Chicken and potato salad

 Chicken and potato salad

Chicken and potato salad is a cold one-pot meal that is easy to prepare. An easy recipe ideal for a lunch break at the office that satiates without weighing you down, but is also good for a quick lunch or a summer dinner.

• 1 whole roasted chicken breast
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 3 boiled potatoes
• 4-5 pickled gherkins
1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Chicken and potato salad is a cold dish that can be made in a short time with simple ingredients, and that can be left over from previous preparations, such as hard-boiled eggs, boiled potatoes and roast chicken. A complete dish that satisfies the appetite without weighing down.

With its soft, white meat and delicate flavor, chicken can be combined with many other ingredients, making it an excellent base for many different salads. It can be combined with eggs and potatoes as in this recipe, but also with peppers and capers as in the salad of chicken and sweet and sour peppers. It can be combined with lettuce and celery as in the chicken salad and also with onions and olives as in the summer chicken salad. Also super tasty and light is the chicken salad with yogurt mayonnaise and green beans.

All these salads, as well as the chicken and potato salad, can be prepared in advance, stored in the refrigerator and seasoned only at the time of serving. A clever idea to think about even for an aperitif with friends or an informal dinner.

To make the chicken and potato salad, first cut the chicken breast into strips. Then peel the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise first, then into regular chunks.

Drain the gherkins from their water and cut them into chunks. Peel the eggs and slice them. Distribute the potatoes, chicken and gherkins in a serving dish or salad bowl.

Season with salt and pepper and mix. Add the eggs. Dress the chicken and potato salad with the oil and mayonnaise spread in clumps.

Niçoise salad

 Niçoise salad

A mix of flavorful and colorful ingredients come together in this recipe with an unmistakable name and flavor. This is the niçoise salad, a rich single dish ideal for an appetizing summer lunch.

• INGREDIENTS
• 300 g of tuna in oil
• 15 taggiasca olives
• 150 g of green beans
• 5-6 anchovy fillets
• 2 auburn tomatoes
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 cucumber
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 celery heart
• 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• ½ a red onion from Tropea
• 4-5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt

The recipe of salad niçoise, as its name suggests, is a specialty of the French Riviera, and in particular of the city of Nice, known all over the world. It is made of many ingredients of different colors and consistencies which make it a rich and tasty dish.

After a day at the beach, for a lunch at the office or a quick dinner, salads of this type are the best solution to bring to the table in a few minutes a dish that is appreciated for the speed of preparation (this is prepared in less than half an hour), for the freshness and for being appetizing and satisfying at the same time.

If you are also fans of the genre, try also the spicy fish salad, an unusual idea to use the sea bass, the summer chicken salad, with boiled potatoes, onions and olives, and the tasty salad with grilled chicken, with tomatoes, olives, cucumbers and red onion.

And if you still haven't found inspiration, also check out the 23 healthy and light summer recipes to fight the great heat.

Start preparing the niçoise salad by cutting the onion into rounds and soaking it in cold water for 30 minutes. Spike the green beans and cook them in boiling salted water for 7-8 minutes. Clean the lettuce, chop it and put it in a salad bowl. Add the tomatoes cut into wedges.

Add the beans cut into smaller pieces. Cut the bell bell pepper into julienne, removing the stalk, seeds and white filaments inside, then add it to the other ingredients in the salad bowl.

Also add the drained onions and the peeled cucumber cut into wedges. Then add the celery cut into chunks, the drained tuna, the hard-boiled eggs cut into wedges and the olives.

Finish the salad with the chopped anchovy fillets. Dress it with an emulsion prepared with vinegar, oil and a pinch of salt and mix well. The niçoise salad is ready to be enjoyed.

Rice salad with mint and feta cheese

 Rice salad with mint and feta cheese

Mint feta rice salad is a fresh dish that is perfect for summer. A quick and easy recipe that can be prepared in advance and enjoyed as a lunch at the beach, for a picnic or at the office. 

INGREDIENTS

• 150 g tuna in oil
• 300 g of rice
• 150 g of cherry tomatoes
• a few mint leaves
• 150 g of feta cheese
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper

In summer, rice salads are a real must: practical, quick and versatile, they solve meals with family, friends and even lunch breaks at work. This mint and feta rice salad is no exception, a fresh dish perfect for the summer season with an easy recipe. 

It takes just a few ingredients to prepare it: cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and mint for a mix of Mediterranean colors and flavors. Feta is a Greek cheese made from sheep's and goat's milk that lends itself well to being used at this time of year in tasty and simple dishes: try it for example in rice salad with cherry tomatoes, feta and olives. 

This vegetarian recipe is ready in just over half an hour and presents no difficulty: our advice is to always use good quality rice, of the Carnaroli or Parboiled variety, which does not burn. When cooling it, avoid putting it under running water to stop the cooking process, because this will cause the loss of the starch and therefore a greater stickiness of the grains. 

Preparing this mint and feta rice salad is very simple. Boil the rice in plenty of boiling salted water, drain when al dente, place it well spread out on a dish towel and let it cool. Transfer to a serving plate or salad bowl. 

Start composing your rice salad: add the washed and halved cherry tomatoes as the first ingredient. Continue with the drained and coarsely chopped tuna in oil. 

Add the diced feta and season with oil, salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour. 

Before serving, add fresh mint leaves to your rice salad with mint and feta. The dish is ready. 

Exotic rice salad

 Exotic rice salad

Exotic rice salad is perfect for a summer lunch or dinner. Fresh, light, thirst-quenching and colorful, this unique dish features lots of fresh fruit. An easy recipe to try right away!

INGREDIENTS

• 300 g of Carnaroli rice
• 3 slices of fresh pineapple
• 300 g of precooked shrimps
• 1 papaya
• ½ melon
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 avocado
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Rice salad is the ultimate summer dish. Simple to prepare, you can customize it with an infinite number of ingredients, as in this exotic rice salad, which not only recalls the summer, but makes us imagine we are catapulted into a tropical beach. An easy recipe and at the same time creative, thanks to the fresh mix of shrimp, pineapple, papaya, avocado and melon. 

For less classic combinations, in fact, rice can be combined with shellfish and fruit as in rice salad, shrimp and green apples or mix with meat and spices as in rice salad and chicken with ginger and saffron.

In any case, in order for a rice salad to be successful, the secret is one: rice grains must have a good consistency even after cooking and they must not stick together. There are many varieties that have these characteristics: for this dish we have chosen a white rice, such as Carnaroli, but Venus rice is also an excellent alternative, as in Venus rice salad. 

The first thing to do to prepare the exotic rice salad is to cook the rice. Boil it in abundant boiling salted water for the time indicated on the package. Drain it al dente and place it on a clean cloth to cool. In the meantime, take care of the fruit: peel and remove the seeds and filaments from the melon and papaya and cut the pulp into chunks.

Cut the pineapple into chunks and season with a little freshly ground pepper. Peel the avocado, cut the flesh into cubes, put it in a bowl and season with a tablespoon of oil, a tablespoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. When the rice is cold, transfer it to a serving plate (or salad bowl).

Compose the exotic rice salad by adding the shrimp first. Drizzle with three tablespoons of oil and the remaining lemon juice and toss. Then add the fruit: pineapple, papaya, melon and avocado and toss again. The exotic rice salad is ready to serve.