‘Heatwave’ Coleslaw Chicken & Sweet Potato Salad

For the moment I am still turning on my oven for the odd meal or two – but to be honest I am not sure how long this will continue with a fierce heatwave on its way if the forecasts are to be believed.

This is what I have planned for today, before it hits the UK big time, and it doesn’t mean a long cooking time – about 20 minutes which I think is doable – especially if timed for the coolest time of day. But if the HEATWAVE has already reached (and stayed) with you then I have your back covered with this recipe too. No ‘real’ cooking needed!

So I might compromise a bit with the cooking – or not (see the optional Full On Heatwave Instructions option if you’re not prepared to turn on the oven). But what isn’t so doable for me at the moment is the laborious chore of chopping vegetables to make a coleslaw and preparing for roasting – although easy enough if you have a food processor – so I am using a ready prepped bag of coleslaw for this recipe and some ready peeled and diced sweet potatoes for roasting. Somehow it straddles the desire to cook from scratch but have a helping hand (a commis chef?) to ease the process. Plus it means I don’t get hot and bothered.

I think you’ll like it – protein, complex carbs, flavour, crunch and convenience all rolled into one!

‘HEATWAVE’ COLESLAW CHICKEN & SWEET POTATO SALAD

Ingredients

METRIC/US

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp chipotle chilli paste (or to taste)

grated zest and juice of 1 lime

2 cloves garlic, crushed

salt and freshly ground black pepper

300 g/11 oz chicken breast fillets portions

400 g/14 oz packet prepared sweet potato chunks (I used an Asda Scratch Cook one)

1 x 300 g/11 oz packet coleslaw mix (I used an Asda Ranch Coleslaw one), dressing discarded if preferred and replaced with a lower-fat option

2 large pickled fill gherkins, chopped

3 spring onions/scallions, sliced

200 g/7 oz baby plum tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro

1 green chilli, thinly sliced (optional)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F/gas 6.
Mix the oil with the chipotle paste, lime zest and juice, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken and sweet potato chunks and toss to coat.
Spread on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the sweet potato is tender. Leave to rest for 10 minutes then chop the chicken into bite-sized chunks, reserving the cooking juices.
Make up the coleslaw with the dressing if using or use your own dressing instead of the sachet provided if preferred. Spoon into a serving dish.
Top with the cooked chicken and sweet potato, gherkin, spring onions/scallions and tomatoes. Drizzle with the reserved pan juices. Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander/cilantro and green chilli if liked.

FULL ON HEATWAVE OPTION:

Use cooked chicken pieces instead of the chicken in the recipe above – a chilli chicken option is a good one. Use some cooked potatoes instead of the roasted sweet potato ones. I have used small new potatoes in a microwave sachet cooking bag with success (there are many variations on sale using herbs and spices or simply plain to choose from). Most of these cook in just 2-3 minutes in the microwave and some are fully cooked so don’t need cooking at all, just slicing into chunks to serve. Mix the cooked chicken with the potatoes and use to top the coleslaw mixture in the recipe above with gherkins, spring onions/scallions and tomatoes then scattered with coriander/cilantro. I have also substituted the potato for a can of cooked, drained beans or chick peas or a sachet of cooked grains or lentils and achieved a very tasty meal. Using beans, chick peas or lentils will also boost the protein. Use what you like for a short-cut to a heat-free meal and stand by the fan when preparing!

SERVES 4

WLS PORTION: ½

CALORIES PER PORTION: (AS IN MAIN RECIPE NOT OPTION) 307

PROTEIN: 20 g

CARBOHYDRATE: 29.7 g

FAT: 11.6 g

Image courtesy of http://asda.com