Ingredients
| 1 small/medium (250g) fennel with fronds | |
| 1 small bunch flat-leafed parsley | |
| 4 spring onions | |
| 500g chicken tenders | |
| 1 clove garlic, finely chopped | |
| 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard | |
| ¼ teaspoon salt | |
| ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper | |
| 1 tablespoon lemon juice | |
| 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (use the best you can) | |
| 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil | |
| 125g hard or semi-hard cheese, finely grated (I used Craggy Range Sheep Dairy Pecorino) | |
| 100g radicchio | |
| 2 baby cos lettuce | |
| 50g rocket leaves | |
| 100g kale | |
| toasted sourdough bread, fresh cheese (I used Fernglen Farm Labneh), to serve |
In the spirit of a Tricolore salad, this recipe has a vibrant mix of spring leaves with a tangy cheese dressing. Use your favourite hard cheese such as parmesan or pecorino or a semi- hard cheese such as manchego, aged cheddar or aged gouda.
I’m very keen on the hands-on salad dressing technique preferred by chef Nancy Silverton – mix the salad dressing into the leaves with your hands to ensure a good coating. It’s a messy business but does result in a lovely homogenous salad. It is especially important in this recipe for the kale, as massaging helps break down the tough fibres.
Chicken tenders are perfect poached as they have an even thickness and cook through very quickly without the worry of an uncooked middle.
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Instructions
| 1. | Pick the feathery fronds from the fennel and the leaves from the parsley and set aside. |
| 2. | Cut the stalks off the fennel, setting aside the bulb. |
| 3. | Trim the ends off the spring onions (saving the main part for the salad) and roughly chop the trimmings along with the fennel stalks and parsley stalks. |
| 4. | Put these in a saucepan large enough to hold the chicken tenders in a single layer (I use a 24cm low-sided pan). |
| 5. | Add 3 cups water and bring to the boil. |
| 6. | When boiling, take off the heat and add the chicken in a single layer. |
| 7. | Cover immediately and leave for 25 minutes, turning the chicken over halfway. |
| 8. | Remove the chicken and shred when cool. Refrigerate until needed. |
| 9. | For the dressing, in a very large bowl whisk the garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil along with about 25g of the grated cheese. |
| 10. | Slice the fennel bulb and spring onions finely. |
| 11. | Prep the radicchio, cos and rocket by washing, trimming and separating leaves and tearing into bite-sized pieces as necessary. |
| 12. | You want everything ready to go so once you have your hands in the salad, you can keep mixing. |
| 13. | Tear the kale leaves off the stalks and discard the stalks. |
| 14. | Tear the kale into bite-sized pieces and add to the dressing. |
| 15. | Using clean hands, massage the dressing into the kale leaves for about a minute. It should be quite wilted. |
| 16. | Add the fennel and spring onion and toss. |
| 17. | Add the radicchio and cos and toss well, then add the rocket, parsley leaves and fennel fronds and toss again. |
| 18. | Add the shredded chicken and remaining grated cheese. |
| 19. | At this point I use tongs to give the salad a final good toss. |
| 20. | Serve with toasted sourdough spread with fresh cheese if liked. |
Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles