Summer days are here (and gone) again

Here in Sydney, we’ve been experiencing typical summer weather – hot, sunny days with high humidity. In recent years, though, it never seems as warm as when you were younger, when you sat in a sweltering school classroom, legs sticking to the plastic seats, praying for the temperature to reach 38 deg C (that’s 100 deg F!) so that you could go home. Ah, those were the days.

So, on those hot days, the last thing I want to do when I get home is cook dinner. And the second last thing I want is have Thai takeaway, AGAIN. This salad is a good compromise – the chicken does not take long to cook, it can be eaten cold, and it makes use of summer goodies such as mango and pomegranate. Best of all, it looks tropical and summery – fantastic.

And yes, I know that today we are down to 21 degrees and it’s raining!


Colourful and summery chicken and mango salad

Ingredients (serves 2)

4-6 chicken tenderloins
1 ripe mango, peeled, diced
1 avocado, sliced
1/3 cup roasted salted macadamia and/or cashew nuts
2 large handfuls of mixed lettuce leaves, washed and dried
1 pomegranate, seeds only

Dressing
2 tbsp whole-egg mayonnaise
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 tsp honey
½ lime, juiced

Method

1. To make dressing: Combine mayonnaise, yoghurt, honey, lime juice and pepper in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
2. Spray the chicken pieces lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 3 minutes each side or until just cooked through. Remove from heat and cut into 3cm pieces. Place into a large bowl.
3. Add mango, avocado and macadamia nuts to chicken. Pour over half the dressing and toss gently to combine.
4. Arrange lettuce leaves in bowls. Spoon chicken mixture over lettuce. Scatter with pomegranate seeds and serve with remaining dressing.