If you are looking for something quick, tasty, and healthy this Ajvar chicken salad is for you. Ajvar sauce is a popular Balkan sauce, made with peppers and aubergines.
In the Balkans, this sauce is basically used on everything: tomato sauces, pasta, meats, fish, or on its own with bread or raw veggies. And while I strongly advise eating unprocessed foods, 1-2 teaspoons of Hajvati sauce can really make a huge difference in flavor and elevate any healthy meal.
BENEFITS OF THIS SALAD
This salad is really quick and easy to make and represents a tasty low-carb and protein-based lunch option, with plenty of micronutrients from the rocket and tomato.
Rocket or arugula salad, is one of the most nutrient-dense green vegetables on the planet, rich in folate, vitamin K, magnesium, beta-carotene, and vitamin C. It is a cruciferous vegetable ( like cabbage) and as such it supports liver detoxification, so important especially for women going through the menopause transition, as it helps detoxify estrogens. Click here for more nutritional information on rocket.
Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, potassium, Vitamin A, and anti-oxidants like naringenin and chlorogenic acid, which help with lowering inflammation.
SUBSTITUTIONS
- If you do not have Ajvar you can use it with harissa paste
- Or you can use peri-peri either sauce or a quick 10-min marinade (see below)
- Or you can make a quick marinade (10 min) with paprika, olive oil, and lemon juice.
ADD ONS
This salad works well as it is, and was designed to be made with only few easy to find ingredients, as rocket and tomatoes are so commonly found in every big and small supermarket in the UK, but you can more veggies if you like.
- Cucumber ( great as it adds more potassium)
- Carrots
- Olives
- Capers
HOW TO SAVE TIME
- If you are making this salad for lunch, you could use some leftover chicken from the previous evening for example. You only need to cook an extra two small chicken fillets to have enough to make a quick salad the following day.
NOTES
- Where to find Ajvar sauce in the UK: MAGAZA online + London store; Vardar Balkan Shop — Vardar Balkan Shop
- My favorite Extra-Vergin Olive Oil in the UK is this Greek Olive Oil form a brand called ILIADA, easy to find in all major supermarkets and Wholefoods. It a thick, full-bodied and intense olive oil, so it is perfect to give flavor to salads. You will only need a small quantity.
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken fillets
- 2 Handful Arugula ( rocket salad )
- 1 Tomato medium
- sprinkle Feta
- 2 tsp Ajvar sauce
- sprinkle EVOO
- dash Lemon juice
- 1/2 Middle Eastern cucumber
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken, covering it with the Ajvar sauce mixed with a bit of EVOO, then place in a non-stick pan with 1 slice of lemon cut in half and cook it until ready.
- In the meanitime prepare the salad: place the washed arugula and tomato on a salad bowl, and when the chicken is ready, let it rest for a couple of minutes, before adding it to the bowl cut in chunks.
- Add the crumbled feta, a sprinkle of EVOO and a dash of lemon juice. Toss and eat accompanied by some wholemeal pita bread or a small slice of sourdough.
