CHICKEN SATAY SKEWERS with ZESTY BEAN SALAD

Do not be discouraged from making these skewers due to the several hours of marinating as this time is needed to give the satay sticks an intense flavour. It is hard to determine if the essence of lime or peanut butter is more dominant, as each bite of chicken delights your taste buds with a slightly different flavour from the previous morsel. The zesty salad tastes incredibly healthy and fresh and is a great accompaniment to the chicken satay or other main meals that need a side salad. One important note re the salad dressing: do not scrap on the lemon juice and use from a bottle as it tastes much more zesty freshly squeezed! The salad dressing is a knockoff from my dad: he loves to make his own dressing. 

INGREDIENTS

Chicken Satay Skewers

• 500g chicken breast, cut into 3cm cubes
• 2 tablespoons smooth reduced-fat peanut butter
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or finely chopped
• baking paper 

Zesty Bean Salad

• 2 handfuls of mixed lettuce, washed & drained
• 1 x 400g tin cannellini or butter beans, washed & drained
• 1/2 a small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes (around 230g), cut into wedges
• 40g reduced-fat feta, crumbled 
• Optional- 2 tablespoons fresh basil or parsley, roughly chopped 
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 

COOKING 

1. Combine the chicken, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and garlic in a medium bowl. Stir ingredients together well (the peanut butter needs some extra stirring to combine with the other ingredients). Leave to marinate in the fridge for eight hours. 

2. Soak 8 wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. (This is so the skewers do not split in the oven). 

3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a medium to large baking tray with baking paper. After the chicken has marinated, thread the chicken onto the soaked skewers on the prepared tray, taking care to thread even amounts of chicken onto each of the eight skewers. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes, flipping the sticks over at the five minute mark. After this time check that the chicken is cooked by removing it from the oven, leaving for a few minutes, then cutting into the biggest cube of chicken and checking that the flesh is white and no longer pink). 

4. Whilst the skewers are cooking, combine the lettuce, beans, red onion, tomatoes, feta and basil/parsley (if using) in a serving bowl and toss well. 

5. Whisk together the garlic, mustard, oil, lemon juice and a pinch of pepper until combined. Add a splash of water if you would like to make the dressing a little thinner in consistency (I like to!). Drizzle on top of the salad and toss. 

Serve 2 skewers per plate with a serving of salad 

Serves 4 / 2 skewers each & a quarter of salad 

Preparation time / 10 minutes, plus 8 hours marinating time

Cooking time / 10 minutes

x Emily