New Chicken Salad

Hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend. Sorry for my unintended break from my blog. Daily life seems to have caught up with me and the Blogging Your Way course I’m currently participating in has stolen a bit of my already limited blogging time too.

Over the weekend, especially after watching Junior Masterchef last night, I’ve had a real desire to try out some new recipes. However, I’ve had one slight problem – since I had a virus a few weeks ago, my sense of taste seems to have disappeared! Despite feeling perfectly healthy, everything I eat tastes pretty much the same and for someone like me who enjoys cooking, this is really disheartening.

I took myself off to the doctor on the weekend and she gave me a course of antibiotics to try and get me back on track but in the meantime, I can barely tell the difference between a piece of chocolate and a salad sandwich. Even my beloved cups of tea are unsatisfying so I’m crossing everything that my taste returns soon.

Anyway, before my dilemma, I tried out a new Bill Granger recipe which was delicious so I thought I’d share it with you all. It was from his book 'Feed Me Now' and was a great way to use up some leftover cooked chicken.

Salad of Seared Chicken and Rice
(Serves 4)

300g basmati rice
2 x 180g boneless chicken breasts, skinned
1 tbs curry powder
5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
200g green beans, topped, tailed and halved
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 celery stick, cut into batons
60g sultanas
4 tbspn lime juice
handful coriander leaves, chopped
1 green chilli, deseeded and very finely diced (optional)
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbs fried sliced Asian shallots (optional)


Cook the rice in boiling slated water until cooked. Rinse under cold water, drain well and the tip into a large bowl.

Slice the chicken into strips, place in bowl with curry powder and 2 tbs olive oil. Toss well to combine. Heat a frying pan over high heat and add chicken and cook, stirring, for about 5 mins or until cooked through. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile blanch the beans in a pan of lightly salted boiling water for a minute or so until slightly crisp. Rinse under cold water and drain.

Add the beans to the rice with the spring onions, celery, sultanas, remaining olive oil, lime juice, coriander, chilli and salt. Stir to combine, then add the chicken and toss slightly.

Spoon the salad onto a warm platter or individual serving bowls and top with shallots, if using.


I followed Bill Granger’s note to adapt this recipe and used some shredded cooked chicken instead and simply mixed 3 tbsp olive oil, the curry powder and the juice (I used lemon) to pour over as a dressing.

Images sources: #1 #2