Cajun Chicken Salad w/ Jalapeno & Chive Yoghurt Dressing
Today’s Herb: CHIVES
CHIVES are such a pretty and delicate herb! I’m honestly so happy to have them growing in my garden as they bring me so much joy - from running my fingers up their soft, thin leaves, to watching bumble bees drinking nectar from their gorgeous pom-pom shaped lilac flowers.
CHIVES belong to the onion family, just like leeks, garlic and obviously, common onions too. As a perennial herb, they’ll come back year after year; and if left to flower and produce seeds, they’ll also multiply. This means if you’re not careful, you can end up with a garden bed full of CHIVES, but on the plus side, new seedlings can be easily lifted and replanted somewhere else, like for example, in a pretty pot to be gifted to a friend.
To harvest CHIVES, snip leaves right from the base of the plant, going for the larger, more mature ones first. Their lovely flowers are also edible, with the slightly peppery leaves tasting nice in salads, vinegars and dressings, while whole blossoms look stunning as a garnish.
One of my favourite ways to use CHIVES is adding them to creamy-type salad dressings - as in today’s JALAPENO & CHIVE YOGHURT DRESSING. The dressing itself is very versatile, it’ll last for up to three days in the fridge and can be whipped in a matter of minutes. Sometimes I replace the chopped jalapenos with gherkins or capers - all depending on what I’m serving it with.
The salad I made to showcase the Chive & Yoghurt Dressing came together, as usual, by using bits and pieces I had in the fridge. Even though it’s a ‘salad’, it was very filling and left me satisfied for most of the day, however, if you’d like to add a little more ‘bulk’, some roasted baby potatoes or kumara would go nicely with the other flavours.
Cajun Chicken Salad w/ Jalapeno & Chive Yoghurt Dressing
Serves 2 adults as a main
1 chicken breast, cut in strips
1 egg
3 slices streaky bacon
½ avocado, cubed (tossed in a little lemon juice, to prevent browning)
6 cherry tomatoes, washed and cut in half
1 gem lettuce or ½ cos lettuce, washed and leaves torn into chunky pieces
Marinade:
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp Cajun seasoning* (to make your own, see end of page for ingredients)
¼ lemon, juice only
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
JALAPENO & CHIVE YOGHURT DRESSING
3 Tbsp plain yoghurt
1 ½ Tbsp fresh chives, snipped
1 tsp pickled jalapenos, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Water (if needed)
¼ tsp olive oil
Method:
1. Place chicken strips in a bowl and add all the marinade ingredients (garlic, Cajun seasoning*, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil). Toss to combine. Set aside.
2. Bring some water to the boil to cook the egg. For soft creamy yolk, carefully lower egg into the boiling water (a slotted spoon is ideal) and cook for 7 minutes. For hard yolk, cook for 10. Remove from the pan and place under cold running water. Peel, cut into quarters and reserve.
3. To make the dressing, simply mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Reserve.
4. Heat a frying pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and fry bacon strips until crispy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool until enough to handle. Crumble or dice bacon and reserve.
5. In the same frying pan, add another drizzle of olive oil and fry chicken strips, turning halfway and cooking until golden on both sides and cooked through.
Ready to plate :)
6. To assemble the salad, arrange lettuce strips on a plate, scatter the cherry tomatoes, diced avocado and bacon bits. Top with the chicken strips and drizzle with some of the Jalapeno and Chive Yoghurt dressing.
Serve salad with the remaining dressing on the side. Enjoy!
*Replace the 2 tsp Cajun spice, with the following:
1 tsp paprika (or smoked paprika)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme
Pinch cayenne pepper (add more if you like more heat/ or dried chilli flakes)