Recipe | Rice Noodle Salad

Weekend lunches growing up were always a bit of pot luck in my household. This isn't to say they weren't always amazing but because she was home my mum would get crafty with whatever was left in the house after the week or with some bits and pieces she had picked up on the weekend grocery shop. One of many dishes she excelled was a healthy vermicelli rice noodle salad with a variety of different ingredients. As it gets hotter here I've been trying to cook dishes that require a lot less cooking and this is one of them. 

Mango, Chicken and Chorizo Salad

A while ago, a good friend of mine served me a delicious salad featuring mango, walnuts and avocado. I don't normally fancy fruit with savoury dishes but this was an eye opener. Since then (which, admittedly, was ages ago) I have been aching to try this recipe. 

Serves 5

Ingredients 

1 - 2 large handfuls of rocket
1 - 2 mangoes, diced 

1 bunch of spring onions, chopped

2 chicken breasts

extra virgin olive oil

2 chorizo sausages, finely sliced

1 red and 1 green capsicum, sliced

1 handful of snow peas or snap peas 

1 handful of mint and coriander combined 

Dressing

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

juice of 1 lime

To get it out of the way, and to give it time to cool slightly, grill the chicken nice and slowly. While its cooking you can prepare your other ingredients. Don't forget to keep an eye on it though and turn it over as to prevent it burning. Place the rocket and spring onions in the bowl you want to serve the salad in (or just a large mixing bowl if you're going for individual servings).  When your chicken is ready, take it off the heat and set it aside to cool.

Sauté the chopped chorizo, capsicum and snow peas in a saucepan until all the ingredients are cooked - the vegetables should be beginning to bruise and wilt, and the chorizo slightly golden. While these are cooking you can begin to shred the chicken into bite-size strips and drizzle with olive oil. 

Put the lime juice and sweet chilli sauce in a jar, shut the lid tight, and shake until combined. Feel free to add flavours to taste... I think mine could have done with a bit more sweet chilli. Lightly shred the coriander and mint (not too much though as you don't want to lose too much of their texture)

Toss all the ingredients (leaving out a few sprigs of the herbs) together thoroughly. If serving in a salad bowl, present with the herbs on top, or if serving individually, place a small sprig of each herb on each serving. Season with salt and pepper as you like. 

Just like my truffles from last Sunday, don't underestimate the potential of this salad. It serves about five people as a substantial meal. Its super light and perfect for a hot summer day when you're craving a warm meal thats not going to heat up your house or your body.

Enjoy

Erin xx

PS If you're wondering when I'm going to post an update on my retro DIY pieces from earlier, they are coming. My parents bought me a new sewing machine for Christmas AND my Granny is visiting so she is teaching me some neater and better finishing techniques. 

PPS Just getting in on Jess's 'PS' trend ;)