Paprika and Maple Chicken with Pears/Spinach, Cauliflower Rice and Nutella Pop Tarts (Recipe)

I recently had the privilege of being wined and dined by my favourite Australian friend! She treated me to a special dinner of paprika and maple chicken with pears and spinach.

I was so impressed with this creation that I decided to recreate it for my family during one of our regular Sunday night dinners. I also added in a side dish of cauliflower rice.

So here's how you too can recreate this delicious meal:

Paprika and Maple Chicken with Pears and Spinach

Ingredients:

60 ml (1/4 cup) maple syrup

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tsp ground paprika

4 single chicken breast fillets

1 tsp olive oil

1 large Packham pear, cut into 1 cm-thick slices horizontally

1 tsp white balsamic vinegar

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

100g baby spinach leaves

Directions:

Combine the maple syrup, rosemary, garlic and paprika in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes to marinate. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden (cooking time varies depending on thickness of fillets). Transfer to a plate and cover with foil. Add the pear to the pan. Cook, turning occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until golden and tender. Transfer to a plate.

Add the vinegar, mustard and reserved marinade to the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute or until the sauce thickens slightly. Divide the spinach, pear and chicken among serving plates and drizzle with sauce. (FYI – the sauce is the absolute best part! It makes the meal!)

Serve and enjoy!!

Cauliflower Rice

For those looking for a healthy, tasty alternative to white rice, this recipe is for you! It's also great for those following gluten-free diets!

Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup celery, finely diced

1 head cauliflower, trimmed and coarsely chopped

1/4 tsp sea salt

Paprika for seasoning

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onions over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until soft. Add celery to skillet and sauté for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the cauliflower in a food processor with the "S" blade and process until the texture of rice. Add cauliflower to skillet, cover and cook 5-10 minutes, and then add salt. Prior to serving, sprinkle with paprika. 

Now clearly my meal did not end here! It's never a complete dinner without a sweet treat, and so I made fresh Nutella pop tarts to finish it off. 

Nutella Pop Tarts

To save time, I bought pre-made pie dough, but I'm sure they would taste even better with homemade dough.

Ingredients:

4 9-inch pie crusts


1/2 cup Nutella (or more as necessary)


Flaky sea salt for sprinkling


1 egg lightly beaten for egg wash


Sugar for sprinkling

 (I used sugar/chocolate sprinkles)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.


Unroll the dough and cut into 24 3-inch by 2-inch rectangles. Place 1 tsp of Nutella in the center of 12 of the rectangles. Sprinkle each Nutella-filled rectangle with a bit of sea salt.

Dab a bit of the egg wash around the edges of each Nutella-filled rectangle and cover with an unfilled rectangle. Use a fork to seal the edges and to poke holes in the top of the pastry for steam to escape. 



Brush the tops of each pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

While the pop tarts are cooling, heat the remaining Nutella in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it has a liquid consistency. Use a fork or spoon to drizzle the warmed Nutella over the pastries.

However, if you have issues (like I did) with melting the Nutella, you can do as I did and simply spread a layer of Nutella over the entire pop tart. Serve slightly warm.

I was able to make 12 3-inch pop tarts with this recipe and so my friends and coworkers were able to take advantage of the leftovers! I was also able to make cinnamon-sugar sticks with the extra pie dough scraps. (I rolled the dough into long sticks, rolled them in egg wash, followed by cinnamon and sugar, and baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for 8 minutes, turning over half way through).