Gluten-free, Dairy-free
Almost any ingredients can be made into a salad, given the proper balance of flavors, textures, and spices. BUT! What makes a salad special is the dressing with which you toss it. The tastiest and healthiest dressings and sauces are the ones you make yourself, hands down. Preparing at home allows you to avoid the undesired ingredients in store-bought dressings, which is often canola and/or vegetable oil. These polyunsaturated fats are hydrogenated (heated to high temps during processing) and are often rancid by the time you consume them. You can also control the amount/type of sugar you use in case the dressing needs to be sweetened (raw honey and maple syrup are natural, low-amount-of-processing go-tos).
Serves 2
Ingredients
Dressing
3/4 C coconut milk
1/2 C peanut butter, natural, unsweetened
2 Tbsp coconut aminos
2 Tbsp raw honey
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp ground ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp lime juice (or juice from 1 lime)
2 pinches sea salt
Salad
2 C shredded green cabbage
1 C shredded purple cabbage
1/2 C roasted cashews (raw is ok too, see notes)
1/2 carrot, for shredding
1/4 C cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lb organic pasture raised chicken cutlets
Equipment
Small food processor or blender
Method
Prepare dressing by adding all ingredients to a small food processor or blender and blitz until smooth.
If you have cooked chicken on hand, this salad will come together rather quickly. However, you can cook raw chicken cutlets on your stovetop in about 12 minutes. To do so, start by rinsing and patting the
chicken dry. Place in a mixing bowl. Add 2 Tbsp avocado oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with prepared seasoning of your choice, coating both sides of the chicken cutlet, as well as some sea salt. I used a simple “Chop” seasoning here because it’s what I had on hand. But don’t worry too much about having the “right” seasoning or a seasoning that conflicts with the dressing… the idea is to simply add a little depth of flavor to the chicken.
Add 1 Tbsp avocado oil to a cast-iron skillet on medium heat (non cast- iron works too). Place cutlets in the pan and cook for about 5-6 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 5-6 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check that the temperature has reached 165 deg.
Place on cutting board and cut into desired size pieces.
Next, prepare the salad ingredients and add to a bowl with the cooked chicken. Serve with dressing tossed in, or on the side (as pictured).
NOTE: This is a great salad to size up for a large gathering or a family style meal.
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