Warm Chicken Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Cooking the chicken and vegetables

1. Prepare the chicken fillet: rinse it, pat it dry with paper towels and trim off any visible fat. Pound the meat lightly to even out the thickness.

   

2. Grill the fillet until done. You can use a barbecue or a grill pan, and the grill pan is more convenient at home. Brush the bottom of the pan with 1-2 drops of vegetable oil and heat it well. Fry the fillet for 4-5 mins on each side. Make sure the meat is cooked through: just cut into the thickest part, and there should be no pink juice inside. Transfer the meat to a plate to cool.

   

3. Fry the zucchini. Rinse and dry the zucchini, then cut it crosswise into rounds 1.5-2 cm thick. Pour part of the vegetable oil into the hot pan and fry the zucchini over medium heat on both sides until light brown spots appear. The inside may stay half-raw, al dente. Put the fried zucchini on a plate to cool.

   

4. Fry the pepper until soft and golden. Remove the seeds and stems from the bell pepper and cut it into strips, fairly large is fine. Add the rest of the vegetable oil to the pan and fry the pepper over medium heat, stirring with a spatula. It is usually nicely browned after 8-10 minutes. Do not pour away the oil left in the pan, because it goes into the dressing.

   

5. Bake the potatoes. While the pepper is frying, it is convenient to bake the potatoes in the microwave, where they take 5-6 mins to become soft. Prick them with a fork in several places first. Let them cool.

Assembling the salad

6. Cut up the chicken and vegetables once everything has cooled. Cut the grilled chicken fillet into cubes. The zucchini can be cut into quarters or cubes. Peel the baked potatoes and cut them into cubes. Slice the fried pepper strips to about the same size as the rest. Put everything in a bowl, add a little salt and a pinch of dried oregano.

   

7. Dress the salad. Toss, then add the olives. Plain salt-cured black olives, pitted or not, work best here. Add a few drops of balsamic or wine vinegar, pour over the oil the vegetables were fried in, and mix well.

Serving

8. Divide the salad among salad bowls and serve warm or at room temperature.

   

   You can replace the chicken fillet with turkey fillet, frying it a little longer. In season, use small new potatoes so you do not have to cut them for the salad. As an alternative, you can make a light yogurt-based dressing.