Regular readers of my blog may be wondering why it's been almost two weeks since my last post. Have I become lazy? Have I succumbed to the temptations of the chippie down the road? Have I fallen victim to some gruesome food processor related accident? Well no (well, strictly, I have succumbed to the chippie a couple of times), I have been away on a business/pleasure trip to Northern Ireland. Without digressing from the main point of my blog for too long, I will quickly say that it is a beautiful part of the world and Belfast, amongst all the other many things it has going for it, is home to the Ginger Bistro - one of the best and least pretentious restaurants I have been to in a long time. Somehow, over the course of the 6 days I was away, I managed to consume seven cooked breakfasts. Not only that, but on Sunday I am due to be taking part in the 55 mile London to Brighton cycle ride . To successfully complete the ride I would have to conquer the gruelling Ditchling Beacon - a 4 km slog up a winding country road to the third highest point in the South Downs. It's not quite the Tour de France but something healthy would definitely be required.
So we decided to go for this "Incredibly Delicious" (although strangely downgraded to just "delicious" in the iPhone app) Chicken Salad - it's basically a fancier version of a chicken, rice and broccoli meal I'd typically have the night before any physically demanding activity - and as my cycling buddy Isla would be joining us for dinner, I was confident it was a fairly safe option that would be enjoyed by everyone. I would also be introduced to the hitherto untried bulgur wheat and preserved lemons.
It looked like the kind of dish where you couldn't go too far wrong, and so it proved. It was also fairly light on washing up - reusing the broccoli pan and cooking water for the bulgur wheat was particularly cunning I thought. The dish was enjoyed by all and was probably just about the right amount for three people I thought. We liked the yoghurt and harissa sauce and I thought the radish, mint and spring onion dressing set it apart from my aforementioned chicken, rice and broccoli number which Lolz happily exclaimed was rather boring in comparison. The preserved lemons were inspired also, definitely an ingredient I will be looking to make more use of in the future.
Lolz gave the dish a worthy 10/10. We finished the meal with a pear and chocolate tart made by Lolz, which she managed not to drop this time! That Isla was so stuffed by the end of it that she had to change from jeans to jogging bottoms makes me think perhaps the meal as a whole was not the best preparation for our ride as I'd anticipated... how will we get on in the bike ride? Find out next time...!
Difficulty rating 2/10.
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