Cuban Mojo Chicken Bowl

My good friends Alex and Nick recently went to Cuba and in lieu of going myself, I became obsessed with researching the cuisine (does anyone else do that?). In Cuban cooking, mojo applies to any sauce that is made with garlic, olive oil and orange juice—here it doubles as the marinade for the chicken and the dressing for the salad.

Serves 4

Ingredients

MOJO MARINADE
1 teaspoon orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 small pickled jalapenos, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large free range chicken breasts (about 600g)
CUBAN BOWL
4 red or yellow baby beetroots, peeled and quartered
1 bunch radishes, halved
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper,  to taste
2 tablespoons store-bought hummus
150g store-bought marinated artichokes in a jar, drained
1–2 ripe avocados, peeled, de-stoned and thinly sliced
Handful of mixed dry roasted nuts and baby herbs, to serve (optional)
CAULIFLOWER COUS COUS
1 cauliflower (about 700g), broken into florets
1 tablespoon butter or extra virgin olive oil (for dairy free)
CITRUS ALMOND DRESSING
3 tablespoons store-bought nut butter
½ bunch fresh coriander sea salt, to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. To make the mojo marinade, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Reserve half the marinade for the citrus almond dressing. Place remaining mojo marinade in a bowl and add chicken. Cover and marinate for as long as possible, preferably overnight.
3. Place the beetroot and radishes on a lined baking tray and toss with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Place chicken on the same tray (if your tray is large enough, otherwise use a separate tray) and roast in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and set aside to rest. Give the veggies a toss and roast for a further 5–10 minutes or until the beetroot is golden around the edges.
4. Meanwhile, place the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse in 10 second increments (to avoid turning the cauliflower to mush) until the texture resembles the texture of cous cous or rice (if you don’t have a food processor, you can make this by simply grating the cauliflower on a box grater—it is a little more time consuming but gets the job done.)
5. Heat oil or butter in a large frying pan to a medium temperature and add the cauliflower cous cous. Stirring occasionally, cook until the oil or butter has coated all the cauliflower and it is warm, about 5–10 minutes.
6. For the citrus almond dressing, place the remaining half of the mojo sauce in a bowl. Add the nut butter and coriander and stir to combine. Season to taste and add a few tablespoons of warm water until you reach a thick but pourable consistency.
7. To assemble, divide the cauliflower cous cous between the bowls. Slice the chicken and divide between bowls together with beetroot, radishes, hummus, artichokes and sliced avocado. Drizzle with citrus almond dressing, allowing it to seep through to the cauliflower cous cous. Scatter with mixed nuts and baby herbs.

Note: To make this paleo friendly, skip the hummus.

Thanks to Anna Lisle for sharing this delicious recipe.You can find more healthy one-bowl recipes in her new cookbook Whole Food, Bowl Food, New Holland $45.