Chicken, Apricot and Pine Nut Salad
Here's a fresh and zing-y easy salad that is low calorie, colourful and delicious, so long as all your ingredients are super fresh. If you poach the chicken and prep. the carrots the night before, you can assemble the salad in minutes for a light lunch the next day.
Here's what you need:
a boneless, skinless chicken breast
a small Cos lettuce
about 200g of Lamb's lettuce or baby spinach leaves
2 small carrots
5 plump dried apricots
a small handful of pine nuts
The grated zest of 1/4 of an orange
optional: 500 ml vegetable stock
evo and salt for dressing at table
And this is what you do:
The night before peel the carrot then continue peeling ribbons stopping when you reach the hard core. Place the ribbons in a bowl of water and set in the fridge so they crisp up and curl.
Clean the lettuces and gently spin dry. If keeping overnight wrap loosely in kitchen paper and then place in a plastic bag, which you press to exclude air. Keep in fridge overnight.
Poach the chicken at a gentle simmer in the hot vegetable stock or water. As soon as it is done (how long will depend on how thick it is but don't overcook it), place the chicken breast in cold water for 10 minutes then remove, wrap in plastic food film and refrigerate.
Toast the pine nuts slowly and carefully in a dry pan over medium low heat until toasted all the way through. When you can easily smell their slightly bacon-like aroma they are done.
Slice the apricots. Just before assembling the salad, slice the chicken breast neatly against the grain when it is still cold from the fridge.
Use a potato peeler to cut thin strips of pith-less zest from the orange, then slice into julienne strips using the tip of a small sharp knife. Alternatively use a ring zester if you have one.
Assemble the salad on a wide shallow platter. Make a bed of the two kinds of green salad leaves, top with the chicken and apricots, scatter over the pine nuts and orange zest and finish with the drained curly carrot ribbons.
Dress at table with excellent evo and salt.
Ring the changes:
No apricots or almonds in your store cupboard? You can use celery, raisins, walnuts and apples with the chicken breast and include a few red salad leaves for a change. Or try combining with sliced red onions or spring onions, pineapple pieces, sliced radishes and some sweet corn kernels.
