Chopped Kale and Chickpea Salad with Roasted Chicken in Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing

Was it a trend or something? Have you noticed that our "regular" salad has become much more vibrant and packed with nutrients, colors, and actual portion these few years. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here. Instead, I'm embracing the change. 

Have a big full serving of healthy but also delicious salad as a normal meal is now something I do once a while. So after trying many versions of nutritious salads at the restaurants, I've taken some inspirations here and there and came up with this recipe.

Chopped kale and chickpea salad with roasted chicken in red wine vinaigrette dressing - 

Ingredients (about two big servings)?

• 1/2 can or 120 grams chickpeas
• 1 chicken breast
• 80 grams kale (about one small bundle)
• 1 small chunk red cabbage
• 1/2 medium small broccoli
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1/3 cup or 28 grams dried cranberries 
• 1/4 teaspoon mixed dried Italian herbs
• 1 avocado
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

How?  

Line a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsious/390 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Destem and remove the pith and seeds from the yellow bell pepper. Cut to medium thickness strips. We will need about half of the yellow bell pepper for the salad. Transfer the strips to one side of the baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil. Toss till blended.

To the other half of the baking sheet, transfer the chicken breast over. Season both sides with some salt and black pepper. Also rub with 1/4 teaspoon of dried Italian herbs. 

Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the edge of the yellow bell pepper strips start to turn slightly charred.

Once done baking, remove the sheet from the oven and let cool. After the temperature drops and able to handle by hand, slice the chicken breast to big bite size pieces.

As for the broccoli, trim-off the tougher outside layer for the stem then cut the whole thing to medium pieces. We will only need about half of the broccoli here. 

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add in one small pinch of salt. Transfer the broccoli chunks over and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Use the leafy part for the kale only, chop to smaller pieces. Slice the red cabbage to thin strips.

Bring out a big container, add in the yellow bell pepper, kale, broccoli, red cabbage, drained chickpeas, and dried cranberries.

Also have a big cup ready, in there we're going to mix together 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of mustard, 1 teaspoon of alt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Taste and adjust if needed.

Pour most of that dressing to the big container with veggies. Toss till evenly blended.

Arrange the vegetables to serving plate. Halve the avocado and remove the seed. Slice then lay on top of the salad. Also lay the roasted chicken on top too. Drizzle the remaining red wine vinaigrette dressing all over.

I only used half of the avocado here for the picture. Later on I simply mixed in the other half of the avocado. Leftover red cabbage or yellow bell pepper are easy to utilize, but better just finish the entire avocado right away.

It's a shame that I didn't find silvered almonds anywhere, otherwise sprinkle some on top of the salad sounds like a really healthy and delicious idea. Should look even better too.

Extended reading:

• White bean and tuna salad (insalata di tonno e fagioli)
• Japanese katsuo tataki salad with miso and ponzu dressing
• Persimmon salad with mozzarella and Jamón Ibérico

Kouji Pork and Shiso Spaghettini, Looks Light but Packed With Flavors

Sometimes I would have a "pouch" of Japanese kouji/koji stored in the fridge. It's like cooked rice that has been going through some sort of fermentation. It is also essential for making sake, more so the prerequisite of sake. No kouji no delicious Japanese rice wine (don't drink and drive).

And Japanese knows exactly how good and nutritious kouji can be, so it's also been widely used in Japanese households. Usually as a flavoring ingredients, and commonly used as a marinade for both meat and vegetables.

So I'm going to use kouji and make a wafu pasta this time. The end result might look plain, but trust me, the spaghettini is packed with flavors plus an elegant shiso leaf aroma.

Kouji pork and shiso spaghettini - 

Ingredients (about 2 to 3 portions)?

• 200 grams matsusaka pork
• 4 tablespoons kouji
• 1 Japanese long green onion or 2 regular stalks scallion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 pack/120 grams brown beech mushroom
• 20 slices shiso leaves
• Half pack/250 grams spaghettini
• Some pasta cooking water
• Some salt
• Some black pepper
• Some olive oil

How?

Matsusaka pork is our top choice, it's like the neck area of the pig and will not turn dry and chewy at all after extended cooking time. However, if you can't find it just substitute with what you'd normally enjoy instead.

Slice the pork to about 1mm thick pieces. Massage with 2 tablespoons of kouji. Cover with cling foil or a lid then let the meat marinate in the fridge for at least one hour. Mine was marinated for 2.5 hours.

Japanese long green onion is preferred also, but that comes with hefty price. So even myself decided to switch to a much more bargained regular scallion. Destem and chop the scallion. Try to use the white part first. Only mix in the green part if not enough white part to use.

Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Julienne the shiso leaves. Destem and separate the beech mushroom.

Bring out a big pot and filled with water. Add some salt over, a few good pinches at least. Bring to a boil then cook the spaghettini or other similar pasta till almost al dente. Remember to save some pasta cooking water towards the end. Once ready, drain out the rest.

Use a pan and drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Switch to medium heat. Add in chopped scallion, need about 1/2 cup here. Also add in the garlic slices along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Sear till aromatic but not burn the garlic bits.

Push these ingredients aside and add in the pork together with the marinade to the center. Sear till cooked through, slightly browned on the edges is good too. 

Add in the mushroom and stir-fry all the ingredients inside the pan, cook for about 30 seconds.

Transfer drained pasta over. Also pour in 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water and 2 additional tablespoons of kouji. Change to medium high heat. Toss and swirl the pasta in order to mix in some air to the sauce. It might appear slightly bubbling, which is good. We are working on some emulsification chemistry here.

Taste and adjust with salt or kouji if needed. I actually added 1/2 teaspoon more salt here. Mix in half of the julienned shiso. Toss till evenly blended. 

Plate and garnish the remaining shiso leaves on top.

If you never had kouji marinated meat before, you might imagine something strong and perhaps slightly bitter taste as an association of Japanese sake. However, it's nothing like that.

When used in cooking, kouji actually only adds a delicate touch of umami per my opinion. Like some sort of savory note to the food. It's not overly strong at all, and definitely much lighter compared to other common Japanese seasoning ingredients such as tsuyu, soy sauce, or miso.

Give it a try if you ever find kouji in the market. It can be found at the fridge section. That being said, remember to store kouji in the fridge before and after use. 

Extended reading:

• Shio koji flavored vegetable pork rolls (鹽麴豬肉捲)