I recently had a conversation with someone about salad and having it for dinner. They looked at me as though there was something seriously flawed in my logic. To them, salad just doesn’t equal a meal. A side dish, yes or a starter, absolutely, but not a meal in itself.

I’ll often have salad for lunch and in summer I’ve had it for supper a few times, but it’s usually laced with mayonnaise and followed by a ridiculous amount of pudding. So for all my proposed healthy eating…it’s all a lie! I binge with the best of them.

I have now found a salad that is more than a meal and so adding it to my binge list. It;s not super healthy, but it’s better than what i normally have and is easier to digest late at night.

Doesn’t that look mouthwatering!

It was very yummy and the orange flavour comes through beautifully. It is well worth the little bit of extra effort for a lovely dinner. I served it with some crispy Portuguese rolls that I heated in the oven for a few minutes, just to complete the meal. However, we found that we were both quite full and didn’t need to eat the rolls.

For a luncheon party or a Summer evening dinner this is ideal and looks great. A big bowl of this salad with a big plate of fresh bread/rolls and everyone will be quite satisfied!

I found the recipe in the October issue of the Fresh Living magazine. It is from Ina Paarman.

Warm Chicken, Orange, Avocado and Olive Salad

(Makes 2 big portions or 4 medium portions)

• 1 packet (400g) mini chicken breast fillets
• 2 tsp (10ml) Ina Paarman’s Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning
• 2 Tbsp (30ml) canola oil (sunflower oil works too)
• 2 large oranges, peeled with pith removed
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup (125ml) kalamata olives
• 1 packet (80g) of herb salad or assorted lettuce leaves

Marinade

• 1 Tbsp (15ml) lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp (30ml) orange juice
• 2 tsp (10ml) grated orange peel (I just grated the peel off one large orange)

Dressing

• 1 Tbsp (15ml) whole-grain mustard
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup (60ml) orange juice
• 3 Tbsp (45ml) olive oil
• Ina Paarman’s Lemon & Black pepper seasoning

Toss the chicken with the seasoning in a plastic bag. Add the lemon and orange juice together with the orange peel into the bag. Shake it so the chicken is well coated. Put on a plate in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Snip a corner of the bag and allow the excess marinade to drain out. Heat the oil in a pan and pour contents of bag into the pan. Fry chicken until browned. Don’t worry if the orange peel burns slightly it adds a lovely flavour. Put pan to one side allowing chicken to cool gently.

While chicken is frying, remove your orange segments by cutting the peel off the oranges and cutting between the individual membranes of each segment. De-pip the olives and peel and slice the avocado.

Arrange salad greens on a platter or serving plates and place the orange, avocado, chicken and olives on top.

Dressing: Pour off excess liquid from frying pan, but don’t clean it. Reheat the frying pan and add the mustard, vinegar and orange juice. Bring to a vigorous boil (scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove any burnt bits), until reduced by half.

Remove from heat, add olive oil and swivel pan to mix well. Season to taste and drizzle hot dressing over salad. serve immediately.

After all that healthy talk of salad, I’m off to make a chocolate cake!