the chicken breast but don’t go all the way through

STEP 3: Pour over the marinade and leave in the fridge overnight

STEP 4: Add to griddle pan and seal the chicken for 2-3 minutes then turn and repeat

STEP 5: Put into a baking tray with the rest of the marinade and cook for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked

For the couscous

STEP 1: Add peppers, red onion and mushroom to a frying pan, wok or skillet with garlic and parsley then cook for 5 minutes until soft

STEP 2: Add sweetcorn, green beans and cooked carrot then cook for another 3-5 minutes

STEP 3: Mix the couscous in a jug with boiling water and stock and cover for 5 minutes

STEP 4: Mix with a fork then add couscous to frying pan with vegetables

STEP 5: Add fresh coriander, heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring then serve alongside chicken

Storing the recipe

After cooking: Store any leftover chicken once cooled in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. You can slice it and eat it cold or reheat it. Couscous can be stored but it doesn’t always reheat well so I’d avoid it where possible.

Freezing the recipe: You can freeze the chicken with the flavourings once it has cooled. Use a freezer bag or an airtight container and use within 3 months.

Recipe tips

With the marinade, we added a little honey and sugar as the marinade was a little bitter without it. If you like bitter flavours, then adjust this as you like. And if you love the hit of cayenne, then definitely be a little heavier with the Hot Sauce and chili flakes.

We used the griddle pan for the pan-frying stage of the dish. You could also easily use a frying pan or grab the barbeque if the weather is up to it. Just make sure you have something to capture the marinade as this is tasty to drizzle back over the chicken in the oven and when serving.

For the vegetables, there was frozen peas and sweetcorn and cooked carrot. You can use fresh for the first two if you prefer and uncooked carrot, you just might need to cook the moisture a little longer in the pan. Try it and see how it goes!

Robert used normal couscous, but you could swap this for a wholegrain version or use the bigger style just the same. If you can’t get red onions, white will work fine although not look quite so eye-catching. The same goes with the bell peppers – there’s not a massive amount of taste difference so don’t worry about substituting in what you find.

Yield: 1 portion