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The animators for the Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park practicing their dinosaur runs
Easy Smoked Chicken Salad
So the husband is away on tour at the moment and I usually end up eating like shit when this happens. Tonight I decided to actually try and make something “real”. Healthy, fulfilling and at least mildly nutritious (I usually end up eating cheese on toast. As someone sensitive to wheat, yeast & dairy this is always a bad idea).
So here it is- an easy and quick warm smoked chicken and spicy lentil salad. (recipe is for one serve but it could easily make a lot more)
You will need:
1/2 cup of chopped/sliced store bought smoked chicken*
1/2 red onion
1 truss tomato (or a handful of cherry tomatoes)
1/4 cup of lentils (drained from can)
Salad leaves of your choice
2-3 baby purple radishes, sliced
Fresh coriander, to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper^
1/4 tsp dried coriander ^
1/4 tsp dried cumin^
2 tsp peanut oil
1/4 tsp sesame oil
Salt & pepper to taste.
1. Add oils to fry pan (or wok) and let heat.
2. Add onion and fry for about a minute or two and then add the spices.
3. Let the spices fry while stirring to make sure they don’t burn. Keep stirring and frying until the onions are coated in the spices (they’ll look a reddish orangey brown).
4. Add tomatoes, lentils and chicken and cook till warm. Stir so it doesn’t stick, but not too much or the tomato and lentils will break up. If it does stick, turn the heat down a bit so you don’t end up with mush! Turn off the heat when warm (should only take 5-10mins max)
5. Arrange salad leaves in the bowl/plate. At this point you could wilt some kale or spinach instead of salad leaves (especially nice for a comforting winter salad!). Just pop it in a colander and pour some boiling water over it and then place in the bowl instead of the salad leaves.
6. Add the warmed chicken and spicy lentil mix. Top with radish slices and fresh coriander.
7. Enjoy! This literally takes about 20mins from opening the fridge to eating and it’s tasty, comforting and pretty good for you.
If you’re vegetarian I would suggest using some grilled haloumi cheese, smoked tofu, or prepare some grilled/fried tofu before starting the dish. Make sure you still add it at the same time- even if it’s still hot- so it can absorb the spice flavours.
*You can get smoked chicken from the deli section of most supermarkets. Its reasonably well priced, and comes as legs, breast meat or a whole chicken. You could use regular poached or grilled chicken or a supermarket BBQ chicken but the smoky flavour really makes this dish. If you can’t get smoked chicken (or tofu) but you still want the smoky flavour, add a sprinkle of smoked paprika in with the spices to give it a smoky-er flavour.
^please note these measurements are approximate! I don’t measure when I cook, I just go by taste & smell. If you’re new to cooking or worried about the spices try less first. If you’re not so keen on hot food, just add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper instead of the measured amount (it can be very hot!) or just omit it altogether. It’ll still be really tasty with out it!
