im always on the hunt for new salad ideas…. i know i have to eat lots of fresh veges to be healthy … but honestly, im just not a big fan of one dimensional salads that you eat because you have to. it makes veges a chore rather than a joy. it doesnt have to be that way.
im on a mission to make healthy and nutritious salads…. but to slam dunk it on the flavour too.
this is one of those salads. flavours pop so much in this dish, you may not even recognise it as a salad.
in fact, dont even tell your kidlings its a salad – they might get the wrong idea.
serves 4
for the marinade
1/2 cup rice bran, or grapeseed oil
1 cup coriander stems/leaves – save some leaves for garnish!
1 lemon, juice only
6 garlic cloves
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper (i like it hot so i put 2 tsp – up to you!)
2 tsp ground sumac
2 tsp salt
8 chicken thighs
for the dressing
400gm can of cannellini beans
1 lemon, juice only
1 gherkin, roughly chopped
1 tblsp gherkin juice
1 tblsp coconut yoghurt (or plain greek yoghurt if you prefer)
2 tblsp tahini paste
2 tblsp rice bran, or grapeseed oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
for the salad
150gm cos lettuce leaves, roughly torn
punnet cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size
1 cucumber (short), peeled, seeded and chopped into small cubes
1 cup parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1.5 cups mint leaves, roughly torn
1.5 tblsp olive oil
garnish
coriander leaves (left over from the stems used in the marinade)
for the marinade
place all the ingredients in a food processor or stick blender and pulse until combined. add to the chicken, cover chicken and set aside in the fridge until ready to fry.
for the dressing
place all the ingredients in a food processor or stick blender and pulse until combined. transfer to a serving dish and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
for the salad
put the chopped tomato, cucumber, mint and parsley in a large salad bowl. combine.
place the cos lettuce in a separate bowl until ready to serve. this is so we can lightly dress the lettuce leaves with a little olive oil before adding to the other salad ingredients.
assembly
set fry pan on high and wait until its super hot. add the chicken and cook until nicely browned (even charred in places) on both sides. dont overcrowd the pan, you will stew the chicken instead of browning it!
while its cooking, dress the cos lettuce lightly with the oil and add the lettuce to the other salad ingredients. toss together.
when the chicken is cooked, roughly dice it into cubes, and either add it to the salad and toss, or serve the salad ingredients and lay the chicken on top.
garnish with the leftover coriander leaves.
serve with the dressing on the side so guests can decide how much they would like.
ReplicATE It. 