Monday night salad

Chicken salad with lemon and roasted garlic dressing

Serves 4

1 small head garlic 3 chicken breasts,

boneless and skinless Finely grated zest and

juice of 1 lemon Rind of ½ preserved lemon ¼ cup olive oil 1 cos lettuce, cut into quarters or use wedges of iceberg lettuce A few cherry tomatoes,

halved 1 firm but ripe avocado, halved, stone removed, peeled and sliced 2 handfuls rocket, baby

spinach or landcress A few basil leaves or use Italian parsley or snipped chives Heat the oven to 190C. Cut the top of the head of garlic and place head of garlic on a piece of foil or use baking paper. Splash over a little olive oil and wrap into a loose package. Place in the oven and cook for 40 minutes or until the garlic cloves are very soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the foil or paper. Meanwhile, halfway through cooking the garlic, line a small, shallow oven tray with baking paper leaving enough overhang to form a parcel. Place in the chicken breasts, season with salt and pepper and the lemon zest and juice. Wrap up and fold edges as securely as possible. Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Squeeze the garlic to remove all the flesh and place in a small food processor. Rinse and roughly chop the rind of the preserved lemon and place in the food processor. Add the olive oil, season and process until smooth. Place the cos lettuce in a large shallow bowl with the cherry tomatoes and avocado. Shred the chicken into strips, using your hands and scatter over. Scatter over the rocket, spinach or landcress and the basil. Drizzle over a little of the dressing and serve the remainder in a small bowl to pass.

I’ve cooked the chicken in the oven as I’m not keen on turning the oven on just to cook one head of garlic. However, you could cook the garlic the day before when you are using the oven for another purpose and then barbecue or pan-fry the chicken.