Lebanese 7 Spice Chicken, No Marinade

The marinade version is here. Buckwheat Tortillas here.

Hey there, dear reader. I seem to be running with a tahini theme these last few recipes, don’t I? Sadly, I can’t think of a clever quip about it, but I would like to just talk to you a moment. I think one of the aspects of the blog that I neglect to mention is the balance required in, not only my meals themselves, but the way I eat and when. What I eat you already know. I’m on my seventh year of my weight-loss journey, still waiting on that surgery, no, I’m not here to brood, don’t worry, and I still have to watch everything I eat. Why I’m eating it is vital too, eating for anything other than hunger has to be watched carefully, many little slip make for a huge mistake, thankfully I’ve gone through some many permutations of this in time I’m really well prepared and haven’t had much trouble. As to what this has to do with the recipes, well, you see I would like to have a new recipe more often, but it has to fit the routine and schedule. They also have to fit with my frame of mind. Will a sugary treat be just a treat or will it be a gateway to more sugar? Will a heavy meal mean that everything else follows in the same overloaded style? Etc. I’m just putting this out there because there is just too little of weight-loss after the initial honeymoon, the wonderful times of praise and pride. Weight-loss is easy, scoff if you will, but you can lose weight in a variety of ways, look at all the diets, but keeping it off is an entirely different situation, again, look at all the diets. I’ve spoken about this before, I just wanted to provide a bit of context. Fear not though, dearest reader, this changes nothing as this is the way the blog has been run, I’m just pulling back the curtain a bit, remember the Wizard behind the curtain was a humbug, but became one of the best in time. I’m saying I’m freakin’ magical, dear reader! Go read the Wizard of Oz, all fourteen of them! I’ll wait.

So, I’ve spoken on he original a fair bit, I’ve spoken on a lot of things, whether I’ve said anything worth remembering is anyone’s guess. I love it, but I just can’t tolerate the marinade, lemon as a standalone addition to the sauce seems to be fine. I think I love this recipe for teaching me how well spices like these, many of which I would have only considered in a dessert, can work in savoury cooking. The flavour isn’t as intense here, the marinade being skipped was obviously going to cause some changes, but he whole thing, if cooked slow, still manages to pack a wealth of flavour into a single meal and without the need to marinade it’s a much quicker meal too. So, I have to say I like this, simple as it is, I’d have been sad to say goodbye to the spice blend, but I would have if needed, I’ve done it often enough already with a lot of cherished foods, but it seems as if it’s staying put. You can skip the rice if you’d rather, I just find it works well. Not the most upbeat of posts, so we’ll have a little garden post before the recipe. Just a handful of photos, which I went out in between the raindrops for. See you soon, dear reader.

I’ve stopped the slugs before they did more damage. Thankfully, my tulip is okay. It’s either a Shakespeare or a Shirley. I think Shakespeare. I can’t wait to see it rise out.

This is, of course, a pine-cone! A hyacinth? Okay, it’s not a pine-cone. I have quite a few of these starting, there’s even a mystery colour on the way. I love seeing something for the first time.

The raspberries are coming back to life. Going to be a few years before I see anything from them. They’re staying in pots, or eventually moving to bottomless buckets, but I won’t have them run roughshod over the garden.

Ingredients

Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts, Chopped
2 Garlic Clove, Grated
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 Tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Tbsp Lebanese 7 Spice

Sauce

1 Tsp Garlic Paste (Add Salt to Garlic Clove and Crush in Mortar) or 1 Garlic Clove, Crushed and Chopped Fine
1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Light Tahini
Pinch Sea Salt
Water as needed

Method

1. Mix together all the Chicken Ingredients in a bowl until Chicken is fully coated. Set aside.

2. Preheat a little Olive Oil in a non-stick pan and when hot add Meat. Turn to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Keep the heat low to keep the Chicken tender.

3. While Chicken is cooking mix together Sauce ingredients and whisk together until smooth, slightly thick and white. Add water if too thick. Set aside.

4. Serve Chicken on Rice, or in bread, and then drizzle over Sauce.

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