Chicken, Avocado and Strawberry Salad
I came up with this fragrant luxurious salad while trying to create the filling of my favourite Pret-a-manger sandwich. It is seasoned with basil and dressed with my lemon zest mayonnaise.
Chicken, Avocado and Strawberry Salad
Serves 1
Ingredients
2 poached chicken breasts
1 avocado
10 strawberries
A handful of basil leaves
A handful of rocket leaves
1 teaspoon of pine nuts
Lemon mayonnaise dressing
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon of mustard (I use M&S Hot English Mustard because I like its bite and it’s gluten free)
Juice of half a lemon
Zest of a whole lemon (I use a Microplane fine grater)
80ml of avocado oil
15ml of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & white pepper to taste
Method
You can poach chicken breasts as part of my stock-making process and store them in the fridge for up to three days. Alternatively, I recommend cooking individual chicken breasts using a sous-vide system such as the Anova.
To make the lemon zest mayonnaise: whisk the egg yolk with the mustard and salt in a cereal bowl secured with a tea towel underneath. Then very slowly pour in the avocado oil followed by the olive oil while continuously whisking. Squeeze in the lemon juice and watch the mayonnaise change colour. Stir in the zest and season to taste.
Lemon Zest Mayonnaise
If you have some chicken stock or poaching liquor to spare and you prefer a lighter dressing, I sometimes cut the mayonnaise by whisking in a 2-3 tablespoons of warm stock before I dress the chicken.
To assemble the salad: Chop the chicken (better still if it is still warm as it will absorb the flavour better) and toss in the dressing. Chop the avocado and strawberries, tear the rocket and basil leaves, and toss them into the salad. Sprinkle with pine nuts, check the seasoning again season again and serve.