Thermomix Warm Chicken Salad With Pumpkin and Couscous

Thermomix Warm Chicken Salad With Pumpkin and CousCous

How long have you been looking for this recipe? I've been waiting for it for so long! Finally the beautifully seasoned and delicious Thermomix Warm Chicken Salad With Pumpkin and Cous Cous has arrived!

I must thank Kristy Taylor from Mandurah, Western Australia so much!! She immediately sent it when someone asked it on this website Facebook page.

As people from Australia told me, this recipe is usually prepared during Thermomix consultants' demonstrations and it is quite impressive! Everyone asks for the recipe.

Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. It is made of semolina, that is sprinkled with water and rolled with the hands to form small pellets, sprinkled with dry flour to keep them separate, and then sieved. This process is very labour-intensive. When cooked it is light and fluffy, not gummy or gritty and it is usually cooked into traditional steamers called couscoussière by North Africans.

The couscous sold in most supermarkets has been pre-steamed and dried. It takes a very few minutes to be prepared. Usually it is served with vegetables, meat, or fish.

This recipe makes use of Thermomix Varoma tray and dish for the cooking, which makes our recipe lighter than others!

Kristy also suggested two ways of dressing the salad, an Italian style and a Moroccan style. Both accompanied by a delicious Sundried Tomato Dip! Mmmh!

I'm willing to try them both!! :-) Aren't you?

If any of you own pictures of this recipe, contact me and I'll be very happy to add it or replace the one I've found! ;-)

Here you are other recipes you can prepare using pumpkin or chicken:
- Pumpkin Croquettes
- Chicken Pie
- Chicken Curry
- Pumpkin and Carrot Soup
- Pumpkin Flan


Ingredients


Basic Salad Ingredients
- 400 g Chicken Breast Fillet, 1cm cubed

- 300 g Pumpkin, 2cm cubed

- 120 g Couscous (rinsed)

- 1 L Water

- 150 g Baby Spinach

Capsicum Sundried Tomato Dip:
- 30 g Parmesan Cheese

- 1 clove Garlic
- 100 g Sundried or Semi sundried Tomatoes, drained

- 1/2 large Capsicum, deseeded and quartered

- 120 g Roasted Cashews
- 20 g White Wine Vinegar
- 20 g EVOO
Moroccan Salad Ingredients:
- Handful Craisins, Raisins or Grapes
- A few Dried Apricots, chopped
- Handful fresh Mint or Coriander, chopped
- 2 Spring Onions, sliced

- 1 tin Chick Peas or Kidney Beans, drained



Italian Salad Ingredients:
- Handful of toasted Pine Nuts or Cashews

- A few Black Kalamata Olives

- Cucumber, freshly sliced

- 12 punnet Cherry Tomatoes

- Fresh Parsley



Warm Chicken and Couscous Salad Dressing:

- 1/2 portion of Capsicum Sundried Tomato dip
- 50 g EVOO

- 100 g Lemon Juice (2-3 lemons)


How to prepare Thermomix Warm Chicken Salad With Pumpkin and Couscous


Firstly, prepare your sundried tomato dip as this is part of the dressing for the salad.



Place parmesan and garlic into Thermomix bowl and mill. 8 Sec. Speed 9.



Add all remaining ingredients and with dial set to closed lid position. Pulse Turbo button 2-3 times until you have achieved a rough blend.

 Reserve half the dip for the salad.


Salad Method:


Prepare chicken and pumpkin and place into Varoma dish.

 Place couscous onto wet baking paper lined Varoma Tray. 

Place water in Thermomix bowl.

 Set Varoma into position and steam. 17 Min. Varoma Temp. Speed 1.

Lightly stir chicken and pumpkin mixture to help with more even cooking. Continue to cook for a further 7-8 Min. Varoma Temp. Speed 1.

Check that the chicken is fully cooked.



Toss warm chicken, pumpkin and couscous with spinach, Warm Chicken and Couscous Salad Dressing and either the Moroccan or Italian Ingredients.


Kristy's advice


This is a really tasty and filling salad, and is perfect for a quick summer lunch or dinner.
I asked Kristy why only a half of the sudried tomatoes dip is used in the recipe and that's what she told me: "When I had this it was at a Varoma demo and the consultant used half of the dip as just that, a dip, the other half as part of the dressing for the salad. By all means halve the ingredients but we really enjoy the dip and most of the time I double the ingredients for more dip! It really is up to the individual."
You may spread the remaining dip on croutons or toasted bread or you may simply dress pasta with it! ;-)


How to prepare the Warm Chicken Salad With Pumpkin and Couscous without Thermomix


http://www.food.com/recipe/middle-eastern-chicken-with-pumpkin-and-couscous-95249


Translated Into Italian
Insalata Bimby di Cous Cous, Pollo e Zucca al Varoma


Photocredit: sushi♥ina