Roast chicken salad with a roasted garlic gravy dressing

Complete cliche, but there is truly nothing more comforting than the smell of roasting chicken. However in the summer, I do not crave a roast dinner and am much more inclined to make a jam-packed salad in which roast chicken is the star. I basically cook a version of this salad every week of my life, and pair it with various fruits & veg. This rec

The best thing is you get to enjoy delicious chicken leftovers for the next 3ish days! I tend to turn them into office lunches, such as a shredded chicken salad or make a healthy midweek dinner by turning it into a spicy tomato stew with paprika, peppers and chilli then enjoying over grains or a sweet potato!

Anyways, enough rambling, the true genius of this salad is the roasted garlic dressing which is simply the roasted garlic whisked with lemon, the meat’s roasting juices and a few chilli flakes!

Serves 4 or 1 (with plenty left for leftovers)

Ingredients

1 small or medium whole free range chicken

1 whole clove of garlic

1 whole lemon

Chicken seasoning

Olive oil

Garlic powder

Paprika

Harissa

Chilli flakes

Dried oregano

Roasted veg:

• Onions

• Sweet potato

• Red pepper

Fruit:

• Peach segments

• Mango

Fresh raw veg:

• Baby gem lettuce or spinach

• Courgette ribbons

• Avocado

• Tomatoes

• Cucumber

• Celery

Nuts:

• Pine nuts

• Hazelnuts

Herbs:

• Fresh mint

• Fresh parsley

Additional fun extras

• Gherkins

• Anchovies

• Pickled onions (see recipe in)

• Olives

Dressing:

• Chicken resting juices

• Roasted garlic

• Juice of one lemon

• Pepper

• Chilli flakes

Method

1. Mix together your chicken seasoning with olive oil and rub all other the bird, get really stuck in and make sure its well coated

2. Stuff half a lemon inside the chicken

3. Cover with plenty of salt and black pepper and roast in the oven for the recommended time, ie. a small bird is around 1hour10.

4. Prepare your roasted veg on a tray. A top tip if you are including sweet potatoes is to give them once chopped a quick 3 minute blast in the microwave so that it cooks at the same time as your other veg. Cover the veg with seasoning and olive oil and roast for 40 minutes.

5. Chop your raw salad ingredients, and toss together in your platter

6. Toast your nuts, and chop your herbs, set aside and leave to finish off the dish

7. Remove chicken in the oven and leave to sit for at least 10 mins

8. After the chicken has sat, make your dressing. Squeeze the garlic into a bowl, pour in the chicken juice, squeeze in the lemon and add chilli flakes & black pepper

9. Bring your salad together, layering the shredded chicken pieces and roasted veg

10. Finish with your herbs, nuts and dressing!