TriathlEats: Curry Chicken With Quinoa
With its mix of sweet, peppery and nutty flavors, this protein-rich dish will appease your post-race appetite.
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With its mix of sweet, peppery and nutty flavors, this protein-rich dish will appease your post-race appetite.
Ingredients
For curry chicken:
1 pound chicken thighs, skinless
and boneless
2 T madras curry powder
2 T olive oil
½ small onion, julienned
8–10 sprigs cilantro
4–5 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ tsp white pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
Juice of 1 lime
For arugula pistou:
10–12 basil leaves
3 cups arugula
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp kosher salt
For quinoa salad:
½ cup tri-color or rainbow quinoa
Pinch of salt
¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
¼ cup dried cranberries
1½ cups arugula
Directions
Trim excess fat from chicken thighs and set aside. Combine curry powder, olive oil, onion, cilantro, garlic, pepper, kosher salt, lime juice and 1 cup water in a bowl and stir. Pour marinade into a plastic zip-top bag and add chicken thighs. Marinate in refrigerator for 4–12 hours. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place onto a hot grill for 6–8 minutes on each side until chicken is cooked through. To make the arugula pistou (a cold sauce, akin to pesto), combine all ingredients in a food processer and purée until smooth; set aside. To make the quinoa salad, rinse quinoa. Add 1 cup room-temperature water and salt to a rice steamer with quinoa and cook (or follow package directions). Once quinoa is cooked, mix with the remaining ingredients and 5 tablespoons of the arugula pistou. Place the quinoa salad on a plate, slice the chicken thighs and arrange over the salad. Alternatively, the chicken can be diced and tossed with the quinoa salad. Makes 2 servings.
To make this an easy post-race meal, chef Zane Holmquist usually marinates the chicken and prepares the arugula pistou the night before a race. If you keep the arugula leaves separate, you could even make the whole dish in advance—it reheats well, or tastes great cold. If you make extra pistou, it’s also great to mix in with tuna salad, brush on grilled vegetables or stir into hummus.
Meet the Triathlete-Chef
After growing up in the mountain town of Park City, Utah, Zane Holmquist returned to work in what could be the outdoor enthusiast’s perfect job location. Since 2000, the Culinary Institute of America graduate has worked at nearby Stein Eriksen Lodge, located mid-mountain at Deer Valley Resort (7,200 feet of elevation), where he’s executive chef as well as the food and beverage director. “In the wintertime, I have three pairs of skis in my office, and in the summer, my bike is in one of the storerooms,” he says. His Swedish heritage has influenced the lodge’s menus, which seasonally include items like wild game chili and Rocky Mountain elk tenderloin as well as Swedish meatballs and mashers. He started racing triathlon almost four years ago—partly inspired by his wife’s foray into triathlon and partly because he wanted to lose weight—and he competed in his first half-Ironman, Ironman 70.3 Boise, this summer. “Triathlons got me back to where my health was when I was in my mid-20s,” Holmquist says. He hopes to finish his first full Ironman next year, and perhaps living in the mountains will help get him there: “I always take good advantage of the altitude,” he says.
Are you a triathlete who’s also a chef? Email fuel@competitorgroup.com and you could be featured on this page.