Agrodolce-style chicken and rice salad with lemon and garlic yoghurt
Aim for about one chicken thigh per serve for this salad,so you can scale up and down as much as you need,and to ensure you have leftovers for the next day.
Agrodolce is a broad Italian term for a sweet-and-sour sauce made with a combination of onions,garlic,vinegar,sugar and raisins. I’ve borrowed from this tradition to make a lively dressing that coats the grains and chicken beautifully.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 chicken thighs (or 1½ cups shredded cooked chicken meat)
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (warm or cold)
- 1 cup mixed herbs,chopped
Agrodolce dressing
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large red onion,finely sliced
- sea salt flakes
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1½ tbsp caster sugar
- 75g pine nuts,toasted
- 3 tbsp currants
Chickpea,brown rice and greens salad with creamy harissa dressing
This salad improves with a good sit in the fridge. The key to its longevity and success is to coat the chickpeas and grains only very lightly with dressing,and serve with more dressing when you are ready to eat.
Ingredients
- 400g can chickpeas,rinsed and drained
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (warm or cold)
- 1 small bunch kale,large stems removed,leaves roughly chopped
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves,roughly chopped
- ½ cup mint leaves,roughly chopped
- ¼ cup sultanas
Amatriciana-ish cous cous salad
The beauty of this salad lies in its adaptability;add chilli and whatever deli-style goods you might have lurking in your fridge. It also loves a smattering of parmesan,if you happen to have it on hand.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion,finely diced
- 400g can finely chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 cup pitted green Sicilian olives
- ½ cup smoked semi-dried tomatoes
- 500g moghrabieh or pearl cous cous
- small handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves,roughly chopped
- small handful of basil leaves,roughly chopped
- ½ cup smoked almonds,roughly chopped