Chicken N' Chickpeas

This is something I rustled up for Claire the day before Valentines day because I couldn't cook on Valentines day because I was working. Inspired by both Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson it turned out to be a success! All I did was mix up a basil butter using chopped fresh basil and butter (obviously!) and spread it in the middle of the chicken breasts. I then wrapped the chicken in bacon and put it in the oven at 200 degrees for half an hour. Below the chicken is a chickpea mixture. I started off by frying off some crushed garlic, then added 1 finely chopped red chili, and a finely chopped onion. Next I added the chickpeas and some of the chickpea water from the tin. When this was almost cooked it was seasoned with some herby salt from Lakeland and some of the juices from the chicken and cooked for another 2 mins. I did a corn cob to go with it just as something extra. As you can see the chickpea mixture was dished up in the centre of the plate with the chicken on top.

You can try and vary this in other ways. Try experimenting with herbs, tarragon goes well with chicken and you could use this instead of basil. You could add peppers to the chickpeas as well, basically let your mind run wild and experiment!