is normally an expression that my DD's (that would be darling daughters plural) and I use when one of us has gained a few kilos or so. I might say, 'I am feeling a bit like a chunky chicken today', that kind of thing....I know it is complete nonsense and the words 'chunky' and chicken' are not normally used to describe 'fat days' but it is one of our girlie habits. We know what we mean and we certainly take the hint if there is any 'chunky chicken' talk.
Why did I think about 'chunky chicken'? The reason is that yesterday I made the most delicious chicken salad for lunch. This recipe is another of my made up, don't know where the inspiration came from and a bit of this and that concoctions. As I have explained I am big on presentation and light on preparation - this salad fits perfectly into this category. The ingredients are simple, fresh and available, it can be prepared ahead of time and it looks very pretty on the plate.
My Chunky Chicken salad:
*Poach the chicken breasts (one per person or two if you are extra hungry) on a low heat in salted water with fresh bay leaves, a handful of pepper corns and copious cloves of fresh garlic. It normally takes about 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
*Remove the chicken from the pan, place in a bowl and pour half of the remaining jus over the chicken. This makes sure that the chicken breasts stay moist. Leave to cool.
*When the chicken is luke warm - say 15/20 minutes later - remove it from the stock and cut it into chunky pieces. (Leave the bay leaves, peppercorns and garlic cloves behind with the stock. The excellent chefs would have a plan for this leftover jus...sorry, not me.)
*In a bowl mix creme fraiche - I normally use one 50cl container for 12 smallish chicken breasts - and then add the chopped chicken.
*Stir together the chicken and the creme fraiche so that all the pieces are covered lightly.
*To this mixture add fresh chopped chives, toasted pine nuts, salt and pepper to taste.
* Just before serving add a cup full of freshly chopped mint and mix evenly through the salad. The secret to success is the fresh mint and the trick is to chop it at the last moment to preserve its flavour and colour.
The salad is best eaten at room temperature and with it I served a very simple rocket/arugula and parmesan salad. The beauty of my chunky chicken is that it was quick and easy to make and it left me with plenty of time to make things pretty outside. The getting ready and the prettying up - that is my very favourite part of entertaining. xv
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