'Afrochic' Chicken and Pap

I got asked by Mediterranean delicacies to come up with a cool ‘Afrochic’ recipe for their #Afrochic campaign; basically they want to celebrate all that's South African and local.  Here’s my take on #Afrochic: I used pap as the base, but treated more like polenta by adding onion and spices to it before frying it on a griddle to crisp the outside. I paired that with delicious and simple, free-range chicken breasts and let the Mediterranean pesto and tsatziki do the rest – happy days!

Afrochic Chicken and Pap 

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

Olive Oil

½ Onion (finely chopped)

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2 Tbsp Fresh Origanum

Salt and pepper

1 ½ cups Maize Meal

4 Chicken Breasts

40g Fresh Coriander

40g Fresh Rocket

Mediterranean Delicacies Sundried Tomato Pesto

Mediterranean Delicacies Tzatziki 

Method:

Sauté the onion in a medium-sized pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Add the cumin and origanum and fry for a further minute.

Add 3 cups of boiling water and the maize meal.

Stir to combine, then cover and cook on low heat, stirring every few minutes for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Line a small, square baking dish with clingfilm and spoon in the cooked pap, evening out the top with a spoon. Allow to set for about 10 minutes. Once set, cut 4 circles out of the pap with a glass.

Brush each circle with olive oil and fry in a non-stick pan, turning once, until golden and crisp on both sides.

Set aside.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and fry in a little olive oil until browned and cooked through.

To serve: place equal amounts of coriander and rocket onto each plate. Top with a circle of pap. Smear a spoonful of sundried tomato pesto on top of that and then top with a chicken breast, tsatziki and a little more olive oil.