Chicken & Corn Salad

Crispy chicken skin is one thing but crispy chicken, avocado, corn and chili is well, simply a match made in heaven.

This chicken & corn dish is one we have been eating for some time now. It’s been fine tuned, deconstructed, reconstructed and is now ready to share with the masses 😉

 

CORN

Truthfully I had never really eaten much of it back home (Ireland).  After moving to NY my corn game went up a few notches.  All I remember eating was frozen corn or pre-cooked vacuum packed corn on the cob that was lathered in butter and seasoning.  Invariably someone stabbed themselves with the corn skewers at some point too!

Well, in the last few years corn has certainly become quite the “sexy” ingredient.  We see it used in tacos - delish!  Grilled and topped with cheese, spices and lime - also delish!  As a soup.  Click on my link HERE for my coconut corn soup - 100% delish 😉  Now I’m in Oz corn is readily available (as it was in NY) raw and on the husk.  This allows me to cook it in many different ways and also to have delicious fresh corn for soups and more.  For me the grilling or charring is the way to go with corn.  Smokey, sweet, slightly charred and fresh are all the things you get when these babies hit the bbq.

If you are yet to grill corn then a) shame on you and b) DO IT!!

AVOCADO

Well, for those of you who didn’t know avocados are treated like royalty over here in Australia.  Recently I was listening to a radio show (Nova 106.9) and the guy (can’t remember who it was) was talking about buying a house on Straddie Island (insert link) and the deciding factor for him was the house came with 3 avo trees.  At their cheapest avocados are about $2.50 each so if like him you are eating them daily that’s a saving of about $1000 a year - BOOM!

Keeping you fuller for longer, being a great source of vitamins and high in monounsaturated fats which are good for lowering cholesterol and decreasing heart disease.  It’s no wonder these little beauts are so popular over here.  Not to mention they are killer for brekkie - which if you didn’t already know is something the Aussies take very seriously.  There are cafes on every corner and the quality of the food they serve is the best I’ve ever had!  Check out my attempt to keep up with them - my smashed avo brekkie!

CRISPY SKIN

The age old question.  How does one get crispy skin?  Truthfully, it's a lot easier than you think.  Says the guy writing the blog post!!

The key is

1. Dry skin - pat it with kitchen towel and if possible leave to air dry in the fridge.
2. Pull it tight back over the chicken.  You don't want it all bunched up.  Even layer is the key.
3. Season with salt.
4. Cook skin side down on high heat to begin with so you get a nice crust.
5. Flip it over, place in the oven skin side up.
6. LEAVE IT ALONE - this is the best tip out there when cooking most things.  Don't stir, don't flip it over, don't finger it.  Just let the pan do the work!

OR

1. If doing on BBQ follow the first 3 steps and place on indirect heat @ 200c for 30 minutes.

Follow these simple steps and (fingers crossed) you will have crispy skin everytime.

SIMPLICITY

My goal when cooking, especially now we have a threenager is to get it on the table as quick as but to provide my family with tasty nutritious food at the same time.  I’m all about as they say on Masterchef over here - flavour, flavour, flavour!

A little planning ahead and the majority of dinners I cook take 30 or so minutes.  Luckily for my lady friend I’ve worked in restaurants all my life so I picked up a few tips/tricks along the way which helps me plate or present them a little fancier.  This certainly helps when some meals don’t always work out as at least her first impression is a good one;)

This dish is the essence of keep it simple.  Simply grill or oven bake that chicken, char up the corn and mix all the salad ingredients together.  The best thing is whilst the chicken is cooking all the rest can be done so that prep time isn’t actually too long.  Just long enough to enjoy a cold one!!

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Happy Cooking and Happy Eating Friends!