Zesty Orange and Red Grape Chicken Salad

So its 2015. Wow that kinda came around fast! I would really love to say that this New Shiny January the first we have dumped all the sugar, eaten the last sausage rolls and cleared the drinks cupboard...but that would be a lie! I am finishing off the last glass of Prosecco as I type this, opened at midnight for the celebrations (though we had to pause watching Frozen in 3D to watch the fireworks!)  and I am eating some rather nice pistachio nougat sweets my dad brought over. We are still surrounded by several tins of very nice biscuits, half a tub of heroes, a chocolate orange awaiting its fate and a fridge full of reduced vegetables! Oh and a Stollen, various half eaten bags of party snacks and a lot more still!

 

So vowing to be healthy this January is going to take a lot of will power and power walking and may well fail but I have been developing some healthier recipes and this gorgeous Zesty Orange and Red Grape salad makes a great start to the year! Its loaded with super food chia seeds, endorphin inducing red chilli and or course lots of lovely fresh salad leaves courtesy of Florette! It only takes a few minutes to prepare and you could sub white for red grapes if they are to hand.

 

I made two versions of this to suit our guests palates last night and for lunch today - this one was for the adults and our friends little one had it without the chilli in. Its great to serve as part of your buffet or in individual bowls but really needs to be eaten freshly prepared. If you wish to serve it cold, simply make up the chicken part, chill and allow to come to room temperature before tossing with the salad leaves. I did experiment a little by marinading one portion in the juice mixture vs straight into the pan and there was no notable difference so save time and simply add as you go along!

 

 

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 Cooked chicken breasts, finely sliced
1/2 an orange, juice
1 inch sliver of the orange peel
2 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
125g Florette Mixed Salad Leaves - either Crispy or Bistro
1 spring onion, finely sliced
16 red grapes, halved
1/2 large red chilli, minced
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 yellow pepper, sliced
1 tsp olive oil


Mix the orange juice and vinegar and put to one side. Cut the peel into fine slices.

Heat the oil, fry the pepper and spring onion for 1 minute over a moderate heat, then add the chicken, chilli and grapes, heat through gently turning in the pan for 2 minutes, pour over the juice mixture and allow to gently bubble away until reduced down - about 2 minutes or so.

Place the salad leaves in a large bowl or platter. Spoon over the chicken mixture and any remaining juices. Scatter over the prepared zest and chia seeds.

Serve warm or at room temperature.


We all really enjoyed this salad - its hint of chilli combined with the zesty orange scented chicken made it a very welcome winter salad and added a bit of lightness up against all the heavy winter feasting on pastries and cakes! If you fancy looking for more inspiration check out Florette's website which has lots of salad recipes to explore!

Many thanks to Florette who provided vouchers to cover the cost of the salad and a very lovely salad cook book!