Peri-Peri chicken salad with charred corn

This peri-peri chicken salad is perfect for lunch or a healthy dinner and the spicy peri-peri marinade on the chicken will have you coming back for more.

So it seems we’ve just skipped right over my favourite season. Hi Spring, Bye Spring. See ya next year buddy. Last week it reached 33ºc you guys. THIRTY THREE. That’s like 90ºF. In Spring. So in anticipation for the hottest Summer ever in history, I have started making lists of recipes that require zero cooking. Because if I’m hot now, can you just imagine what January/February is going to be like? 90% of the recipes I’ve noted down involves chicken breasts or a rotisserie chicken bought from a supermarket. Because a) chicken breasts cook in less than 10 minutes and b) a rotisserie chicken involves exactly no work from me.

Of course salads are at the top of my list with chicken salads in every way, shape and form being no.1. And this peri-peri chicken salad is one I’ll be doing a LOT of this Summer. What I love so much about this salad is that the chicken takes all of 5 minutes to cook (if your  pan is really hot) and the spicy, aromatic peri-peri marinade results in the tastiest grilled chicken ever. If you’ve ever had Nandos, you’ll know where I’m going with this. The chicken stays super juicy and tender due to the short cooking time and along with a salad packed full of fresh, vibrant vegetables, makes for an unbelievably easy and delicious lunch or dinner.

I added charred corn because I could pretty much eat corn with everything and I think the sweetness it adds is really good with the spicy chicken. Creamy avocado mellows everything out and the olives, feta and tomatoes just finish things off nicely. This peri-peri chicken salad is perfection for a quick weeknight dinner, it’s great as a packed lunch and the recipe can easily be multiplied if you’re feeding a crowd. Add a few ciabattas and chilled wine and you have a no-fuss lunch your guests will love.

5 from 1 vote

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Peri-Peri chicken salad with charred corn

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

This peri-peri chicken salad is perfect for lunch or a healthy dinner and the spicy peri-peri marinade on the chicken will have you coming back for more.

Course: Chicken, Gluten free, Low Carb, Salad

Servings: 4

Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

for the peri-peri chicken

• 4 skinless chicken breasts sliced in half lengthwise, giving you 8 thin chicken breasts)
• 2 tablespoons peri-peri sauce
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• salt & pepper to taste

for the salad

• 4 ears of corn
• salad leaves of your choice
• ripe avocado sliced
• olives
• cherry <g class="gr_ gr_4207 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="4207" data-gr-id="4207">tomatoes </g> halved
• feta <g class="gr_ gr_4208 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="4208" data-gr-id="4208">cheese </g> cubed
• olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the peri-peri sauce, olive oil, honey, lemon and seasoning and mix well. Pour over the chicken breasts and marinade for at least 10 minutes.
2. While the chicken is marinating, char the corn, brush the corn with olive oil and place in a hot griddle pan, rotating every few minutes until the corn is charred all over. Remove and set aside.
3. To cook the chicken, place the chicken on the hot griddle pan you used for the corn and cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until the chicken is cooked to your preference.
4. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
5. To assemble the salad, place the salad leaves, sliced avocado, cherry tomatoes, <g class="gr_ gr_4198 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="4198" data-gr-id="4198">olives</g> and feta cheese on a large platter. Slice the corn kernels off the cobs and add to the salad.
6. Slice the grilled chicken and place on the salad then dress with olive oil, lemon juice and season to taste.
7. Serve immediately.
8. *If you are planning to pack this for lunch, keep the dressing separate and dress just before serving.

Peri-Peri sauce

More easy chicken salad recipes:

Moroccan chicken salad

Chinese chicken and cabbage salad