CREAMY HARISSA PASTA w/ CHICKEN THIGH (HIGH PROTEIN HIGHER MICROS)

Ingredients:

• 10 small chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, Arabic 7 spice blend, garlic powder (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Dice chicken thighs into ~ 1 in cubes and transfer to a large mixing bowl
2. Add seasoning and olive oil then mix well (tip: marinate overnight for maximum flavor)
3. Transfer chicken to a large pan coated with cooking spray on medium-high heat (tip: ensure chicken pieces do not overlap)
4. Sautee chicken on each side for 4 min followed by mixing around for 1-2 min (tip: check doneness by ensuring 165F internal)
5. Set aside and use the same pan to make the pasta sauce (see below)

Ingredients:

• 350 g elbow pasta (or any small pasta of choice)
• 3 small white/yellow onions
• 2 bell peppers
• 300 g white/cremini mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp harissa pasta (or hot pepper paste)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Handful of fresh parsley
• 1 cup cottage cheese (whipped/blended)
• 80 g baby spinach
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Add hot/boiling water to a large pot on high heat to re-boil the water (ensure it’s enough volume to cover pasta)
2. While water boils, finely chop the onions, garlic, parsley, and bell peppers, and roughly chop the mushrooms
3. Once water comes up to a rolling boil, add a lot of salt (big pinch) followed by the pasta. Cook according to package instructions (tip 1: mix pasta well for the first 5-7 min to ensure they do not stick to pan/each other) (tip 2: make sure to save around a cup of pasta water before draining)
4. To the same pan used for the chicken on medium-high heat, add olive oil followed by the onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms. Add salt to taste to draw out moisture
5. Sautee for 5-6 min or until veggies turn translucent and mushrooms have released almost all of the water
6. Make a well in the centre of the pan and add the minced garlic as well as harissa paste (tip: let those toast in the centre of the pan for ~ 1 min before mixing to incorporate)
7. Add cottage cheese and spinach, followed by salt and black pepper to taste
8. Add cooked and drained pasta, kill the heat and mix well. Add pasta water if needed and finish off with chopped parsley