This week's new recipe is a Kale, Apple and Craisins Dried Cranberries Salad with Smokey Chicken and Creamy Garlic Yoghurt Dressing.
For this delicious recipe, I teamed up with the guys from Ocean Spray and used their Craisins® Dried Cranberries which add a sweet chewiness to the salad, the perfect match to the creamy garlic dressing and roasted pecans.
Feel free to serve this salad without the chicken as a side salad to accompany a main dish or to kick off a beautiful holiday meal. You can also marinate the chicken for up to 1 day in advance and store it in the fridge until ready to cook.
Hope you enjoy the recipe and please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.
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Ingredients
Chicken
- 500g chicken - breast fillets (roughly 3 chicken breasts)
- Olive oil
- 2 tbs smokey paprika
- 1½ tbs mixed dried herbs (mine contains: rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, marjoram)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely grated with a Microplane
- 1 tsp salt
Salad
- 1 bunch Tuscan kale/cavolo nero, stalks removed & roughly chopped
- 2 handfuls rocket/arugula
- 1 small bunch of fresh basil, stalks removed (keep the leaves whole)
- 2 small crisp red apples, finely sliced
- ¾ cup roasted pecans or roasted almonds or roasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- ½ cup Ocean Spray® Craisins® Dried Cranberries
Dressing
- 5 tbs thick unsweetened Greek yoghurt
- 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed or finely grated with a Microplane
- Sea salt & black pepper to taste
Method
Chicken
- In a medium to large bowl, add a generous drizzle of olive oil, the smokey paprika, mixed herbs, garlic and salt.
- Add the chicken and stir to coat.
- Allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for 30-60 minutes*.
- Place a non-stick pan on medium to high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil.
- Add chicken breasts to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on high heat to create a crispy coating.
- Turn the heat down to medium heat and cook for a further 5 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken fillet.
- Turn the chicken over and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from heat and set aside on a plate to rest.
*You can also marinate the chicken for up to 1 day in advance and store it in the fridge until ready to cook.
Dressing
- Add all the ingredients to a jar and shake until combined.
- Taste for salt and pepper and add more as needed.
- Set aside until ready to use.
Salad
- In a large serving bowl, add the roughly chopped kale, drizzle with a tsp of olive oil, and add a sprinkle of salt.
- Massage the kale with your hands for about 30 seconds.
- Add the rocket, sliced apples, basil, craisins, and roasted pecans.
- Slice the chicken and add to the top of the salad.
- Drizzle with the yoghurt dressing and serve.
You could also serve the salad without the chicken as a side salad to accompany a main dish.