Chicken & Butter Bean Salad

I love grabbing a BBQ chicken from my local supermarket or takeaway and turning it into a quick warm salad, when I’m not in the mood for cooking. If you’d prefer to cook your own chicken, there’s a recipe over here if you need it.

enough for: 2
takes: 10 minutes
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 BBQ chicken
1 can butter beans (400g / 14oz), drained
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked

1. Combine vinegar with 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Season.

2. Remove the chicken from the bones and tear into bite sized pieces. Keep the skin in – it’s the best bit!

3. Toss in the drained beans and parsley and serve.

Quantities for Different Serving Sizes

A very flexible recipe, feel free to halve, double or triple.

Prepare Ahead?

Will keep in the fridge for up to a week, depending on how fresh your chicken was.

For a picnic you could make the salad and buy your chicken on the way to your favourite picnic spot then toss the warm chicken in with the cool salad. That way you can share the best bit – picking at the bones!

Variations

vegetarian – replace chicken with 3 hard boiled eggs, halved lengthwise. Or you could replace chicken with cooked mushrooms and serve with a poached egg for protein. Add some feta or parmesan.

vegan – replace the chicken with 2 -3 roast portabello or field mushrooms and a generous handful of roasted almonds.

crunchy – toss a small handful or toasted pinenuts, almonds or a few sticks of celery, finely sliced crosswise.

legume-free – replace butter beans with cooked grains or pasta or even torn chunks of bread.

home cooked chicken – use the recipe over here to BBQ or roast your own chook.

pescetarian – replace chicken with drained canned fish such as tuna, salmon or sardines or use hot smoked salon or trout instead.

carb lovers / more substantial – toss some torn sourdough or other rustic bread in with the salad. You might need to increase the dressing to make sure its not too dry.

paleo (gluten, grain + dairy-free) – replace butter beans with roast diced sweet potato or other root veg.

more veg – toss in grated raw carrot or beets, or salad leaves.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

vinegar, butter beans – pantry.

BBQ chicken – freeze it or use for another meal.

parsley – will keep in the fridge in a plastic bag for a few weeks. To store for longer pack the leaves into a clean jar and cover with extra virgin olive oil and store the parsley oil in the fridge for a few months.