August salad
Packed with new potatoes, green beans, tomatoes and cucumber and topped with hard boiled eggs, crispy smoked bacon and tender lemon roasted chicken thighs, this is a fantastic salad for every occasion. Great to take on picnics, lovely for lunches at work or for supper in the garden with family or friends, says Miranda Gore Browne
Ingredients
You will need
Small roasting tin, foil, saucepans, serving dish, frying pan, jam jar
- 4 chicken thigh fillets
- ½ a lemon
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- Salt and pepper
- 6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon or pancetta, finely chopped and fried
- 4 radishes, finely sliced
- Mixed salad leaves
- 1 baby gem lettuce, finely shredded
- 3 tomatoes, cut into eighths
- 8 cherry tomatoes (quartered)
- Half a cucumber, finely sliced
- 150g fine green beans, cooked
- 250g baby new potatoes, cooked
- 100g petit pois, cooked
- 3 eggs, hard boiled
- Chopped mint
- Chopped fresh chives
- For the dressing:
- 6 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 4 tbsp vinegar (white wine, red wine or balsamic)
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- A small ice cube
Method
- Put the chicken thigh fillets into a small roasting tin, squeeze over the lemon and put the lemon half into the tin with the chicken. Season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with the oil. Cover with foil and cook on the barbecue or in the oven for about 30 minutes, take off the foil and let it colour a little for about another 5-10 minutes.
- Cook the new potatoes, fine green beans and the petit pois by boiling on the hob in separate pans and put to one side. Prepare the salad and the tomatoes and cucumber.
- Fry the bacon and put to one side.
- Boil the eggs for about 6 minutes and then stand in cold water, peel off the shells once cooled enough to handle then cut into quarters.
- Mix together all the dressing ingredients in a jam jar, add the ice cube and shake well, this emulsifies the dressing and thickens it.
- Put the salad leaves into a big serving dish. Add the radishes, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber in little sections and finally shred the chicken and add that.
- Spoon over the dressing and the chopped mint and chives and enjoy immediately.
