Serves 4–6

This is a great salad to make with a cooked chicken, which means it should take no more than 20 minutes to get on the table, particularly if you use a mandolin for the vegetables. The salad is full of fresh, spicy flavours that should perk up those taste buds.

  • 2 Little Gem lettuces
  • 2 carrots, shredded into julienne
  • ½ cucumber, halved, deseeded and
  • cut into julienne
  • 4 spring onions, trimmed and
  • shredded
  • 20g (¾oz) fresh coriander, leaves
  • chopped
  • handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly
  • torn
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 rotisserie cooked chicken (about
  • 600g (1lb 5oz) once removed from
  • the bone)
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

FOR THE SATAY DRESSING

  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp boiling water
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 2 tbsp Sriracha chilli sauce
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

To make the dressing, place the peanut butter in a bowl and whisk in the boiling water, then add the rest of the ingredients and continue to whisk until you have achieved a thick dressing. Set aside at room temperature until needed.

Separate the Little Gem lettuces into leaves, discarding any damaged outer leaves. Arrange on a large platter. Place the carrots, cucumber and spring onions in a bowl, then add the coriander, mint and lime juice and toss until evenly combined. Add a small mound to each lettuce leaf.

Remove any skin from the chicken and finely shred the flesh. Place on top of the crunchy vegetable mixture and drizzle the peanut dressing on top. Sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds to serve.


Tuna Fishcakes with Spinach and Petit Pois

Makes 8

Shines Wild Irish Tuna is one of my go-to ingredients when I want to have something healthy and tasty on the table and the cupboards are pretty bare. Connor and Lucia love these fishcakes with a small pot of yoghurt topped with a drizzle of ketchup or sweet chilli sauce.

Prep 15 MINS

Cook 35 MINS

FREEZER FRIENDLY

  • 2 × 111g (4½oz) tins of tuna in olive oil, drained (preferably Shines Wild Irish Tuna)
  • 550g (1¼lb) potatoes, cut into small chunks
  • ½ lemon, pips removed
  • 1 heaped tbsp snipped fresh chives
  • 1 egg, beaten plain flour, for dusting
  • 225g (8oz) frozen spinach
  • 175g (6oz) frozen petit pois
  • knob of butter
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • TO SERVE
  • thick Greek yoghurt swirled with sweet chilli sauce

Open the tins of tuna, drain off the excess olive oil and reserve for frying the fishcakes. Place the potatoes in a pan, cover with cold salted water and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 8 minutes, until tender.

Drain and leave them to steam dry for 2–3 minutes. Mash the potatoes, then add the tuna, breaking it up with a fork. Squeeze in the lemon juice to taste, stir in the chives and season with salt and pepper. Add the beaten egg, then use your hands to bring everything together. Divide the mixture into eight even-sized balls and shape into fishcakes. Chill for at least 15 minutes or up to 24 hours is perfect.

Heat the reserved drained olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Dust the chilled fishcakes lightly in flour, shaking off any excess, then add to the hot oil and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, cook the spinach and petit pois in a pan of boiling salted water for 2–3 minutes, until just tender. Drain and return to the pan with the butter, tossing to combine. Arrange the fishcakes on plates with the spinach and petit pois. Add small pots of Greek yoghurt swirled with sweet chilli sauce to serve.