Saturday 16 November 2013

Pesto chicken kebabs & Tuna rice salad

Good afternoon guys!
Here's a light and scrumptious recipe for your weekend!
Try it-you'll love it!

Hoping to post a few salad recipes here before the month is over. Here is one of my favorites. You can't go wrong with white meat and tuna.

Below I've listed just a few health benefits of tuna:-
-high protein which is good for the blood, skin, hair and nails.
-Recent studies show that tuna can help you avoid the risk of having a stroke.
-Tuna has omega-3 fatty acid, which helps prevent high blood pressure. 
 -Tuna is a good source of selenium, an antioxidant that helps improve the body's immune system. The immune system is a vital part of the body that is integral for fighting off sickness, diseases and infections




Ingredients

Rice
Olive oil
Boneless chicken 
Pesto
Wooden skewers
Red pepper [hoho]
Yellow pepper [hoho]
Can of Gherkins/pickles/green olives *depending on you*
Shredded tuna in oil
Can of sweet corn
Salad dressing of choice/mayonnaise
salt to taste
black pepper




So this is the simplest and quickest recipe especially for a lazy Saturday evening or a unday lunch.
I had a lot of pesto left over from my last recipe so I opted to play around with it by using it for my chicken.
Cut up the chicken in big cubes and mix with pesto and a dash of olive oil. Leave to marinate for 10-15 minutes in fridge. *note: you can marinate it the night before for more flavor*
Cut up peppers and put aside. Heat up oven to 180 degrees.







In another sufuria put rice to boil with some salt and a dash of oil.
Leave to cook for about 10-12 minutes depending on the portion. * Make sure it doesn't overcook by putting double cups of water per cup rice so as to have a perfect salad. There's nothing worse than an overcooked rice salad-wouldn't look right*   Once rice is cooked, put aside to cool.





 

Open tuna cans and drain oil. Mix in another bowl with corn, chopped gherkins. Once rice has cooled add it with the salad dressing.* I used 1000 island* Mix well but be careful not to smash up the rice.
Add salt to taste and a dash of black pepper. Put aside.





















Remove marinated chicken from fridge and put in skewers with red and yellow peppers.
Place in oven to cook. 
White meat cooks very quickly so within 10 -12 minutes kebabs are juicy and ready.
Remember to open every few minutes to turn them if you have placed them in the lower part of the oven because they might burn on the bottom. If placed in the middle they tend to cook moderately well because the heat is perfect.





















On a plate, place a bed of lettuce and put rice salad on top with some dressing to decorate. If you prefer less calories, use olive oil and  abit of vinegar in place of dressing.












Enjoy!
With love, Jaz.

*Tip for storing canned sweet corn. Once you have removed it from the can it is not advisable to store the leftovers in the can since it rusts and can cause various cancers. Instead drain the water out and store in a plastic can with more water and place in fridge. If left without water, the corn dries up very quickly and it is of no use.*