Sunday 10 November 2013

Sneaky vegetable salad with spiced chicken

Sneaky vegetable salad with spiced chicken
This salad tastes so good, you'll forget that it's packed with vegetables full of delicious nutrient to nourish your body and soul.
Inspired by the veggies I had just picked from my garden and some delicious tahini I had the previous night, I threw them all together and the result was mouth watering!
Freshly picked baby kale, broccoli, beetroot, lemon and spring onion out of my garden, adding in some carrot and pear for sweetness and the tahini for a creamy nutty dressing is delicious.
For all you vegetarians, you can easily omit the chicken, or replace with tofu coated in the same spices. 



Salad
Kale leaves, (baby ones if possible, or else massage leaves until soft, see tip below). If you can't get your hands on kale, baby spinach would suffice. About 1 cup chopped.
1/4 beetroot
1 small carrot
1/4 pear
1/4 head of broccoli, 
1 whole broccoli stem
1 spring onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Chicken
1 chicken breast (either whole, or chop it up into bite sized pieces)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayane pepper (omit if you can't handle hot spices)
1/4 teaspoon ground corriander seeds
1 teaspoon coconut flour
salt and pepper to taste
coconut oil for cooking.

Dressing
1 tablespoon Tahini
1/8 teaspoon cayanee pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste 

Prepare salad
Cut stem off broccoli and put aside, then cut up the head into very small florets. Steam for 2-3 min, remove from steamer, put in bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Once cold, drain, and spin in salad spinner to get rid of all the water.

Massage kale leaves with a little lemon juice and salt until they ‘wilt’ and go darker. Massaging kale is important to reduce the bitter taste and soften the leaves. The acid in the lemon helps break down the cell wall in the kale, making it softer and sweeter. This may take up to 5 min, depending on your kale. I used baby kale fresh out of my garden and it was soft and palatable as is.
Chop up kale.

Peal the outer layer off you broccoli stem, much like you do a carrot. The outer stem is fiberous and stringy but the inner flesh is soft, crunchy and delicious. Slice up the stem finely. 
Grate your pear, carrot and beetroot (I use a mandolin with a fine julienne attachment)
Finely slice spring onion.
Toss all your salad ingredients together with lemon juice

Prepare Chicken
Mix spices and coconut flour in a bowl, coat chicken breast in mix.
Heat coconut oil in a pan and cook chicken until golden.

Dressing
Mix spices and olive oil in the tahini paste. 



Plate up salad, top with sliced chicken breast and top with tahini dressing. Sprinkly sesame seed ontop for a bit of glamour ;)

Tip: Cook up twice as much chicken and freeze it for a day when you can't be bothered cooking. It can easily be added to a quick salad or steamed veggies in no time.
Preparation is the key to healthy living, having nutritious foods on hand all the time and you can't fail. 
"Fail to prepare, prepare to fail".

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