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Spring Chicken Salad with Vegan substitutes

Spring Chicken Salad with Vegan options

Snehal Vaidya
A truly nourishing bowl of salad that will give you a boost of energy and will feed your soul at the same time.
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Cook Time 45 mins
Course Salad
Cuisine American

Equipment

  • Baking tray
  • Parchment Paper / Aluminium Foil
  • Mixing bowl

Ingredients
  

  • Chicken Drumsticks (5 pieces) or Chicken Breasts (2 pieces) or Chicken Thighs (3 pieces) Skip if Vegan
  • 8-10 pieces Button Mushrooms
  • 1 large Red or Yellow Pepper - 1 large thinly chopped into long slices
  • 1 clove Garlic
  • 1/4th cup Olive Oil
  • 2 tsps Dry tarragon use more if needed to coat individual pieces   
  • 1-2 tbsps Hungarian Paprika use more if needed to coat individual pieces
  • 1-2 tsps Use 1-2 teaspoons of Garam masala if you dont have Paprika
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 tsp Hing or Asafoetida
  • 1-2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • Himalayan Pink Salt - As per taste

Vinaigrette:

  • 1/3rd cup Mangoes Fresh or Frozen
  • 1 pc Kiwi make sure its not sour
  • Clementine juice Squeezed out of 1 full clementine
  • 2 tsps Lime juice
  • 1 clove Baked Garlic clove
  • 1/4th cup Olive Oil or Avocado Oil
  • 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
  • Himalayan Pink Salt as per taste
  • 1/2 tsp Black pepper
  • 2 tsps Maple Syrup
  • 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

Salad assembly

  • 1/2 cup Arugula
  • 1/4th - 1/2 cup Lettuce leaves Choose between iceberg, romaine, butter cup or any other and roughly chop them using kitchen scissors or knife
  • 6 - 7 florets Broccoli florets Chopped into halves (can use steamed broccoli florets as well)
  • 1/4th - 1/2 cup A combination of canned black beans and chickpeas 1/4th cup if making chicken salad & 1/2 cup for the vegan version
  • 1/4th cup Grape Tomatoes
  • 1/4th cup Blueberries
  • 1/4th cup Raspberries

For Garnish:

  • Hemp Seeds

Instructions
 

Baking Chicken

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
  • Line a baking pan with a parchment paper and place the chicken and pepper pieces along with button mushrooms and garlic on them
  • Coat olive oil, tarragon, paprika or garam masala, black pepper, hing or asafoetida, salt and balsamic vinegar on each of the pieces
  • Use your hands to make sure the spices and oil is nicley coated across all the pieces on the pan
  • Bake for 30 mins
  • After 30 mins remove the pan and set it aside to cool and prepare the vinaigrette while it is cooling

Viniagerette

  • To a blender pot add the burnt or baked garlic clove, fruits and condiments as mentioned in the ingredients section
  • Blend them up to form a smooth creamy pale yellow liquidy paste
  • After the chicken is cooled shred the chicken using 2 forks and start assembling the salad

Assembly

  • To a large clean bowl add in the arugula, chopped broccoli, chopped lettuce, chicken or pepper and mushrooms, grape tomatoes, blueberries and raspberries and the combination of canned black beans and chickpeas
  • Drizzle the fruity vinaigrette on the salad – Approx 2 – 3 teaspoons
  • Mix using 2 forks until well incorporated
  • Garnish with hemp seeds
  • Serve!

Video

Notes

Additional Notes:
  1. If you don’t want to use canned beans & chickpeas soak them in a clean bowl overnight and run them through the pressure cooker until tender the next day
  2. Discard the water and use them in the salad or store them in the fridge if using later
  3. You can use your own measurements for all the greens used. Frankly, I have given measurements just for reference. I never use a measuring cup while making my own salad. Trusting your instinct is the best measurement in this case
  4. If you feel the vinaigrette is too tangy, balance it further by adding in a teaspoon of maple syrup and/or reducing the amount of balsamic vinegar by half (when you make it the next time)