Stir-fried chicken and avocado salad with hot balsamic dressing

Method
Prep:15min  ›  Cook:10min  ›  Ready in:25min 

1. First prepare the salad. Put the lettuce and watercress in a large wide salad bowl. Peel and thickly slice the avocados and toss with the lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Then scatter the avocados, tomatoes and red onion on top of the lettuce and watercress. Set the salad aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the garlic and stir round the pan for just 30 seconds or so until softened. Toss in the strips of chicken and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes or until they change colour.
3. Add the honey, vinegar and mustard, and stir to mix well. Add the diced turkey rashers and stir-fry for 1 minute more or until they are cooked, but still tender and moist (take care not to overcook or they will be dry). Season to taste.
4. Spoon the chicken mixture over the salad. Toss together, then serve immediately with crusty bread.

Some more ideas

For a turkey and artichoke salad with a lemon dressing, replace the chicken with 2 small skinless turkey breast steaks, about 300 g (10 ½ oz) in total, and use 2 lean rashers of back bacon instead of the turkey rashers. Stir-fry the turkey with the bacon and garlic for 5–6 minutes or until lightly golden, then add the grated zest and juice of 1 lemon to the pan with the honey and balsamic vinegar. Instead of the tomato and avocado salad, serve the turkey stir-fry spooned over an artichoke salad made with 100 g (3 ½ oz) baby spinach leaves, 55 g (2 oz) rocket and a 285 g jar of well-drained antipasto artichokes. * For a milder flavour, 2 shallots can be used instead of the small red onion.

Plus points

Turkey rashers, which are widely available in large supermarkets, contain a fraction of the fat of bacon and are lower in calories: 100 g (3 ½ oz) contains just 1.6 g fat and 99 kcal, compared with 21 g fat and 249 kcal in the same weight of back bacon. * Although avocados are high in fat, most of it is the healthier mono-unsaturated fat. They are also a rich source of vitamin B6 – one avocado provides half the recommended daily intake of this vitamin.

Each serving provides

Excellent source of vitamin B6. Good source of niacin, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin E. Useful source of copper, folate, iron, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, zinc.