After battling through traffic to get home on a hot summer afternoon, it’s a pure joy to reach into the refrigerator and pull out a delicious cool salad that is table-ready. Obviously you have to pay it forward and make the salad ahead of time, but most salads keep nicely in the refrigerator for two or three days and provide you with some ‘ice-tea’ time after work, in addition to an extra meal or two.
Here are some recipes that have been tested by staff members for ease of preparation, good taste and overall nutrition.
Couscous Chicken Salad 4-6 servings
This salad really does go together in under 20 minutes. It has wonderful Middle Eastern flavors with a light citrus/spice dressing. PYAM staff members gave this one a big thumbs-up.
Dressing
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil (olive or canola)
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried coriander
1⁄2 tsp. turmeric 1⁄2 tsp. salt
1⁄4 tsp. cinnamon 1⁄4 tsp. pepper
Salad
2 chicken cooked chicken breasts, cubed
1 2/2 cups uncooked plain couscous
2/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 1⁄2 cups boiling water (or chicken broth)
11 oz can mandarin oranges
1 cup garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup slivered almonds chopped
In a small bowl whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
In a medium bowl combine couscous and apricots; add boiling water and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with fork.
Add chicken, oranges, almonds and dressing and toss gently to coat. Cover and chill. Serve with slices of cucumber and cantaloupe.