MADE IT: Pret A Manger Alfresco Chicken Salad

Thursday 5 August 2010

When it comes to eating out food on the mood can be the ultimate godsend. From its humble beginnings as a simple array of bland sandwich fillings came salads, soups and sushi to tantalise even the most monotonous of office desks.

I, for one do not work in an office, but I will quite frankly have nothing stand in the way of me getting a morish lunch. When a string of late shifts at my part-time work as a shop sales advisor came up, I needed something delicious to get me through a 3pm til 10pm shift. Why people need to buy clothes and general merchandise until 10pm is a factor even after five and half years working in a shop I will never understand; however my mission for a tasty break time treat beckoned.

I found this little number in a £3 bargain find by Pret a Manger - Food on the Move.

So I'm not going to lie this salad took a bit of effort. To make the renouned Pret seasoning, used on all their signature salads and sarnies, various spices had to be fried, cooled and stored for shaking over your salady creations. Another set back? The mildly spiced yoghurt dressing for the chicken. Slightly longwinded and not really adding a huge deal to the salad, but a welcome little hint of warmth nonetheless.

Still all in all a hearty and filling salad, ticking all the right boxes with my favourite ingredients. A fitting make at home tribute to a shop bought favourite.

MADE IT: Bang Bang Chicken Salad

Monday 2 August 2010

For some salads are a curse. A nasty diet requirement. Rabbit food. Tasteless. For me salads excite me to what some might think is an unhealthy level! So when it came to a tiring Friday afternoon and I wanted something light this salad got my tastebuds banging!

A big bowl of Asian salady delights

A simple Bang Bang chicken salad satisfied my buds and was nothing but easy to make. I found the recipe in a magazine or book. To be fair this house is laden with folders full of recipes, books, you name it any cuisine, any obscure ingredient and we would have a recipe for it.

 Bang Bang Chicken Salad

From what my foodie mind can recall the tasty dressing was a concotion of crunchy peanut butter, hot chilli sauce, garlic, soy and veg stock. All whisked together and drizzled over a crunchy mix of iceberg lettuce, raw carrot and a few bits of celery. Topped off with a sliced cold roasted chicken breast, this made a refreshing treat for a Friday evening.

The only downside? Always resourceful, I stored my excess salad for lunch at work the next day, transporting an individual Tupperware pot of dressing to drizzle over. Sadly the dressing doesn't refridgerate well, so unless you want a Peanut and chilli yoghurt to accompany your salad the next day, keep your dressing outside of your fridge!

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