#ewew makes (Barefoot Contessa Inspired) Chicken Salad Veronique

I like to eat salads a lot (plus they're really healthy) and I usually eat them as a light lunch.  The salad I'm referring to is the Chicken Salad Veronique and it's inspired by Ina Garten (one of my favourite chefs on Food Network) in one of her shows on Barefoot Contessa.  I absolutely love her shows where she gives tips on table setting and decorating, home entertaining and, of course, cooking!

The Chicken Salad Veronique is just a French dish using chicken and grapes as the main ingredients.  The name just sounds fancy but the preparation is not.

Ingredients:

5 strips of chicken fillet

1 stalk celery

1 cup seedless green grapes

1 - 2 stalks fresh parsley

1 - 2 tbsp mayo

Salt & black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Season your chicken strips with salt and black pepper.

Dice one stalk of celery (I use US celery).

Cut the seedless green grapes into half.

Pick the leaves off the stalk of parsley and chop finely.  [#Tip: Ina Garten uses chopped tarragon but I couldn't find any from the supermarket, so I just substituted it with some fresh parsley.]

Method:

Pan-fry your chicken fillets (in olive oil) on medium heat in a non-stick pan.  Once the chicken gets a nice sear and is cooked, transfer to a plate and let it cool.

Once cooled, dice into I/2 inch cubes.  And you're done.....that's all the cooking you need to do...how easy was that!

Now you're ready to assemble the salad.  Combine the diced celery, cooked chicken fillets, grapes and sprinkle some finely chopped fresh parsley.  Toss everything with as much or as little mayo as you wish (for this, I used about 1 tbsp as I don't like my salads overdressed).

This salad is perfect for those wanting to eat something healthy, those watching their weight or as a light lunch...but only if you really like celery (coz some definitely won't like the bitter taste).

The bitterness and crunch of the celery, the sweetness of the grapes and the slightly creamy mayo all worked well together to deliver a truly refreshing salad.  And what's even better, if you made too much and can't finish the salad at one go, put the balance in the fridge and it's still as good eating it chilled (some might actually prefer it this way).

This is a really fresh, healthy and simple salad to put together with just 3 ingredients...it's so simple everyone can do this!

Serves 1 (or 2 small-eaters) as a light lunch or 2 - 3 as a side dish to your main course.