Friday, November 26, 2010

Mango, Macadamia Chicken Salad

Summer means salad & summer means mangoes, so combining the two of these makes sense. The best part about this salad is that you can add or subtract the ingredients you do or don't like. This is my recipe, but I must admit that I don't really measure anything for this dish, I just throw it together (or plate it up!!)

Ingredients (Serves 2-4)
1 chicken breast, cut into strips
1 large or 2 small mangoes, cut into strips
1 large avocado, cubed
2-4 cups of mixed lettuce leaves, washed, dried & torn
1/2 lebanese cucumber, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
8-12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup roasted macadamias, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lime
2-4 tbs of Vegetali Caramelised Garlice & Lime Aioli

Method
1. Fill a large saucepan with enough water to cover your chicken breasts. Bring to the boil, when water is boiling add sliced chicken breast, poach for 2 minutes, reduce heat & simmer for 5 minutes. When 5 minutes is reached, check that the chicken is cooked through by removing a piece & checking the meat at the thickest part is opaque. When cooked remove from the poaching liquid & drain on paper towel.
2. Arrange lettuce leaves, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, mango & avocado in bowls.
3. Divide chicken between serving bowls, scatter chopped macadamias over the top of each bowl, drizzle with combined lemon & lime juice & then dollop a tablespoon of aioli on each bowl.

Great with a chilled Rose or a crisp Chardonnay.
Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Summery Zucchini Pasta

Zucchini is on special at The Fresh Ingredient this week, so why not try this easy, tasty summer pasta dish?
Serves 2-4 people

Ingredients
250g dried spaghetti or fettucine
4 small zucchini, sliced into thin ribbons
2 tbs olive oil, preferrably Wollombi Extra Virgin
2 cloves garlic - crushed
4 slices of prosciutto, roughly torn
1 punnet cherry tomatoes (250g) halved
Freshly grated parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper to serve
4-8 freshly picked basil leaves as garnish

Method
1. Cook pasta according to packet directions.
2. Heat olive oil in large heavy based frypan. Add garlic and zucchini to the pan, cook stirring for 2 minutes, or until zucchini just starts to soften, add prosciutto and cherry tomatoes, cook stirring for another 2 minutes, lower heat under frypan.
3. Drain pasta & reserve a little of the cooking water (about 40-50mls).
4. Add pasta and reserved cooking water to the frypan, heat through.
5. Arrange in serving bowls and top with freshly cracked black pepper and freshly grated parmesan. Finish off by arranging 2 basil leaves on each serving.