Summer salad recipe: How to make Rachel Graham's 'Lit from Within' chicken salad

This Thai-inspired salad is bursting with antioxidants, vitamin C and beta-carotene

The secret to this salad is to prep ahead of time.

Rachel Graham's 'Lit from Within' Chicken Salad

This Thai-inspired salad, bursting with antioxidants, vitamin C and beta-carotene, is a good source of folic acid too. There are a lot of elements to it, so the secret is to prep ahead.

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 35 mins

Cooking Time

 44 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 19 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 75g butternut squash, peeled and cubed

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ½ tsp pink Himalayan salt

• 1 nest of wholemeal noodles or buckwheat noodles (gluten-free option)

• 60g tender stem broccoli, cut in half lengthways

• 3–4 cashews

• 1 tsp sesame seeds

• 1 chicken breast, poached or roasted

• 1 big handful of fresh baby spinach leaves

• handful of mangetout, cut into thin strips

• ¼ red pepper, cut into thin strips

• 1 spring onion, finely sliced

• ½ orange, peeled and segmented, or 1 mandarin orange, peeled

• Dressing:

• 100ml walnut oil or olive oil

• 2 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice

• 1 tbsp miso paste

• 1 tsp grated ginger

• 1 tsp grated garlic (1 small clove)

• ¼ finely chopped red chilli

• 1 tbsp organic maple syrup

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Drizzle the cubed butternut squash with olive oil, sprinkle with a little garlic powder and salt, then roast for 25–30 minutes until tender.

3. Cook the noodles according to the pack instructions, drain and set aside.

4. Position a colander over a pot of boiling water and place your tender stem broccoli into it, with the lid on, for a couple of minutes. Set aside.

5. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. This will make approximately four servings of dressing, so store the extra in an airtight glass container in the fridge.

6. Toast the cashews and, as they are browning, add the sesame seeds to the dry pan. These will only take a minute to brown.

7. Lastly, shred the chicken breast with your hands or a fork.

8. To assemble the salad, put the noodles and spinach leaves in a mixing bowl, along with half the dressing. Mix well and divide between two salad bowls.

9. Add all the other ingredients on top, finishing with the toasted nuts and the rest of the dressing.