Warm Chicken Apple Salad (Curtis Stone)

Mummy... I love this salad!

Trust me. My boy don't usually say this whenever I serve him salad. At most times, he eats his salad with heaps of salad dressing and usually decline when I offer him second serve of greens.

Mummy... I like the apples in my salad.
Me too!
Me three!

I like eating salad with apples. It does give a nice tang and crunch like the coleslaw that we enjoyed with our pulled pork sandwiches.

Today, I'm making this really really really good warm chicken salad with apples and it is a lovely recipe from Curtis Stone at Coles website. When I first saw this recipe, I knew that it is going to be a perfect warm salad for Spring or Autumn. Refreshing to eat and yet warm enough to fulfill our satisfaction. And yes, it is!

Really really really good salad? I really mean it when I say this. Please do not underestimate this ordinary-looking salad. Although it has a long list of ingredients, everything that is beautiful tastes even better when they are tossed together. 

Long list of ingredients??? Yup but please don't be intimated by this recipe as it is not difficult at all to execute. Essentially, there are four main parts of the salad and all you have to do is to make each part separately and then toss all together! No worries at all!!! Plus, I have re-written this recipe into a simplified version.

Hope that you appreciate this beautiful salad combination as much we do.

Warm chicken apple salad with honey vinaigrette

Here we have two pretty pink lady apples in this salad.

Part One: Roasting the pumpkin

Part Two: Pan frying the chicken strips

Part Three: Make the honey vinaigrette

Part Four: Get ready the greens...

... toasted walnut and blue cheese.

Toss all together!

This is one of the most beautiful way to enjoy apples!

Here's the recipe that I have mostly adapted from Coles

Serves 4

Part One: Roasting the pumpkin
1/2 small butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded and sliced into 1cm thick wedges
1 tbsp olive oil
1 sprig fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 240˚C (or 220˚C fan forced), toss pumpkin with olive oil and thyme. Place onto a tray and in the oven for 15 mins or until caramelised and tender. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Part Two: Pan frying the chicken strips
1 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs or any regular breadcrumbs
2 chicken breasts (about 160g each), cut into strips pounded to 1 cm with a meat mallet
1/4 cup plain flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to season
canola oil for frying

While pumpkin is cooking, season chicken strips with salt and pepper and lightly coat in flour. Shake off any excess.

Dip chicken in the egg allowing any excess to drip off, then coat the chicken evenly with breadcrumbs.

In a large frying pan, heat a 2-3 cm layer of oil over medium-high heat and cook chicken for 2-3 min per side or until golden brown and cooked through, adding more oil as needed.

Remove chicken from the pan to a baking tray and place in warm oven while preparing salad.

Part Three: Make the honey vinaigrette

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp honey
3 tbsp olive oil

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar and honey. While whisking, slowly add olive oil in a thin stream.

Part Four: Get ready other ingredients
2 apples, preferably Pink Lady Apple, cut into quarters and thinly sliced
3 tbsp parsley leaves
about 200g salad greens
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted until fragrant

While the chicken is in the oven, place walnuts on a lined baking tray and toast the nuts in the upper rack of the oven until fragrant.

In a large mixing bowl, gently toss the apples, parsley, and salad leaves with enough vinaigrette to coat. Place roasted pumpkins, blue cheese, walnut and chicken into each salad, drizzle with any remaining vinaigrette. Serve immediately. 

Enjoy this lovely salad
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