Simple Shredded Chicken tossed with a Rocket, Apple, Fennel & Walnut Salad
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Recipe type: Salad
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
In this simple salad, poached chicken is shredded and is tossed with seasonal rocket, apple & fennel and finished with toasted walnuts and a minty dressing
Ingredients
Salad
  • 1-2 large skin-on chicken leg (or 2-4 boned highs) for poaching & shredding (preferably free-range/organic)
  • Aromatics of choice for poaching – e.g 2 cloves garlic, tsp apple cider vinegar, dried herbs such as thyme. Lemon zest*
  • 50g walnuts
  • lemon juice*
  • 1 medium bulb fennel
  • 50g Rocket
  • 1 apple (Braeburn or Granny Smith work well)
Dressing
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
  • ½ tsp French Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbs lemon juice*, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar
  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs chopped mint leaves. Reserve a few leaves to garnish the salad (optional)
  • pinch salt
  • twist black pepper
Instructions
  1. Place the chicken legs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add aromatics. Bring the water to the boil, then lower to a simmer, cover and leave to cook for 20-25 minutes. The chicken is ready when no pink meat remains (the internal temperature should be approximately 75 degrees C, if you have a meat thermometer to check).
  2. Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan until lightly golden. Remove from the heat and add a touch of lemon juice.
  3. Next, prepare the dressing. Place the fennel seeds and mustard in a small bowl, add the lemon juice, then whisk in olive oil, add seasoning and stir in the chopped mint.
  4. Prepare the fennel by removing the stems, leveling off the bottom, slicing in half vertically and cutting out the root, then slicing the fennel into thin shreds. Toss the fennel with a Tablespoon of the dressing, and set aside.
  5. When the chicken is ready, remove it from the pan and leave to cool for a few minutes before removing the skin and bones and using 2 forks to shred it into bite sized pieces.
  6. To assemble the salad, toss the rocket with the dressed fennel, slice up the apple (don’t cut it earlier or it will go brown), the shredded chicken and the rest of the dressing. Top with walnuts, a few reserved sprigs of mint and some lemon zest.
Notes
*Note: 1 lemon will do for whole salad. You will need lemon zest to poach chicken and top the salad, and a little juice to dress the walnuts, and for the salad dressing.
Recipe by Ceri Jones Chef at https://cerijoneschef.com/chicken-autumn-seasonal-salad/