Crunchy Curried Chicken Salad— Yum!

When I’m thinking of what to have for lunch, I hardly ever think ‘salad’. I’m a carb-queen, so the thought of munching on a bunch of leaves doesn’t really excite me that much. Don’t get me wrong, I like the taste of salad, but I usually see it as a bland sidedish to an exquisite meal.

However, with some chicken & salad leaves going out of date yesterday, I decided to muster up a quick light lunch for myself & you know what, it turned out to be delicious (if I do say so myself!), as well as being easy & cheap (see below) to make. You could always rustle some up for yourself the night before & take it to work with you the next day. And here’s how it’s done!

You will need:
+ a few handfuls of your favourite salad leaves, washed
+ mayonnaise
+ paprika powder
+ medium curry powder
+ a tomato
+ half a red onion, raw
+ one egg
+ a handful of pasta
+ one chicken breast, chopped & cooked

Step One: Take your pasta & boil it in a saucepan, along with your egg.

Step Two: While they’re cooking, take a spoonful of mayo & mix it with the paprika & curry powder, & season to your taste! If you don’t like your food spicy, you can always use the mayo on it’s own or add a few mixed herbs instead. Add your chopped & cooked chicken breast to the dressing— it should be enough to just coat the chicken, without drowning it.

Step Three: In a salad bowl, toss the leaves & chicken together.

Step Four: Chop up your tomato & onion, & add that to the mix.

Step Five: Once your pasta’s done, drain it & drop it in the bowl. Your egg should now be hard boiled too, so crack that open, chop it up & toss that in with the rest of the salad, & you’re done!

I just used the items I had available in my fridge, but you could always add sweetcorn, mixed pulses, cucumber, avocado & anything else that you fancy! It’s easily adaptable to suit all tastes.

And remember how I said it was cheap?
Based on the fact that you’d have pasta, eggs, mayo & seasonings in your store cupboard, this works out at just £1.68 a head (!!!), using the following fresh ingredients from Sainsburys, to serve four people:

+ Basics young leaf salad – £1.17
+ 4x chicken breast pack – £4
+ single beef tomato – 54p
+ 3 pack red onions – £1

Let me know if you make (& enjoy!) this recipe— & if you adapt it, even better! I love to try new things. Yum!

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	Filed under: Food Fix, Life On A Shoestring, Regular Features On: Thursday, September 3, 2009 Love: 2 Comments »