Massaged Curly Kale Salad with Pecan Crusted Chicken
Packed with so much goodness from the greens. Tender, juicy chicken coated in crunchy toasted pecans and drenched in a slightly sweet honey mustard vinaigrette dressing. There's so many flavours and textures, which makes this a meal in itself.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 200 g curly kale
- 150 g pecans crushed
- 120 g tenderstem broccoli
- 2 avocadoes cubed
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tsp. maple or agave nectar
- ½ lemon juice
- harissa or paprika
- garlic granules
- sea salt
- white pepper
Dressing
- 4 tbsp olive oil lightcolour
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or agave nectar
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 3-4 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp Dijon honey mustard I use the brand Mailee
- herbamare or sea salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F, gas mark 6, 200°C (180°C fan-assisted).
- Place the pecans into a food bag; bash the pecans with a rolling pin until roughly crushed into small pieces.
- Beat the egg and season with white pepper, harissa or paprika, sea salt, garlic granules and 1 tsp. maple syrup or agave nectar and mix together.
- Wrap the chicken in cling film and bash it with a rolling pin. Once flattened, dip into the egg mixture and then into the pecans and place on a baking tray pre-lined with baking parchment or silicone baking mat and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, 10 minutes on each side. Once ready, take it out of the oven and leave to cool until ready to add to the salad.
- Whilst the chicken is in the oven, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the broccoli for 5 minutes and then immerse in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Wash and discard the stalks of the curly kale, pat dry and place in a bowl. Add the juice of half a lemon to the kale, couple of pinches of sea salt then massage the kale for about 3 minutes, removing any tough stalks you may come across whilst massaging the kale.
- Remove the end of the stalks from the broccoli and chop into 1 inch pieces and add to the kale.
- To make the dressing, add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix together and season with herbamare.
- Cube the avocado and add it to the kale then add the dressing and fold it all in together.
- Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and lightly toss together with the salad.
- Serve on a large platter and leave it to sit for an hour so the flavours can infuse into the kale.
- Enjoy!
- If you make this recipe, I’d LOVE to see how you get on - so either send me a photo to lisa@myrelationshipwithfood.com or post a picture to Instagram using the #myrelationshipwithfood and tag @myrelationshipwithfood
Notes
LISA’S TIP - Kale is low in calorie, high in fibre, filled with vitamins, folate and magnesium when using it raw in a salad, make sure that you massage the kale to soften it, to break down the fibrous part of the kale. This is a great dish to make for a quick lunch with friends. Instead of croutons, what I like is roast some cauliflower and add it on top.
