seared chicken salad (or courgette salad)

a light summer salad using fresh seasonal ingredients

• juice of 1 orange
• 1 tbsp wine vinegar
• 20g muscovado sugar
• 1 tsp paprika or chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• salt and pepper
• 6 skinless uncooked chicken breasts*
• 2 small fennel bulbs, or 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 15g flat parsley or coriander leaves
• 15g mint leaves
• 50g mushrooms, thinly sliced ¶

* You can use cooked breasts, in which case omit the oven cooking after they are seared.

¶ Instead of mushrooms you could use green beans or broad beans, in which case boil them for a few minutes rather than searing

1. Heat oven to 180C fan.
2. Put the orange juice, sugar and vinegar in a small pan and simmer until thickened.  This should give you about 3 tbsp of a thick syrup.
3. Heat a ridged griddle pan until very hot.
4. In a small bowl put half the olive oil and some salt and pepper, then coat the breasts and place them in the griddle pan.  Sear until they have clear char lines, about 2 minutes each side.
5. Transfer the breasts to the oven and bake until cooked, about 15-20 minutes.
6. Throw the mushrooms into the griddle pan and sear briefly, until softened.  No need to add more oil.
7. When the chicken has cooled, tear it into chunks and place in a large mixing bowl, with the mushrooms.
8. Pour over half the orange paste and mix well.  (Keep the other half for other uses - it will keep a few days).
9. Add the leaves, lemon juice, garlic and chilli and mix well.
10. Transfer to a clean bowl and top with the fennel or leek slices.

For the courgette alternative to chicken, slice the courgettes diagonally and sear for 5 minutes each side (they do not need time in the oven).  You could also add lightly baked tomatoes and walnuts to the mix instead of mushrooms.