Chicken, Avocado & Pancetta Salad

This chicken salad recipe is the perfect summertime light bite.  The chicken & pancetta give depth of flavour and the lettuce, avocado and tomato give it freshness, finished with homemade honey & mustard dressing. Delicious!

Serves 2

Prep time:  10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Honey & Mustard Dressing

50ml water

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp caster sugar

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

120ml extra virgin olive oil

1tbsp wholegrain mustard

Freshly ground salt and pepper

For the salad

1tbsp olive oil

2 chicken breasts, skinned & butterflied

100g smoked pancetta, cubed

1 large baby gem lettuce

1 large handful baby spinach leaves

1 large avocado or 2 small avocados, sliced

10 baby plum tomatoes, halved

½ red onion, peeled & finely sliced

Method

1.    For the dressing, place the water, honey, Dijon mustard, sugar and white wine vinegar into a food processor and blitz.  Continue to run and drizzle in the oil slowly until the dressing begins to thicken.  Stir through the wholegrain mustard and season to taste.  The remaining dressing can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

2.    For the salad, heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the chicken 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through It may take a lot longer depending on the thickness.  Remove from the pan, allow to rest and then slice into chunky strips.

3.    In the same pan, cook the pancetta until crispy and golden.  Transfer to kitchen roll to absorb the fat.

4.    In a salad bowl toss the lettuce, spinach, avocado, tomatoes, onions and 3 tbsp of dressing.  Divide between two serving plates, top with chicken, pancetta and the remaining dressing.  Enjoy!