By Nadine Smith
A salad that makes a quick and satisfying mid week meal can easily be upscaled to cater for a crowd.
The fresh zesty flavours and pleasing crunchy textures are perfectly aligned with new season’s produce and lighter warmer days.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into tenders
- 1 cup flour
- 1 egg, combined with 30ml milk
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 30g parmesan, finely grated
- Grapeseed oil for pan frying
For the salad
- 500g cauliflower (about 1/2 medium), trimmed
- 2 baby fennel bulbs
- Small bunch of parsley leaves, picked
- 80g (1/2 cup) whole almonds, lightly toasted & crushed
- 250g fresh burrata cheese, torn into smallish pieces
For the dressing
- 1 egg yolk
- 1tbs dijon mustard
- 1 lemon, zest & juice
- 1tsp honey
- 150ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Method
Crumb the chicken pieces by dredging each tender, firstly through the flour, tapping off the excess, then dip into the egg/milk and finally through the panko breadcrumbs which have been combined with the parmesan. Repeat until all the tenders are crumbed. Heat a non-stick frypan over a medium heat, add 3 tsp grapeseed oil and pan fry the chicken being aware not to overcrowd the pan until golden and cooked through, 3–4 minutes each side. Transfer to a warm oven and repeat until all of the tenders are cooked.
Make the dressing by combining the egg yolk, mustard, honey and lemon zest in a small bowl until smooth. In a thin steady stream, add the EVOO whilst whisking vigorously until thick and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To make the salad, thinly slice the cauliflower through the stalk. Halve the fennel bulbs lengthwise and thinly slice. Gently toss these together with the parsley leaves, torn burrata and enough dressing to softly coat. Scatter with almonds & serve alongside the pan fried chicken.
