Easy Summer Salads, Lighter Foods For A Brighter Summer

Light summer salads are the way to go as the winter blues fade into the distance and the days of salads have arrived. The best salads are light, light, and easy to prepare. 

Who wants to work hours in the kitchen when friends are there for lunch, the garden is in bloom, and chilled wine is ready to be served? But before you start cooking, buying the right ingredients can save you a lot of energy. That way, you don’t need the heavy bottled sauces and dressings to get great flavour. Don’t want to make a delicious, crunchy summer salad and dip it in a mixture of fat, sugar, salt, and chemicals? 

If you start with good food and don’t overdo it, you don’t need all those strong flavours. All you need is to combine it well for the flavours to blend, have a nice crunchy texture, and add some light dressing to top it off. Taste buds do the rest; freshness, like cooking, is the way to make a good salad. 

Don’t accept what the supermarkets give you. Although it is easier to pick tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, etc., packaged. To make sure you’re getting the best, take a minute or two and choose your veggies, choosing those that are firm, ripe, and ready to go. The same applies, of course, to meat and fish. There’s a reason supermarkets prepare, and it’s not always convenient. So choose well, cook quickly and easily, and your friends won’t have finished their wine by the time you get there! Now enjoy a little summer with this easy poached chicken salad. 

Simple poached chicken salad 

Ingredients: 

4 chicken breasts without skin 

1 Red onion finely chopped 

1 Half whole  onion 

4 Ripe tomatoes in thick slices 

250 grams of mixed salad  

4 ounces of raisins soaked in hot water for ten minutes 

1 half lemon 

2 fresh or dried bay leaves 

1 teaspoon black peppercorns  

1 small French baguette or similar cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices 

For the dressing: 

1/4 cup oil olive  

1 clove, crushed garlic  

1/2 tablespoon Dijon or other mild mustard 

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 

For the dressing: 

Whisk the vinegar and mustard with the garlic, slowly add the olive oil while stirring, and Season with salt and pepper. 

For the salad: 

Bring water with bay leaves, 1/2 white onion, lemon and peppercorns to a boil in a saucepan. 

Carefully add the chicken and simmer until cooked. If you’re unsure, a meat thermometer is worth investing a few dollars in. The temperature should be at least 75 degrees. Put the sliced ​​bread on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Bake in a medium oven until crisp but soft in the middle. 

Mix the leaves with the onions and raisins. Stir in salad dressing and place in 4 large bowls. Arrange the tomato and bread slices alternately around the edge. Slice the warm chicken on the diagonal and place it neatly on the salad. Sit back, enjoy, and let someone else do the dishes.