MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN SALAD

 

What’s the best part of having a butter fruit tree at home?

Your heart doesn’t shatter into a hundred pieces when you have to chuck the overripe one in the bin.

Puppy in the background trying to eat the fallen avocados!

We have three at home and Skip and the Puppy are currently on a mission to shoo away people who sneak into our garden to pluck the avocados. Last year we had a good crop and we had the fruit on our toasts, with scrambled eggs, in burgers, in tacos, guacamole and the old-fashioned way with sugar. This year saw hundreds of fallen, shrivelled avocados due to the off-season rains. Most of the ones that made it past adolescence got stolen by fruit thieves and the ones that remain are being fiercely protected by Skip who has apparently threatened to let the Puppy loose on these miscreants. Skip is however concerned that if the day does come, when he has to let the Puppy off the leash, these fruit thieves would get to know that our ferocious looking boxer is nothing but an attention seeking, big ball of floof, who, if left to him, would gladly give away all the avocados in the tree for a few pats on the head, a belly rub, a game of tug, two games of fetch and one of chase.

When Skip brought 4 avocados from the garden, I immediately had one on garlic toast, because that’s how I currently like it best. I decided to use the remaining in salads.

I had chicken lying around and I came across this wonderfully lemony and herb-y recipe for chicken salad which didn’t call for avocados but I threw one in anyway.

The marinated chicken tasted great by itself and makes for a great appetiser. I wish I had lettuce, that would have added the crunch, the salad needed. I used caramelised almonds instead. Throw in a whole lot of garlic chips if you like the flavour, it goes well with the herbed, lemon chicken. The original recipe also called for olives which I didn’t have at that time.

If salads tasted this good all the time, I’d gladly skip meals.

For more salad recipes, please follow me on Instagram and Facebook @lucilucent.

I have recipes for a Boiled Egg Salad, Cottage Cheese Broccoli and Corn Salad and a Chicken and Mango Salad on my blog. Do check it out. I have some vegetarian salad recipes coming up next.

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN SALAD

 

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

Olive oil – 2 tbsp

Lemon juice – ¼ cup

Water – 2 tbsp

Vinegar – 1 tbsp

Oregano – 1 tbsp

Garlic (either powdered or minced) – 2 tsp

Salt, pepper – to taste

Salad ingredients:

Boneless chicken – 300 gms

English cucumber – 1

Tomato – 1

Avocado – 1

Garlic cloves – 6-7

Almonds – 10

Mayonnaise – 1 tbsp

Method:

1.     Whisk the dressing ingredients and marinate the chicken in it for a few hours.

2.     In a pan, add a little oil. Add almonds and sauté for a minute. Sprinkle a little salt and a generous pinch of sugar and sauté the almonds until they have caramelised. Set aside.

3.     Into the same pan, add sliced garlic and fry it until they turn crisp. Set aside.

4.     In a grill pan, add a table spoon of oil and grill the marinated chicken and half the marinade until the chicken is fully cooked and brown. Pour the remaining marinade and give the chicken a good mix and turn off the flame.

5.     Dice the cucumber, tomato and avocado. Add mayonnaise to it and give it a good mix. Add the pieces of chicken to it and pour the leftover marinade onto the salad and give it a good mix.

6.     Top the salad with the caramelised almonds and garlic chips. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

7.     Done.

 

CHICKEN AND MANGO SALAD

 

If you are looking to lose some of that lockdown weight, the best substitute for a meal would be a salad- a big bowl of healthy goodness that is delicious and will keep you from piling on calories. A perfect salad typically ought to include greens, fresh vegetables and fruits, proteins, healthy fats and insoluble fibre but let’s think beyond leafy greens and spruce up the traditional recipes.

Get adventurous with your ingredients. You’ll know you’ve got the perfect salad as long as you have something crunchy, something sweet, something creamy and a little bit of tangy added to that bowl.

If you are a vegetarian, you can substitute the chicken with alternate sources of protein such as cooked beans or tofu.

If the thought of mango with chicken (which by the way pairs up beautifully) perturbs you, you can add red grapes instead or skip fruit altogether.

You can reduce the quantity of mayonnaise and add sour cream or yogurt to it.

The possibilities are endless!

I have more exciting and simple salad recipes coming up. Please do follow me on Facebook and Instagram @lucidlucent and show some love. Thank you.

CHICKEN AND MANGO SALAD

 

Ingredients:

Chicken (boneless) – 200 gms

Oil – 1tbsp

Half a lemon peel

Sweet Chilli Sauce – 3 tbsp

Mango – 1

Red/Yellow Bell pepper – half a large sized one

English cucumber – 1

Onion (small) – ½

Almonds – 10

A slice of bread

Salt, pepper – to taste  

Mayonnaise – ¼ cup

 

Method:

1.     Place the chicken in a pan. To this add salt, half the lemon peel and add water until the chicken is just covered.

2.     Bring the water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the chicken is fully cooked.

3.     Drain the water and once the chicken has cooled, shred it and add it to a greased pan. Fry the pieces of chicken until they are nicely browned. Add the sweet chilli sauce to this, sauté for a seconds and set aside.

4.     Dice the mango, cucumber and bell pepper. Slice the onion and set aside.

5.     Toast almonds and set aside.

6.   Slather garlic butter on the slice of bread, cut it into small squares and toast these squares until they have browned.

7.   In a bowl, add the veggies and shredded chicken. To this add the mayonnaise and mix well.

8.     Add a little salt and pepper and toss the salad.

9.     Add the garlic croutons and almonds just before serving.

10. Done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COTTAGE CHEESE, BROCCOLI AND CORN SALAD

Bob and I were discussing the sweet chilli sauce recently. We always have a bottle of it at home. It’s so versatile. I use it as a dip, as a sauce while cooking Chinese dishes, a marinade and as a salad dressing.

When I buy sweet corn, it’s almost always used in salads. The other day, I had R (our cook) boil one for dinner time. I LOVE sweet corn.  I used to love eating the corn spinach cheese sandwich at Cafe Coffee Day but sadly it didn’t always taste fresh. This sandwich has been on my list of things to make since long . The next time I buy corn, I shall make this.

I walked into the kitchen with my phone and a frown and R asked me if I was going to make something for the blog. R knows my dislike for clicking pictures of food. Most of my cooking for the blog is done in the evening and it is so difficult to get good pictures with artificial lighting. Hats off to all those food bloggers out there who post such amazing pictures of their food.

R was steaming broccolis for a stir fry and I took a handful of those, threw in some cottage cheese, nuts and voila, I had the salad ready. I don’t follow recipes while making salads and if they turn out great, I’m mighty pleased with myself.

Increase the quantity of the ingredients used and the salad could be a meal in itself. The cottage cheese and nuts make the dish filling. I like adding caramelised nuts to my salads, they enhance the flavour and I like that additional crunch. I don’t consider salads as meal replacements, so I had to have a tiny bowl of curd rice after the salad.   

COTTAGE CHEESE, BROCCOLI AND CORN SALAD  (SERVES 2 ADULTS)

Ingredients:

Cottage Cheese (Paneer) – 100 gms

Broccoli (steamed) – 1 cup

Sweet corn (boiled) – 1 cup

Nuts (cashew, almond) – ½ cup

Raisins– 5-10

Sweet chilli sauce – 1-2 tbsp

Olive oil

Sugar – ¼ tsp

Salt – a pinch

Method:

1.      Into a bowl add the steamed broccoli and boiled corn.

2.   Cut the paneer into cubes and shallow fry in olive oil ( 2 tsps) until it slightly browns.

3.      Add the paneer into the bowl.

4.      Into the same pan, add the almonds and cashews. Sprinkle the salt and sugar on them and toast them lightly. Add the raisins and when they have browned, add the caramelized mixture into the bowl with the veggies.

5.      Drizzle a little olive oil and the sweet chilli sauce and give the salad ingredients a good toss.

6.      Done.

Recipe notes

·        Don’t fry the paneer for too long, it will turn rubbery.

·        Don’t let the broccoli lose its crunch. 

·     You needn’t stick to the proportions listed by me. Feel free to alter it to suit your taste.

The sweetest smelling Poppy from our garden:

BOILED EGG SALAD

Baking is reserved for the weekends, but I generally end up cooking “quick meals” or whipping up a last minute dish on Fridays. A few Fridays ago, as I got back home tired after a long day’s work, our help announced that there were no vegetables at home and dinner was just rice, curd and dal. I opened the fridge and spotted half a capsicum and a carrot, the size of my finger and our saviour for days such as these- The EGG.

I had made the mushroom cheese omelette the week before and didn’t want to repeat that and considered boiling the eggs.

Skip loves boiled eggs. Sky hates boiled egg. And I don’t mind them (boiled egg, I mean) but I do not like the yolk.

I decided on making a Boiled Egg Salad.

This is my own recipe. I added whatever I thought would go best with boiled eggs (oh well, whatever was available in the fridge), mixed a few sauces and herbs for the dressing, added a little nuts and cranberries and had the salad ready in no time.

Skip wasn’t pleased when he saw the cranberries, Sky lifted an eyebrow when he saw the boiled eggs and I was wondering how I’d separate the yolk after having given the salad a hearty toss.

A bowl each laden with the salad and a spoon in hand, the three of us polished off the salad - eggs, yolk and cranberries included and loved it!

Even if you don’t have the sauces I’ve used, I bet the salad would still taste great. The yolk and cheese add creaminess to the salad and will make up for the lack of sauce.  Archie asked me if the capsicum tasted great with the egg. It did! Please do not skip any of the ingredients mentioned here. You may substitute the walnut with almonds, salted pistachios or cashews. I love cranberries in my salads. You may use raisins but I wouldn’t recommend it.

A whole bowl of the salad is good enough for a full meal.

BOILED EGG SALAD  (SERVES 2 ADULTS AND A CHILD)

Ingredients:

Eggs (boiled and cooled) – 3

Carrot  (grated) – 1 (small)

Capsicum (diced) – handful

Cheese (diced) – 1 cube

Walnuts – handful

Cranberries- handful

Sweet chilli sauce – 1 tbsp

Honey mustard sauce – 3 tbsp

Italian herbs – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Pepper – to taste

Method:

1.      In a bowl, whisk together the honey-mustard and sweet chilli sauce (dressing).

2.      In a separate bowl, add roughly chopped boiled eggs, capsicum and carrot.

3.      Pour the dressing on the eggs and veggies and give it a good toss.

4.      Add the cheese, nuts and cranberries.

5.      Sprinkle herbs, salt and pepper and toss lightly.

6.      Done.

Recipe notes

·        The salad tastes better with cold ingredients.