Recipe: chicken salad with marinated mushrooms

Chicken salad with marinated mushrooms

Serves 4 – 6

Mushrooms are like little sponges, making them perfect for marinating, as they can easily absorb the wonderful flavours.

This combination of balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs and mustard is divine with the nuttiness of brown mushrooms. The marinade also serves as a tasty dressing for the salad.

Marinated mushrooms

60 ml (¼ cup) balsamic vinegar

30 ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice

90 ml (6 tbsp) olive or avocado oil

15 ml (1 tbsp) wholegrain mustard

20 ml (4 tsp) each chopped fresh basil and Italian parsley

black pepper

500 g large brown mushrooms, thickly sliced

Salad

15 ml (1 tbsp) olive or avocado oil

4 small chicken breast fillets

lemon juice and salt to taste

150 g green beans, halved widthwise

handful baby cos or butter lettuce leaves

handful fresh basil leaves and Italian parsley

shavings of white cheddar or pecorino cheese

2 large handfuls sunflower seeds, toasted (see tip)

1. Marinated mushrooms: Mix all the marinade ingredients together, except the mushrooms, and season to taste with black pepper.
2. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat.
3. Sauté mushrooms, without any oil, in batches until just soft and cooked through, but still plump. Add the hot mushrooms to the marinade and stir to coat the mushrooms. Repeat with the rest of the mushrooms and allow to cool down in the marinade. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Salad: Heat oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry chicken on both sides until golden brown, but not cooked. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
5. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked, but still juicy. Allow to cool slightly, before shredding the chicken into chunky strips.
6. Place green beans in a shallow dish and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for a few minutes to blanch, drain and rinse with cold water.
7. Place lettuce, herbs, green beans and chicken on a salad platter or in individual bowls. Spoon mushrooms with some of the marinade on top. Add cheese and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds. No extra salad dressing is needed, as the marinade is flavourful enough and serves as a dressing.

Tips

1. Toasted sunflower seeds: toast seeds over a medium heat in a frying pan without any oil, until golden brown. To prevent burning, toss the pan while toasting and remove the seeds from the pan as soon as they are aromatic.
2. Any leftover marinated mushrooms can be enjoyed in another salad, on sandwiches or stirred into couscous. It is also delicious as an accompaniment with chicken or meat.
3. Leftover marinated mushrooms can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge for a week or two.