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Gluten-Free Dukkah Chicken
with
Roasted Chickpeas & Pumpkin
* *
This is not a spicy, nor over-powering chicken dish. It is actually a very elegant Middle Eastern-inspired crumbed chicken, healthy-baked for 20 minutes to give you the most tender weekday chicken dinner option.
I love this dish, my family enjoys this on top of rice, in pita bread, with salads or as a sandwich filling the next day.
Back in the day, when Dukkah was the craze to serve it with some freshly sliced bread to dip first in olive oil and smother in the Dukkah, the idea of using it as a crumbed coating for chicken, fish or cheese caught on.
Homemade Dukkah Spice Blend
Dukkah is a dry roasted spice blend mainly made with almonds, sesame seeds and dried whole spices. This combination is crushed into a grainy mixture that is delicious and aromatic in many dishes.
The first step to making the Dukkah chicken is to prepare the Dukkah spice blend which can be done in under 20 minutes.
This blend can be stored chilled for up to two weeks in a glass container before crumbing the chicken.
Traditionally, dukkah is eaten with pieces of bread that are dipped in olive oil with a final dip in the dukkah mixture. If you have some spare gluten-free bread, especially baguette slices or bread rolls, try this combination out.
Hummus Dip
Most people are familiar with hummus, made with cooked chickpeas and seasoned with earthy spices – this recipe follows a traditional method, but with a few extra tips to cook the chickpeas further in bicarbonate of soda (this makes them extra tender) and to add iced water (for a creamier texture).
If you plan to serve the hummus dip with the Dukkah chicken, then I would suggest preparing this in advance. This can be stored chilled up to 3 days in advance.
Gluten-Free Dukkah Chicken
The Dukkah chicken can be prepared ahead of time by crumbing it and chilling it uncovered from 30 minutes to overnight. This ensures that the crumbing stays intact on the chicken when cooked in the oven.
Roasted Chickpeas & Pumpkin
The final step is to roast the spice-dusted chickpeas and pumpkin cubes to a crispy texture and aromatic flavour to accompany the equally aromatic Dukkah chicken.
Gluten-Free Dukkah Chicken
Equipment
- Roasting tin
Ingredients
HOMEMADE HUMMUS DIP (Optional)
- 250 g tinned chickpeas/garbanzos, drained
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 garlic, chopped roughly
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp Tahini (sesame paste)
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp iced cold water
- 1 red chilli, sliced finely, for garnishing
- extra whole chickpeas, for garnishing
- fresh coriander leaves, for garnishing
DUKKAH CRUMBING MIXTURE
- 160 g whole almonds, skins removed
- 100 g sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1½ tsp cumin powder
- 4 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
GLUTEN-FREE DUKKAH CHICKEN
- 6 pieces chicken schnitzels or fillets (approx. 150g per piece)
- 4 tbsp store-bought or homemade gluten-free plain flour
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 2 eggs
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- 2 lemons, cut in wedges, to serve
ROASTED CHICKPEAS & PUMPKIN
- 200-220 g pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed
- 265 g tinned chickpeas/garbanzos, drained
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tbsp cornflour Known as cornflour in the UK and corn or maize starch in the USA
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp harissa powder or cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- Fresh parsley, for garnishing
Instructions
HOMEMADE HUMMUS DIP
- Rinse the chickpeas and place them in a small saucepan.
- Fill the saucepan with water until the chickpeas are submerged.
- Add the bicarb. of soda, mix and bring to a boil.
- Bring down the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and drain the chickpeas and allow to cool in the saucepan.
- Blend the lemon juice, garlic and salt together. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Using a food processor, blend the lemon juice mixture for a few seconds.
- Add the chickpeas and blend for 30 seconds, scraping down the sides and blend again for 15 seconds.
- Add the Tahini. Blend well.
- While the blades are running, add the iced water gradually, until the hummus looks smooth, pale and creamy.
- Add the ground cumin and olive oil. Blend well.
- Taste the hummus and add more salt, lemon or cumin if needed. Cover and chill until serving.
DUKKAH CRUMBING MIXTURE
- Roast the almonds in a dry pan on medium heat until the almonds turn golden. Keep stirring them and don’t leave them unattended.
- Remove the almonds to cool down on a plate.
- Measure all the sesame seeds and spices in a small bowl and add them to the dry pan.
- Dry roast the mixture, stirring continuously until they appear nicely roasted. At this stage, your kitchen will smell magical with the aroma of these roasted spices.
- Remove to the same plate as the almonds to cool down completely.
- Once cooled, add the almonds, sesame seeds and spice mixture to a food processor.
- Pulse or gently process the mixture until it appears crumbly. Don’t over mix it otherwise it may turn into almond butter! Set aside.
GLUTEN-FREE DUKKAH CHICKEN
Crumbing the chicken
- Pound the chicken fillets down with a meat tenderiser or a rolling pin until it is flat and even. If you are using a schnitzel cut, this step may not be necessary. Set aside.
- Combine the cornflour and white pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the eggs together with a fork. Set aside, leaving the fork in the bowl for handling the chicken later.
- Transfer the dukkah crumbing mixture to a large tray. Set aside.
- Prepare a baking tray with some baking paper and set it aside at the crumbing station.
- Start crumbing the chicken by dipping each one in the cornflour mixture.
- Shake off any excess flour and dip the chicken into the egg mixture.
- Use the fork to lift the chicken out of the egg mixture and let the excess egg mixture drip off back into the bowl.
- Transfer the chicken to the dukkah mixture, pat the mixture on each side of the chicken and lay them out on the prepared baking tray.
- Chill the chicken uncovered for 30 mins or longer. This step will keep the crumbing coating intact when cooking them.
Cooking the chicken
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Drizzle the chicken with some olive oil.
- Bake for 20 mins on the middle shelf, or until golden and firm to the touch.
Serving
- Allow to cool down slightly before slicing into even bite-size pieces, or serve whole.
- Place the sliced or whole chicken on one platter with some lemon wedges.
ROASTED CHICKPEAS & PUMPKIN
Preparing
- Drain the chickpeas from the tin in a sieve over a jug or bowl.
- Transfer the chickpeas to a plate and pat them dry with some paper towels. Set aside.
- Cut the pumpkin into 1.5 cm cubes. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients together, except the olive oil.
- Add the chickpeas and pumpkin cubes and toss them thoroughly in the dry mixture.
Roasting
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Select a roasting tray and drizzle some olive oil over the base.
- Add the chickpeas and pumpkin. Drizzle some more olive oil over them.
- Roast on the upper shelf for 15 mins. Turn the chickpeas and pumpkin over and roast for a further 20 mins, until golden and fragrant. Garnish with parsley leaves.
Serving
- In a separate serving bowl, arrange the roasted chickpea & pumpkin on their own or together with some optional hummus dip, fresh salad, feta cheese and black olives.
Notes
- The Dukkah crumbing mixture can be made up to 2 weeks in advance providing it is stored chilled.
- All the dishes keep for 3 days chilled.
- The chicken is suitable to freeze crumbed and uncooked. Separate the chicken pieces with baking paper in a large freezer container.
- The roasted chickpeas & pumpkin combination is not suitable to freeze.
- The hummus is not suitable to freeze.
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