Ingredients
Serves 42 × 220 g chicken fillets, skin on
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
12 asparagus spears, trimmed
About 250 g shelled peas
20 mint leaves, roughly torn
Handful of pea shoots, roughly torn
Small knob of pecorino
Sea salt
Basil pesto:
1 tbsp pine nuts
1½ cups fresh basil
2 small garlic cloves, peeled and halved
100 ml olive oil
About 60 g freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
I ate something similar to this salad on my trip after I had been indulging in a lot of rich food, and it seemed heavenly. It makes a light main course on a warm evening.
1. Pop the chicken into a bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice, garlic, bay leaf and pepper and drizzle over 1 teaspoon olive oil. Toss to combine, then cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. To make the pesto, sprinkle the pine nuts into a frying pan and toast over a medium heat until golden. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Place the pine nuts, basil and garlic in a food processor and blitz using the pulse button. Slowly add the oil until combined. Stir in the parmigiano-reggiano and adjust with salt and pepper to taste. (The pesto will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days.)
3. Preheat a char-grill pan or barbecue to hot. Remove the chicken from the marinade, discarding the garlic and bay leaf.
4. Grill over a high heat for 2–3 minutes each side. Meanwhile, pop the asparagus onto the grill as well and cook until slightly charred on all sides.
5. Once the chicken and asparagus are cooked, transfer them to a chopping board. Using a sharp knife, finely shred the chicken and cut each asparagus spear into 3–4 pieces. Transfer to a large bowl.
6. Blanch the peas in boiling salted water for a couple of minutes, then drain and refresh in iced water. Add to the chicken. Add the pesto and use your hands to toss all the ingredients together.
7. Gently mix in the mint leaves and pea shoots. Grate in a little pecorino, add a little olive oil and salt and pepper as needed, and serve immediately.
Variations for Wellbeing
• Dairy intolerance – use goat’s-milk or sheep’s-milk cheese instead of pecorino and parmigiano-reggiano
• Gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance – enjoy as is
• IBS – substitute zucchini (courgette) for the asparagus