End of year arrived pretty quickly for me after our long break in August September with our Coast To Coast Walk in UK....we of course had no regrets as it was one of the best things we have done! Home to a Orange which had had very wet winter and Christmas was upon us. Our end of year luncheons are usually held around the studio gardens in warm weather, so salads are always the first choice! The Chicken was a winner and the Pumpkin came from NZ Tora walk Cookbook, the second walk of the year!
Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Toss pumpkin in a little olive oil and spread out evenly on paper lined baking tray. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender, turning halfway through. Allow to cool.
To make dressing: Place tomatoes with vinegar, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in food processor and pulse until ingredients are combined and dressing is still a little chunky. Check and adjust seasoning to taste.
Toss pumpkin and chickpeas in dressing, place in serving bowl and garnish with plenty of parsley, coriander or mint.
( with thanks to Jill Dupleix) Ingredients; 400ml coconut milk 3 tbsp fish sauce 4 x 200g chicken breasts 250g green beans, topped, not tailed 2 small Lebanese cucumbers 2 tsp sugar ½ tsp salt 2 tbsp lime or lemon juice good handful coriander sprigs good handful Asian basil leaves good handful mint leaves ½ green chilli, julienned 2 tbsp salted peanuts...Optional. chopped lime or lemon wedges, for serving salt to taste Method 1. Combine coconut milk with one tablespoon of fish sauce and salt in a pan. Add the chicken breasts and 400 millilitres of cold water, or enough to just cover, and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, turning the chicken once or twice, then turn off the heat, cover and leave to steep for 30 minutes until cooked through. 2. Cook the green beans in simmering salted water for 4 minutes then drain. Shave the cucumbers lengthwise with a vegetable peeler. 3. To make the dressing, whisk four tablespoons of the chicken breasts' coconut broth with the remaining fish sauce, sugar, salt and lime juice. 4. To serve, drain the chicken and slice. Toss the green beans, cucumber and herbs in half the dressing and arrange on four plates. Add the chicken, spoon over remaining dressing, scatter with peanuts and serve with lime or lemon wedges.