The variations are pretty much endless with regards to things you can put in this salad, which is another reason we like it so much. Leftover veg from the Sunday roast will work, any tinned pulses or beans, leftover rice or pasta would all work great. Basically the aim is to get the bread like massive croutons full of all that lovely chicken juice and then warm everything through. Michael from Elnecot has used a mix of fresh and stale bread as he had quite a few ends left over.
The salad can be made vegan quite easily, replacing the chicken with cooked sweet potato, firm tofu or field mushrooms would be great.
Michael used some of the garlic and herbs that he roasted the chicken with. If you didn’t do that, just get some garlic in the dressing. Use whichever herbs you happen to have – they will all work.
There’s a mini recipe for pickling liquor in here which is a fantastic way to preserve things for a long time. Don’t stop at cucumbers; there isn’t anything that this pickle doesn’t work its magic on. That having been said, these cucumbers are absolutely delicious and find their way into pretty much everything Michael makes when he’s got some in the fridge.
This dish would work as a light lunch on its own or if it’s for an evening meal, you could serve it with a baguette and some hummus. Maybe even a bit more cheese. Serving these big chunks of bread with a baguette might sound like madness but, trust us, its delicious. Just do an extra long exercise session in the morning!
Ingredients (serves 4 people)
1 breast roasted chicken including skin, torn up into shreds
1/2 of the roasting/resting juices from a roast chicken
1/2 loaf bread, ripped up into chunks (fresh or stale both work)
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut in half (or similar amount of green beans/runner beans etc)
3-4 cloves of roasted garlic (alternatively, grate 1 clove into the dressing)
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked
1 sprig thyme, leaves picked
1 pack cherry tomatoes, halved
small handful coriander, roughly chopped
small handful parsley, roughly chopped
a few basil leaves, torn
a good few glugs of extra virgin olive oil (or rapeseed oil)
Either 2 little gem lettuces or 1 romaine lettuce, cut into big chunks OR half a bag of mixed leaf
A few shaves of parmesan (optional)
4 spoonfuls of yoghurt (optional)
Pickle
100ml water
100ml white wine
100ml white wine vinegar
100g caster sugar
1 cucumber, sliced into thin rounds
Dressing
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or rapeseed oil)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
pinch salt
Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
Get a decent sized roasting tin (the one that you originally roasted the chicken in would be perfect) and put in the roasting juices, a glug of olive oil and the bread. Give it a good toss about and then pop it in the oven for about 10-15 mins.
Meanwhile, make the pickle. Place the water, white wine, white wine vinegar and sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Put the cucumber rounds into a bowl. Once the liquid is boiling, pour over the cucumber. Cover with clingfilm and put to one side.
Add the asparagus, garlic, rosemary and thyme to the roasting dish and then get it back in the oven for 5 mins.
Add the chicken to the dish and an extra squirt of oil. Give it another toss around and put back in the oven for the final 5 mins.
At this point, make the dressing. Put all of the ingredients into an empty jam jar, close the lid and shake. If you don’t have a jam jar, just put them into a bowl and mix with a fork.
Now, everything should be ready. The asparagus should still have a bite to it and the bread should be crispy on the outside but still have a little give in the middle.
Add the tomatoes, herbs, about half of the pickled cucumber, the lettuce and half of the dressing. Mix it all together and give it a couple of minutes while everyone gets to know each other.
Check for seasoning and if you need more dressing, add it in. Serve with a spoonful of natural yoghurt and a few shaves of parmesan on top, alongside some baguette and hummus.
Part 1: Chicken & Chickpea Curry
Part 2: Chicken & Noodle Omelette with Sexy Greens
