This dish is everything a salad should be – fast, effortless and full of flavour! Just the thing for a delicious low-carb lunch or nutrient-packed starter!

I always feel that salads should be as visually pleasing as they are rich in flavour. The addition of bright yellow and red cherry-tomatoes serve to lift the dish and provide a splash of much needed ‘cheery colour’ amidst the grey of winter!

All ingredients are low in carbohydrate, so are suitable for a ketogenic diet, or those with diabetes or a gluten-intolerance. But as always, the contents of this salad can be varied in line with whatever you have available at the time. Chicken, bacon and cheese however form a delicious taste-combination which delivers outstanding results every time!

Details of how to make the vinaigrette can be found under the following link: classic French vinaigrette. I strongly urge you to give this a try. It’s incredibly easy and will rapidly become a store-cupboard staple. You can use it to dress pretty much any salad, as well as a lot of hot dishes, to include vegetables such as celeriac, winter cabbage or sautéed peppers. Its moreish tangy flavour will complement a huge range of ingredients – no kitchen-cupboard can be complete without it!

Start by pan frying your bacon in a little butter to prevent it sticking. Once nice and crisp, lift out of the pan and place on kitchen-paper to drain. Add your chicken to the pan (I used leftovers from another dish, but you can equally use thinly sliced strips of chicken breast or finely diced brown meat, such as thigh or leg). As soon as the chicken is in the pan, dust it lightly with a generous sprinkle of paprika and season well. Continue to sauté, stirring occasionally, for a good 5 minutes, until the outsides start to crisp. Then lift the chicken out of the pan and set to one side to cool slightly.

Keep the pan on the heat and turn up your stove to the highest temperature. Pour in a centimetre of water and bring this to the boil. Whist the water is coming to the boil, top and tail French beans then add them to the pan when the water is ‘rolling’. Cook for two minutes then plunge into cold water so that they retain their vibrant colour and crispness.

The final usage for your pan is to cook a couple of eggs (I love one-pan dishes – it really economises the washing-up!). I used quails eggs because we had them in after Christmas, but hens’ eggs are an equal delight! The cooking method is quite up to you – you can poach, fry scramble or make into an omelette then slice to form strips. I opted for the quick sautéing method – one minute and they’re done! Once cooked, transfer the eggs to kitchen-towel to drain.

Into your salad bowl, place a good couple of handfuls of fresh green salad and follow this with your drained green-beans (I always pat them dry with kitchen-paper to avoid a ‘watery salad). Ladle a couple of spoonfuls of vinaigrette over the top and mix in well with your hand or a spoon. Season enthusiastically, then start to layer up your bacon and chicken.

Disperse the above with slices of cherry tomato and thinly chopped Edam cheese. If you don’y have Edam, any comparative cheese will do. Preferably you want something with a bit of texture, to serve as a contrast against the other ingredients. For this reason alone I’d avoid soft cheese, but I certainly shan’t judge you if you over-rule this advice!

Once all your ingredients (chicken, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, salad-leaves and eggs) are stacked into a delicious pile; finish the dish with a final flourish of vinaigrette and some chopped basil.

Low-carb doesn’t get much better than this! And all in 10 minutes!

Browse this and other recipes by picture on my pinterest page: country walks in ketosis pinterest.

Thanks for reading and bon ap!

Adam.