A Recipe

Having come home at lunch time, still ill, I decided something nourishing, yummy and full of vitamins and protein would be a good way to combat my malaise. (Plus, I like think that my mentor figures are in some way pleased when I am eating well instead of the alternative :) All items that you may have available in your own kitchen!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Beans
1 can of chickpeas
1 can of cannellini beans
5 chicken breasts

some sort of vegetable greens mix, like a spring mix
a cucumber
cherry tomatos
Peppadew roasted peppers from the deli, with juice

5+ cloves of garlic
olive oil
turmeric
ground ginger (or fresh if you have it!)
black pepper
paprika
coriander seeds


Combine the coriander, turmeric, ginger, paprika and some black pepper in a mortar and grind. (Use maybe 1 tsp or a little less of coriander, turmeric + paprika, and half a tsp of ginger.)
Put the ground spices in a solid bowl with 1/4 cup of high-quality olive oil and the peeled garlic; crush into a paste with the pestle. Add cleaned chicken breasts to marinate for 20 minutes. Add a little more oil, adjust spices as necessary and stir from time to time to make sure the chicken is covered.

While this is going on, wash the cherry tomatoes. Drain the beans and rinse, and chop the roasted peppers into little pieces. Peel the waxed skin off the cucumber (blech!) and slice Very Thinly, and then crosswise into semicircles. Once the 20 minutes are up, ready a skillet and set it to high heat. Put in the chicken and the oil marinade, turning chicken when cooked on one side. Once the chicken is white on both sides (well, it will be yellow due to the delicious, colorful action of the turmeric!) add the cherry tomatoes.

Continue cooking, adjusting heat as necessary, until chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes are wrinkly and bursting with hot fragrant juices!

Prepare a bed of greens on a plate. Add the cucumber slices and some beans on top (I used probably 3/4 cup beans for myself) and sprinkle the red pepper over this. Add the sweet, spicy pepper juice as dressing. Spoon chicken and tomatoes directly from the griddle onto the salad, making sure you pick up some of the roasted garlic and pleasant, oily sauce. Top with black pepper. Some crisp white wine like an Orvieto Classico would probably complement this nicely.