Cajun Spiced Chicken with Potato Wedges and Chive Dip

It’s really easy to bring plain chicken to life with some spices or a marinade. Cajun Spiced Chicken with Potato Wedges and Chive Dip from the Hairy Dieters is a healthy, flavoursome twist on boring chicken and chips.

Don’t worry if you don’t have / or don’t want to buy cumin, paprika, thyme, oregano and cayenne pepper to make the spice rub – just use some regular cajun spice / seasoning which will create roughly the same effect. You can then use the cajun seasoning to make cajun dirty rice, cajun sweet potatoes, cajun prawn and kale salad or scrambled cajun eggs with spinach and kale. Basically, your cajun spice won’t go to waste! ;-).

Note, you can have this dish with a few home-made chips, the emphasis being here on a few to keep the calorie count low. The suggested portion size isn’t the biggest (boooooo!), so I’d recommend serving this with a green salad on the side, or some home-made coleslaw as I did – see sticky pork ‘ribs’ in barbecue sauce for the recipe.

Recipe: Cajun Spiced Chicken with Potato Wedges and Chive Dip

Calories: 284 per portion

Serves: 4

Book: Hairy Dieters – How to Love Food and Lose Weight

Prep time: Approx 15 minutes

Cooking time: Approx 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ½ tsp, sunflower oil for greasing
• lime wedges to serve

Cajun spice mix:

• 5 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp flaked sea salt

Potato wedges:

• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 tsp sunflower oil
• ½ tsp paprika 
• ½ tsp flaked sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Chive dip:

• 100g low-fat natural yogurt
• 2 tbsp finely chopped chives

Cost per portion: Approx £1.36

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220ºC / Fan 200ºC / Gas 7. To make the Cajun spice mix, put the spices and salt in a jar and seal tightly with a screw top lid. Give the jar a really good shake so that all the spices are mixed together. This spice mix can now be stored in a cool, dark place for several weeks

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 8-10 long wedges, depending on how big they are, and put them in a bowl. Add the oil and toss lightly to coat all the edges. Sprinkle with the paprika, salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, then scatter them on to a baking tray. Cook in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until tender and lightly browned.

While the potatoes are cooking, place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of clingfilm and beat with a rolling pin until the meat is about 1.5cm thick. You need to make the chicken breasts all the same thickness so they cook evenly.

Brush a griddle pan or non-stick frying pan with a little oil and place over a medium-high heat until hot. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the spice mix over the chicken breast to dust it lightly.

Griddle or pan-fry the chicken breasts for 2 minutes, then turn them over with tongs and cook on the other side for a further 2 minutes. Finish by cooking the chicken for 1 more minute on each side or until cooked through. There should be no pink remaining. Put the chicken breasts on a plate and leave them to rest for 3-4 minutes.

To make the chive dip, mix the yogurt and chives together. Spoon into small pots and put 1 on each plate. Divide the potato wedges between the plates and add the cooked chicken breasts. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over the chicken and a large mixed salad.