Amsterdam put on a good impression of a different season today. The city, bustling with cyclists in any weather, wore a cloudless blue sky. It was a soft blue, delicate, and not quite strong enough to be confused with summer. However, if you stood and looked out your nearest window, you'd be forgiven for thinking Spring was in it's fullest throws. Those cyclists, always visible, seem to swell in number when the sun shines. Their numbers are made up by well-dressed commuters, fixie-ed hipsters, young, old, and, particularly among greener routes leading to countryside bliss, more and more lycra-clad people on road bikes. Cyclists, more often than not, are in the need for something more than fulfilling when it comes to dinner time. Something heavy. Something substantial. For todays special, we're letting Nigel Slater teach us that fulfilling and substantial need not be heavy. This relatively simple chicken salad will provide all you need in terms of proteins and good energy, a somewhat surprising wealth of flavour and taste, and it's almost spring like.
Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts, 1tbsp olive oil, 1 stalk of rosemary, 200g French beans, 12 stems & leaves of chard, 6 small tomatoes, lemon juice, 1 shallot, mint leaves, salt, and black pepper.
Method: Start with the dressing: grab a jar and throw in the finely chopped shallot, a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil, and a few mint leaves. Seal the jar and shake vigourously. To prepare the chicken, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with rosemary leaves, and gril or roast until the skin is golden. Cover, and set aside. Trim the beans, cut the chard, boil the beans and the chard for 2-3mins. Combine the leaves, the beans, and the dressing. Sit the chicken on top to serve. Enjoy.
Tips: Don't spend your day off looking for chard in February!
