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{Lazy} Pesto Chicken Salad

This is the greatest salad of all time.

It may have had humble beginnings (being made up of what I happened to have left over in the fridge) but since then it has become a firm favourite and a highly requested lunch at my table.

A marriage of sweet, savoury, light, rich and fresh flavours, all coming together in a symphony of colour.

And it’s jolly easy too.

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To serve two you’ll need:

4 free range chicken thigh fillets

A bag of salad

Couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes

Pot of store bought fresh pesto (told you it was lazy)

2 ripe peaches

Handful of feta

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Dijon mustard (or mustard powder)

Salt + pepper

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Making your own pesto is pretty simple and well worth the effort… but sometimes you just need to cheat and grab one of these.

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It’ll sit happily in your fridge for longer and it’s going to make your salad sublime.

Get a frying pan nice and hot, with a small drizzle of olive oil.

Lay your chicken thigh fillets into the pan, and sprinkle with salt ‘n’ pepper.

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Fry on a medium heat.

Meanwhile chop up your toms. Use scissors if you’re feeling especially lazy.

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Slice your peaches.

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Flip the chicken.

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After a minute or two, pour in half your pot of pesto.

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Toss the chicken about in it.

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Savour the irresistible smell of fresh basil and melting parmesan…

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and leave it to fry a little longer.

In a jar mix 5 tablespoons of good olive oil with 3tbsp balsamic vinegar, a tsp of mustard and a pinch of salt + pepper.

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Place to one side and start to build your masterpiece.

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Make sure to keep an eye on your chicken. Move it around, flip it now and then.

It should be getting a gorgeous cheesy crust by now.

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If you’re not sure if it’s quite done, use your scissors to cut into a really thick bit. If it’s pink, keep cooking a little longer.

If it’s done, add the rest of the pesto and toss it about.

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A nice fresh layer of basil to coat that glorious crust!

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Now, you can either wait until the chicken cools a bit, or keep things quick and simple:

Pick up the chicken with tongs and snip it over the salad.

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Keep going until you run out of chicken.

 

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Sprinkle with crumbled feta.

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And dress it up!

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Everything you could possibly ask for in a salad!

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Give it a whirl and let me know how you get on.

I think you’ll find it just peachy.

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