Chicken And Roasted Vegetables Salad

As the mercury continues to dive south, we are craving for more comforting food such as stews, pastas and roasts. Instead of a proper roast dinner, I came up with this simplified but equally delicious chicken and roast vegetables salad. However if a proper roast dinner is what you are after, please click here.

You may include other winter root vegetables such as swede, turnip, celeriac and for those not on a diet, potato and sweet potato of course. Shop bought roast chicken can be used but be warned the result  will not be as delicious.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
oven preheated at 220 C (conventional)
serves 2 to 3 as a one dish meal
you'll need;

2 chicken breasts

1 tbs of smoked paprika

1 tsp of cumin powder

1 tsp of coriander powder

1 tsp of sumac

1 tsp of all spice

3 tbs of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of sherry
goat curd or feta cheese

for the roast vegetables;

1 bunch of baby carrots

3 medium size beetroots, cut into wedges

1 red onion, peeled and cut into wedges

a few sprigs of thyme

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

a drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Marinate chicken with spices, olive oil, salt and pepper for about 15 minutes or overnight if you plan ahead.

Place vegetables in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and thyme. Place pan in the hot oven and cook until vegetables are tender. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over in the last few minutes of cooking, check for seasonings.

Fry garlic slices with a little oil until golden, remove and set aside. Pan fry chicken in the same pan until golden on both sides (~3 minutes/side) then transfer to the hot oven and cook for a further 12 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breast. Remove and rest at a warm spot, slice into thickish slices just before serving.

Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of sherry, simmer and let it reduce by half, season with salt and pepper.

Arrange roasted vegetables and chicken slices over a bed of lettuce or mixed salad leaves, spoon over some of the sherry jus and crumble some goat curd or feta cheese over.