I'm so annoyed that I haven't made this earlier in my life. This is my Harissa Chicken & Halloumi Nourish Bowl. You have a bed of arugula (obviously), quinoa, chicken breast coated in harissa sauce, roasted chickpeas, cucumbers, seared halloumi, and a lemon & olive oil vinaigrette to put it all together.
This bowl does take some time because you need to wait for the chicken breast and quinoa to cook, but the rest of the ingredients are easy to prepare. This is a great option for lunch or dinner and you can batch several of the ingredients to make multiple bowls throughout the week. Make enough of the roasted chickpeas, quinoa, and chicken breast and you can enjoy this recipe on repeat!
I ensured to make a balanced bowl filled with protein, healthy fats, carbs, and fiber. So if you are struggling on building yourself a balanced dinner that also tastes delicious, this is for you! If you live with someone, I suggest you make this for them so they can get hooked too. Let's get to the recipe!
Yields: 1
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
This recipe is gluten free.
Ingredients:
1. 1 chicken breast, sliced into cubes
2. 1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
3. ½ cucumber, sliced into half moons
4. 1 cup of white quinoa
5. 6 slices halloumi
6. Arugula
7. Harissa sauce (I use the brand Mina - mild)
8. Salt
9. Extra virgin olive oil
10. Turmeric, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, chili powder
11. 1 lemon
12. 1 clove garlic
13. Micro-greens to garnish
Instructions:
1. First, have your oven preheated to 400. Then have your chicken breast defrosted. If it's too thick of a piece, butterfly it. Chop into cubes and place into a bowl.
2. Season with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to your liking. Drizzle on the juice of ½ lemon and add 1 TBSP of harissa. If you like it way spicier, feel free to add more. Mix the ingredients together. Add onto a baking sheet.
3. On that same baking sheet, add on the chickpeas. Don't let the chickpeas and chicken touch. Season the chickpeas with salt, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, and chili powder to your liking. Drizzle on olive oil and mix the seasonings in to evenly coat the chickpeas. Bake in the oven until the chicken is fully cooked through and white on the inside.
4. While you wait for the chicken and chickpeas, have the quinoa cooking on the stove top. Grab a small pot and add in 1 cup of white quinoa. Have water boiling in an electric kettle and pour in 2 cups into the pot. Season with 1 TSP salt and ¼ TSP turmeric. Mix and cover the pot until the quinoa has fully soaked up all the water.
5. Grab a small sauce pan and spray on olive oil. Have the heat on high and add in the slices of halloumi. Sear on each side for 2 minutes. Set on the side.
6. Grab a serving bowl of choice and add in arugula. Squeeze on a bit of lemon juice and add a dash of salt. Mix gently.
7. Let's put it all together: add on ⅓ cup of cooked quinoa, ½ cup of roasted chickpeas, harissa chicken breast, and seared halloumi. Add the chopped cucumbers around the bowl as shown in the picture above. Garnish with micro-greens if you'd like.
8. For the vinaigrette: add 1 ½ TBSPs of olive oil into a bowl, juice of ½ lemon, 1 minced garlic clove, salt to taste. Mix very well and pour onto the bowl.
