Fennel spiced barbecue chicken salad
It's all about the dressing and the secret ingredient - picked onion.
Ingredients
6 free-range chicken thigh fillets
2 tsp sea-salt flakes
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tsp fennel seeds, roughly ground in a mortar and pestle 120ml extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, 3 smashed with skin on, 1 finely grated
2 green chillies, finely sliced
2 lemons, segmented and diced
30ml white wine vinegar
16 small pickled onions, drained, cut into quarters
1 Tbsp cooking salt
1 bunch green kale, stems removed
1⁄2 cup dill sprigs
250g baby beans, trimmed
1 bunch of broccolini
Method
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Put chicken in a large bowl. Add salt, pepper, half the fennel seeds, 60ml of the oil and the smashed garlic. Toss to coat, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour at room temperature to marinate.
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Preheat a barbecue or frying pan on medium heat. Cook chicken for 5 minutes, turn and cook for a further 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate, cover with foil and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, make the salad dressing. Combine the grated garlic, remaining fennel seeds, chilli, lemon, vinegar and remaining oil in a bowl. Mix well. Stir through the pickled onions and season well.
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Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add cooking salt and kale, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove with tongs, drain and squeeze out excess liquid. Slice kale finely and place in a large bowl. Add dill and salad dressing and stir to combine.
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Blanch beans and broccolini in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain. Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue over a high heat. Chargrill broccolini for 1–2 minutes, until charred.
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Add beans, broccolini and any chicken juices to the kale mixture and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving platter.
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Slice chicken and lay on top of vegetables. Drizzle over any dressing left in the bowl and serve.
