Serves 4-6

2 pounds or 4 chicken breasts, lightly grilled but not cooked through

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 ½  teaspoons turmeric

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoons course black pepper

1/3 cup Newman’s Own Olive Oil

1 large red onion, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups chicken stock

¼ cup honey

1 cup Newman’s Own Organic Dried Apricots, diced

½ cup slivered roasted almonds

Lightly salt and pepper chicken breast and grill on medium heat just until grill marks appear.  Chicken should not be cooked through.  Allow to cool to room temperature and cut into bite size chunks, about 1 inch. Cover and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large sauce pan heat olive oil and sauté onion until soft then add garlic and sauté for one minute more.  Add spice blend and stir until absorbed. Add chicken stock, honey and Newman’s Own Organic Dried Apricots. Bring sauce to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.  Allow sauce to cook until it is reduce by ¼ and thick.  Add diced chicken and allow to cook until chicken is cooked through about 5 minutes.  Stir in slivered roasted almonds.

Serve chicken salad warm over Couscous or Quinoa made with Newman’s Own Organic Raisins or cold over tossed salad greens and vegetables.  This chicken salad is also great rolled up in a wrap for a sandwich on the go.

Serves 4-6 people

Garam Masala Spice Blend
Makes ¼ cup

1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Cardamom Seeds (removed from the pod)
15 Whole Cloves
3 Bay leaves
3 Cinnamon Sticks (broken into pieces)

In a small, heavy sauté pan toast the spices for 2-3 minutes stirring continuously until they become darker and start to crackle. Be careful not to burn the spices. Let cool on a tray. Grind in a spice grinder and store in an airtight container. You could buy a pre-made Garam Masala blend but it will be less potent and complex. You could also use pre-ground spices and mix them, but again the flavor will be muted.

Harissa
Makes about ¾ cup

1 Roasted Red Pepper
1 Garlic Clove
½ tsp Coriander Seeds
½ tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Cinnamon Stick (broken into pieces)
½ Tbsp Flat Leaf Italian Parsley (mined)
½ tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ tsp Kosher Salt

In a small, heavy sauté pan toast the three spices as you did for the previous recipe and grind them when cool. Peel the roasted skin off the red pepper and take out the core and seeds. Chop into chunks. Place all ingredients into a food processor. Puree until the mixture is smooth. You may have to add a little more oil or water to achieve a thin paste. Set aside. You will add this to the roasted vegetables later. You could make this a couple days ahead. Do not be afraid to make double the recipe. It stores well in the refrigerator and can be used to flavor many different things.

Quinoa Pilaf
Makes about 4 cups

2 cups Quinoa
4 cups    Chicken Stock (or Water)
½  Spanish Onion (finely diced)
½ Fresh Red Pepper (seeded, deribbed and minced)
½ Young Small Carrot (peeled and finely diced)
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Kosher Salt

Bring stock or water to a boil in a saucepan with a lid. Add the quinoa and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for around 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes. In a sauté pan, sauté the onion, pepper and carrot over high heat until tender and slightly caramelized. When ready to serve you will toss the quinoa, sautéed vegetables with the Garam Masaala and mix well.

Roasted Vegetables
3 Red Peppers (seeded, and medium diced)
2 Sweet Onions (skinned, and medium diced)
2 Carrots (peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch slices)
2 Zucchini (cut into ¼ inch half moons)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400. In a bowl combine all the vegetables and oil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. On a baking sheet in a 400 oven roast the vegetable for 5-7 minutes until caramelized. Place back into the bowl while hot and toss with the Harissa before serving. You can use any mixture of vegetables depending on the time of the year.

Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin
1 lb Pork Tenderloin (trimmed and sliced into ¼ inch slices)
¼ cup Chicken Stock
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
¼ cup White Wine
1 tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp Black Peppers

On a large plate fan out the pork slices and season them with salt and pepper. Heat the oil a large skillet. Briefly sauté the slices in the pan and deglaze with the stock and white wine. Let the slices simmer for several minutes until the sauce thickens.

To serve, place a mound of quinoa on each plate and a ring of roasted vegetables around the quinoa. Place the pork slices on top of the quinoa and spoon a little of the pan sauce on the pork.

By Peter Abrahamson, Bon Appétit at St. Olaf College