Chicken salad with asparagus and quinoa SERVES 4
If you’ve got the time, toast the quinoa in a little grapeseed oil until it’s golden brown before adding the water – it adds a great nutty flavour that works well with the asparagus. You’ll want to use this method every time you cook quinoa. 200 gm (1 cup) quinoa, rinsed
2 tbsp olive oil
6 skinless chicken thigh fillets
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed,
cut into 1cm pieces
2 salad onions, thinly sliced
on a mandolin
3 cups (firmly packed)
watercress sprigs
1 cup (firmly packed) mint TARRAGON-BUTTERMILK DRESSING 125 ml (½ cup) buttermilk
60 gm mayonnaise
35 ml lemon juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp finely chopped French tarragon
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 Preheat oven to 220°C. Bring quinoa and 300ml water to the boil in a saucepan, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook until water is absorbed and quinoa is cooked (10-12 minutes). Spread on a large tray to cool.
2 Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat and fry chicken, turning once, until golden brown (5-6 minutes). Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast until just cooked through
(4-6 minutes). Rest for 5 minutes, then shred.
3 Blanch asparagus until bright green (30 seconds to 1 minute; see cook’s notes p182), refresh and drain, then combine in a large bowl with quinoa, chicken, salad onion, watercress and mint.
4 For tarragon-buttermilk dressing, whisk ingredients in a small bowl to combine and season to taste. Drizzle over salad to taste, toss to combine and serve.