This gorgeous salad is a firm favourite in my family after I recently made it for everyone at a Mediterranean night that I hosted. It’s bursting with flavours and takes no time at all to whip up, making it a perfect quick weekday meal or side dish. I’ve made it a couple of times now and have both pan fried the chicken and oven baked it; thankfully both methods of cooking leave the meat really tender and succulent, so it’s completely up to you as to how you want to do it.
The warm garlic and chilli dressing is a beautiful addition to the dish and allows for the ingredients to literally melt in your mouth. Throwing in some quinoa also gives the salad a nice texture and a bit of a crunch to really fill you up. I finished it off with a drizzle of honey, a handful of chives and a generous helping of fresh herbs. This is one of my personal favourites and one which I think everyone will enjoy.
The picture shows the chicken when I oven baked it for 30 minutes, although the recipe below will give you details of pan frying it for a quick alternative.
Ingredients
- Half mug of quinoa
- 1-2 chicken fillets
- 1 red chilli
- 1 crushed garlic clove
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
- ½ red onion
- 1 red pepper
- Handful rocket
- Salad leaves
- Tbsp dairy free butter
- Oregano or mixed herbs
- Juice of half lemon
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
- Pimento stuffed olives
- Handful fresh mint
- 1 tbsp honey
- Cook the quinoa according to pack instructions, adding in a tsp cooking salt
- Put some butter in a mug and microwave it for 20 seconds until melted. Mix in the garlic and chilli
- Heat a tsp of olive oil in a frying pan and dice the chicken before placing it in the pan. Season well with salt and pepper, pour over half of the butter mixture and cook until golden
- In a bowl, mix the salad leaves, rocket, olives, chives and lemon juice. Drizzle over some olive oil and balsamic vinegar
- Once the quinoa is cooked, allow it to cool and then throw it on with the salad
- Transfer the chicken to the bowl and toss well to ensure that all the ingredients have mixed. Pour over the remaining butter dressing and finish off by scattering a handful of chopped mint and drizzling over the honey
Tummy Happy 