Chicken, avocado & tomato salad

This salad is perfect when the weather is good, it is quite warm outside and you don’t feel like cooking or eating. Perhaps when you go for a picnic or a bike ride and do not know what to prepare for your re-fuelling snack. It is great to take with you to work, and have on your lunch break. It tastes as good with cold or hot meat, therefore very practical, also for those watching their figure, but do not want to fade away from hunger. This salad has good carbohydrates, healthy fat and some protein. More importantly it tastes great.

Serves 2

For the  salad:

2 avocados

juice of half lemon or lime

10-15 cherry tomatoes, halved  

handful basil leaves, torn if big

2 spring onions, chopped

few green asparagus, wooden bottoms removed, rest halved  

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, slightly bashed on the thicker end  

2 tbsp sweet paprika

1 tbsp smoked paprika  

1/4 tsp chilli powder

salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil  

For the  dressing:

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp cider or white wine vinegar  

freshly ground black pepper

salt

Mix all the dressing ingredients together and set aside.

Boil the asparagus in salted water for about 3 minutes, drain and leave to cool down in cold water, then dry and set aside.

Cut avocado in half, remove the stone and take the flesh out of the skin. Drizzle with lemon juice so it doesn’t become dark and dice. Mix with tomatoes, spring onions, basil, asparagus and dressing. 

On a plate mix sweet and smoked paprika, chilli, salt and pepper and toss chicken breast in the spices until covered all over. Heat a frying pan, add the olive and fry chicken on both sides. Timing depends on chicken breast size. Medium doesn’t need more than 4-5 minutes one side and then 3-4 minutes on other side, so it doesn’t become dry. Remove from the pan, set on a chopping board and leave it to rest for about 5 minutes. 

Arrange the vegetables on a plate, top with sliced chicken breast, sprinkle with some more pepper and some basil leaves.