Summer chicken salad

Photography & styling by Tam West

You may want to prepare in the morning or a day ahead. You could use fresh cherry tomatoes or slice 2 large ripe tomatoes rather than semi-roasting.

Ingredients

4	Chicken breasts, medium sized, skinless (Main)
1 drizzle	Olive oil, for rubbing
12	Roma tomatoes, semi-roasted halves (instructions below) (Main)
2	Roasted capsicum, one red, one yellow (see instructions below), sliced (Main)
200 g	Green beans, sliced and steamed (Main)
2	Finely chopped spring onion
4 handfuls	Mesclun leaves, including a few basil leaves (Main)
1	Lemon juice
4 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp	Pitted black olives
1 Tbsp	Capers

Directions

1. Place the chicken breasts on a chopping board. Using a large sharp knife, cut through each breast horizontally and open out (as if you were reading a book). Cover with baking paper and, using a meat mallet or the base of a heavy saucepan, pound the chicken until it's about 5mm thick. Rub chicken with olive oil and season.
2. Heat a barbecue grill plate until hot and barbecue chicken for 2 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove and leave to cool a little before slicing.
3. Layer chicken and salad ingredients in a shallow serving bowl. Place the lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl and whisk together. Season. Drizzle over the chicken salad and sprinkle with the olives and capers.

Semi-roasted tomatoes

Heat oven to 130C and line a shallow baking tray with baking paper. Place 12 roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise, on the tray in a single layer. Drizzle with a little olive oil, season and top with 3-4 thyme sprigs. Place in the oven and roast for about 1 hour until they look semi-dried. Remove from oven and leave to cool. Extra tomatoes can be stored in the fridge. Cover them with a layer of olive oil.

Roasting capsicum

Heat oven to 220C and line a shallow baking tray with baking paper. Remove core and seeds from 1 red and 1 yellow capsicum. Place on the tray. Roast in the oven until the skin is blistered, turning once or twice. Remove from the oven and place in a bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to cool. The skin will steam away from the flesh. Peel off the skin and discard. Slice flesh. Capsicum can also be roasted under a hot grill or on a barbecue.