Zesty chicken & sprout salad with fragrant seeds

By: Paul Wilson
From: Taqueria
Serves: 6-8
Photographer: Chris Middleton

Brightly coloured with zesty, earthy flavours, achiote paste is a must-have for your larder if you want to capture some of the unique regional flavours of Mexico. Here it’s used as a fast marinade for a minced chicken salad which is great served wrapped in lettuce leaves or in tortillas with guacamole, or accompanied with fried tortilla chips and Queso fundito. There are now a great range of shoots and microgreens available from our local farms, which are bursting with sweet and delicate flavours. Add your favourite nuts and seeds to this zesty and healthy slaw.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
800g	coarsely minced chicken
2 tablespoons	Achiote relish
2 tablespoons	sesame oil
50g	mix of sesame, chia, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
1/2 teaspoon	ground cumin
	sea salt, to taste
100g	finely shredded carrot
100g	finely shredded green papaya
50g	nely shredded young white or red cabbage
1	red onion, finely sliced
1	baby lebanese cucumber, finely sliced
5cm	piece of fresh ginger, finely shredded
1	jalapeno, finely sliced
150g	mix of alfalfa sprouts, mung bean sprouts and snow pea shoots
100ml	Zesty lime dressing
1	orange, segmented
1/2	avocado, sliced
	assorted micro herbs, to garnish
	iceberg lettuce leaves, to serve
	tortillas, to serve

Method

Put the chicken and achiote relish in a bowl, mix together well and leave to marinate for 5 minutes.
Heat half the sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken mixture and cook, stirring and breaking the meat down with a wooden spoon as you go, until sealed on all sides and cooked through (you may need to do this in batches). Transfer to a tray and set aside.
Wipe the pan clean, add the rest of the sesame oil and set over medium heat. Add the mixed seeds and toast for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Season with the cumin and sea salt to taste.
Remove 1 tablespoon of the toasted seeds from the pan and set aside for garnish, then return the chicken to the pan and mix together well. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Combine the mince with the carrot, papaya, cabbage, onion, cucumber, ginger, jalapeño and mixed sprouts in a large bowl. Pour over the lime dressing and toss together.
To serve, divide the chicken and shredded vegetables among bowls. Top with the orange and avocado slices and sprinkle over the reserved toasted seeds. Garnish with micro herbs and serve with lettuce leaves or tortillas for wrapping.