Summertime . . . .

Summertime (has hopefully arrived) and the living is easy.  So this weekend the recipes are easy, full of lightness and energy and giving you plenty of time to be out in the sunshine! Make the most of it – you know in the UK it won’t last!

Warm Chicken Salad

• 1 chicken breast boned, skinned and cut in half
• 1 orange or red pepper, deseeded and cut in to chunks
• ½ – 1 little gem lettuce, leaves separated
• 50g/1¾oz watercress, tough stalks removed
• 2 ripe medium tomatoes, cut into small chunks
• ⅓ cucumber, sliced
• 1 tsp thick balsamic vinegar
• ½ small lemon, juice only
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Put a little oil into a frying pan and place over a high heat. Cook the chicken for three minutes on each side or until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Add a little more oil to the pan and cook the pepper for three minutes on each side or until lightly charred and beginning to soften. Arrange the lettuce leaves, watercress, tomatoes, cucumber and pepper on two plates. Slice the chicken breasts and scatter on top of salad. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and squeeze the lemon juice over. Season with black pepper and serve. If you want to serve your salad cold, let the chicken and peppers cool completely before adding to the salad. Cover and chill. Dress with the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice just before serving.

Hot-smoked Salmon salad

• A few new potatoes halved (I haven’t specified a weight as it’s up to you how many you would like!  You can always cook a few more and make a potato salad later)
• ½ pack asparagus tips (use the other half tomorrow for breakfast with boiled eggs to dip into)
• bag mixed salad leaves (including young beetroot leaves and watercress)
• 1/2 bunch each parsley and mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped (again, you can use the remainder to mix with your cold potatoes)
• a few radish thinly sliced
• 1 hot-smoked salmon steak, skin removed
• 1 spring onion sliced diagonally

For the dressing    1 tbsp lemon juice       60 mls olive oil       1/2 teasp wholegrain mustard   1 red chilli

Boil potatoes in salted water for 10 mins until tender, adding the asparagus tips for the final 2 mins of cooking. Drain and allow to cool. Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients. then season to taste. In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, asparagus, salad leaves, herbs and radishes. Add two-thirds of the dressing, thoroughly mix through the salad, then spread the salad over a large platter. Break the hot-smoked salmon into large chunks, then scatter over the top along with the spring onions. Finish by pouring remaining dressing over the top.