Chili–lime chicken salad
In this salad, chicken is gently poached in stock to give an almost melt-in-the-mouth texture and is then mixed with salad greens and vegetables and topped with a chili–lime dressing.
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 1⁄2 cups diluted salt-reduced or homemade chicken stock
1 cup water
1 carrot, peeled and finely julienned
3 shallots, sliced on the diagonal
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 radicchio treviso or radicchio lettuce, shredded
100 grams (3 1⁄2 oz) watercress leaves
Chili–lime Dressing
2 tablespoons dried coconut, lightly toasted
2 limes, juiced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 bird's eye chili pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
1⁄2 cup Greek-style yogourt
15 grams (1⁄2 oz) watercress leaves
1.Place the chicken breasts, stock and water into a pot, ensuring the chicken is just covered. Gently bring the chicken to a boil while covered. Once the stock comes to a boil, remove the pot from the heat, keeping the lid on tight. Leave for 20–25 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked when tested. Drain and allow to cool.
2.In a large bowl, toss together the carrot, shallots, pepper, radicchio and watercress. Once the chicken is cooled, gently shred or, if you prefer, slice. Add to the salad.
3.To make the dressing, place the coconut, lime juice, garlic, chili, yogourt and the reserved watercress into a small food processor bowl and gently whiz together until creamy. Alternatively, place into a small jug and blend with a hand-held blender.
4.To serve, pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss together. Divide onto serving plates.
Cook’s tips• You'll need to use about 1 bunch of watercress for this recipe — choose a bunch that weighs about 370 grams (13 oz), then trim off the stems and any straggly-looking leaves.• If you like, you can serve the dressing in a jug and allow each diner to add their own dressing.
Serves 4-6
Preparation time 25 minutes
Cooking time 25 minutes
Each serving (6)
23 g protein • 8.5 g fat of which 4 g saturates • 7 g carbohydrate • 4 g fibre • 208 Calories
