The sunny days are not over yet and you can still find watermelons at the groceries. Therefore I took the chance to write this recipe. I never get tired of salads, especially if they have some ingredients which you wouldn’t normally put in. Watermelon will be the “special” ingredient of this salad recipe, however not the only interesting one. For this watermelon chicken salad, I also chose the crunchy celery, zucchini, the aromatic cilantro and the fresh lemon-chili dressing.
You can make this salad for lunch or dinner. It is also great for picnics or parties. It has everything; from sweet to sour, from soft to crunchy, from fruity to veggie. In addition, I also used some lovely chicken. But of course, you can skip it if you prefer vegetarian.
Here are the ingredients for the watermelon chicken salad:
- ½ of a small watermelon (what will be left, you can eat as a snack)
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 heads of romaine lettuce
- a bunch of cilantro
- 2 celery stalks (bright green-yellow colour)
- 1 lemon or lime
- 1 zucchini
- 5 Tbsp of olive oil (2 for chicken, 3 for salad dressing)
- 4-5 Tbsp of sweet chili sauce
- salt
Heat one spoon of olive oil (or butter or Ghee) in a pan, rub the chicken breasts with the other spoon of olive oil, season and place in the pan on medium heat. Braise them for ca 10 minutes or till the chicken loses the pink colour and turns into a golden-brown piece of breasts.
In the meanwhile, wash and cut the vegetables. Cut the romaine lettuce, slice the celery stalks in 5mm thin half-moons and chop the cilantro. Furthermore cut the zucchini lengthwise in half and slice it in 3-5mm thin half-moons. Cut the watermelon first in 2-3cm thick slices and afterward into 2-3cm sized cubes.
Next, flip the chicken breasts over, put the heat even lower, cover the pan and braise for another 8 minutes. Then remove the pan from the stove and wrap the chicken in aluminum foil to rest for ca 5 minutes. The chicken breasts will still be cooking because of the foil retaining the heat.
While the chicken is resting, make the dressing. In a small bowl squeeze the lemon juice (before cutting it in half, roll it on the chopping desk pressing with your hands), add the three Tbsp of olive oil, salt and the sweet chili sauce.
Take a big salad bowl and place all the cut vegetables and watermelon cubes into it. Season if necessary, add the dressing and mix to combine the salad with the lemon-chili dressing. Cut the chicken breasts into 2 cm thick pieces and place them on top.
Serve the watermelon chicken salad topped with slices of chicken at lunch or dinner time, at a picnic or at a family reunion.
Enjoy!
