Our advice for this week is to play with your food. That childhood no-no is coming back stronger than the Olympic spirit in Canada. Just remember: when you play, play by the rules – and once you have the guidelines, go for the gold.
Here we’ve combined grilled chicken with a spicy curry rub that adds some life to your salad, topped with pear-lemon dressing.
Spices for rub
Ideal for one chicken breast. Feel free to experiment with the spices based on what’s in your cabinet and what suits your tastebuds. This is the combination we came up with:
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Hot pepper or sauce (1/2 to 1
tsp, as you prefer)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
Rub your chicken with the spices, or combine them all in a ziplock bag, throw the chicken in, and cover it with the spices. We grilled the breast on a panini grill until it was cooked. You can also fry it in a pan with a tiny bit of oil. When the chicken is cooked through, cut it into pieces to toss on the salad.
Pear salad dressing
1 pear, peeled and cut into
chunks
A few sprigs of cilantro
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste
You’ll need a hand blender, food processor, or blender in order to make this dressing – or the patience to mash the pear into mush. Combine everything so that it becomes nearly liquid. Mix ingredients and adjust according to taste. If something doesn’t taste right, experiment until you find that extra je ne sais quoi. We recommend more cilantro.
Don’t hesitate to substitute another fruit for pear, if there’s one you like more. Mango seems to be a big hit these days.
The salad we made was simple – lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, and avocado – but it complemented the spicy chicken and tangy dressing perfectly.