Our 18th country in Our Eating Around the World Adventure is Finland.

Finland is a Nordic country located in Northern Europe. Before I started this journey I had never had Finnish food and if I were to guess what they ate, I would have thought food similar to what I thought Swedish food was. Now I have found I was right, as there are many overlapping similar dishes shared by the countries, that happens with all countries that border each other.

I have found the food very different to what my Croatian background has exposed me to, but we really enjoyed the food.

Here is what I made:
Finnish Meatballs (Lihapullat)
​Finnish Macaroni Casserole (Makaronilaatikko)
​Beetroot Salad (Rosollii)
​Blueberry Custard Pie (Mustikkapiirakka)
​Sima

If the recipe is not written down below, click on the name of the recipe, it is a link that will take you to the recipe.

​Finnish Meatballs (Lihapullat): These were lovely, we really liked them. I served it with mashed potatoes and as we didn't have lingonberry jam, I served it with a Croatian plum jam. The flavours were great and the meatballs were not dry.

Here is how I made it:

500g  pork and veal mince
1 brown onion, chopped
1/4 cup breadcrumbs, fresh or store bought
1/2 cup Chicken stock
1  egg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Turn on your oven to 200°C/180°C fan forced.

In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs and chicken stock and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

In a frying pan over medium heat, add a bit of oil and sauté the onions until softened, set aside to cool down.

Combine all ingredients and mix until they are well combined and season to taste.

Fry a small piece and taste to make sure there’s enough salt in it and adjust accordingly.

Roll the balls and place them on an oven tray lined with baking paper, leaving a gap between each meatball.

Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
Enjoy!

​​Finnish Macaroni Casserole (Makaronilaatikko): This was a bit bland, you know it's not great when tomato sauce (which they actually serve it with) actually makes it taste like a pie, and made it better. Not something I'd repeat. It just needed more flavour.

Here is how I made it: 

Serves 6

400g minced beef
400g macaroni pasta
1 brown onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 teaspoon beef stock powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
50g Butter
3cups full fat milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
200g grated tasty cheese

Heat up your oven to 200C/180C fan forced.

Boil your macaroni pasta according to the package instructions, drain the liquid, and set the macaroni aside.

In a frying pan, add in the oil and fry your onions until caramelized. Add the minced meat and beef stock powder and fry until the meat is browned.
Add in the salt, black pepper, onion powder, and butter, mix until everything is combined and the butter has melted - taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.

In a different bowl, combine milk, eggs, and a couple of pinches of salt.

In a large bowl, combine the macaroni and minced meat mixture and transfer it to a deep baking tray or any ovenproof dish, which you can fit the whole mixture in.

Pour in the egg and milk mixture over the macaroni and minced meat mix.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes and then take it off to add the grated cheese on top and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese has melted.

Serve it with ketchup! Yes, you read that right. Try it before you judge it.
Enjoy!

Beetroot Salad (Rosollii): We make a similar salad in Croatia, so I knew I would love this one. But what took me by surprise was the apple in it, I loved the fresh bite it adds. Serve this salad as a side with a barbecue or with Christmas Ham, it would look festive on the table. You could add boiled eggs to this, I think it would be great.

​Here is how I made it:

Serves: 4 as a side dish
4 beetroot (around 450g), peeled and cut into cubes
2 carrots (260g), peeled and cut into cubes
2 potatoes (250g), peeled and cut into cubes
1 red onion, finely diced
1 apple, cut into cubes
1/2 cup roughly chopped gherkins
100ml sour cream
3 tablespoons gherkin juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Boil the beetroot, carrot and potatoes in separate pots and cook until tender but not mushy. Cool completely. You can do this step a day ahead of time. Gently mix with the onion and apple in a bowl.

Whisk the sour cream and gherkin juice together and dress the vegetables in this. The cream will turn pink. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
​Enjoy!

Blueberry Custard Pie (Mustikkapiirakka): ​This is possibly the easiest pie I have ever made, it comes together in minutes. You have this crazy easy crust to make, that is unlike any other pie crust I have ever made, and the custard filling is made with sour cream and is scented with lemon and packed with blueberries, it's so good.

Sima: Sima is a lightly fermented Finnish lemonade with a refreshing citrus flavour. It's a traditional drink commonly prepared on the first day of May to welcome spring,

Here is how I made it:

8 cups water
1 large lemon
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar (plus additional to finish)
1/8 teaspoon yeast
15 raisins

Boil the water in a large pot.

While the water comes to a boil, zest the lemon. Then remove the bitter white rind and seeds.  Segment the remaining lemon flesh. 

Place the lemons and zest in a glass bowl.  Stir in the sugars.

Pour the boiled water into the lemon mixture.  Cool the mixture to room temperature, then stir in yeast and cover.  Set the mixture aside at room temperature for 24 hours (a few bubbles will begin to form on the surface of the lemonade).

Strain the lemonade and discard solids.  Pour the liquid into jars, add 5 raisins and 1 teaspoon of sugar to every 4 cups of lemonade.  Cover and set at room temperature for 2-5 days or until the raisins float to the top of the jars.  Once per day, open the jars to release some pressure.

Remove the raisins and chill lemonade before serving.
Enjoy!

​​​​Now to add another sticker to my world map.

Next Stop: Sierra Leone

​The greatest thing to come from social media for me is recipes like this. Recipes that I would never have found if not for social media.

These baguettes are so easy to make, are ready in about 2-3 hours, and taste amazing.

You just mix the ingredients together, cover it and leave it for about 2 hours to let the dough rise and do its thing. There is no kneading involved. Sometimes if I feel I didn't mix the dough well enough, I do one set of stretch and folds after 15 minutes, but only if I didn't mix the dough well enough. After it's risen, you tip the dough out, shape it, leave it to rise a further 20 minutes, then bake it. EASY!

They come out of the oven crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

These baguettes are not crispy the next day. But to make them like they are freshly baked, simply wet them with tap water quickly and place them in an air fryer at 200C for 5 minutes, flip them half way through cooking them. They come out like you just baked them. You could probably do the same in a fan forced oven.

If you need 8 baguettes, just double the recipe. I have also shaped them like ciabatta sandwich bread and they were perfect.

With the salt, the original recipe used 3g, I felt it needed more, so add the salt, to taste.

So if you are like me and you love baking your own bread, but want a simple 'quick' recipe. This one is for you.

Recipe adapted from Isabelle Dunn on instagram-account tastyfeedsdaily

Makes 4 mini baguettes

375g bread flour
5g salt
7g instant dry yeast
300ml warm water

In a large bowl, add flour, sprinkle in salt on one side of the bowl, sprinkle in the yeast on the other side of the bowl. Mix it all together. Add the warm water and mix well with a wooden spoon until sticky and well combined. Make sure no dry bits are left.

Cover the bowl tightly with cling film. Let it rise for 1.5-2 hours, or until doubled.
​
Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

​Pour 375ml (1 1/2 cups) cold water into an empty oven proof dish (not glass, I use a loaf tin) and place it on the bottom rack of your oven. Turn on your oven to 240C fan forced and preheat your oven while you get on with your next step.
​
Flour a clean work surface, tip out the dough onto the flour, any bits left stuck to the bowl, just use floured or wet hands to take it out and place on top of the dough on the bench. Now I like to gently shape the dough into a rough loaf shape by folding the dough onto itself, do this gently you don't want to knock out the air in the dough.

Cut the dough into roughly 4 even pieces. Now gently, stretch the dough into a rectangle shape, do not press to flatten it, just stretch it. Fold one long end to the centre, fold the other long end in to meet the other fold. Pinch the ends together. Now you can stretch it into the length you want. Place seam side down on your prepared tray. Dust with some flour and cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rise for 20 minutes.
​
After 20 minutes, score the tops 2-3 times with a bakers lame or a sharp knife. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden and crisp. Cool slightly, then eat while still warm and crispy.

If you need to make them ahead of time see my intro notes on how to make them warm and crispy like you just baked them.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/no-knead-baguettes.html 
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​This is one quick and tasty dinner idea. It takes about ten minutes to make, a perfect midweek meal idea.

I always have homemade pesto in the freezer, I just defrost it in the fridge overnight and then this dinner happens in no time when I need to make it the next day. You can use store bought, if there is a brand you love.

You can use short pastas like penne, casarece or spiral pasta.

With the broccoli, I used one large head of broccoli. I cut the broccoli into florets, then I cut the florets into smaller bite sized pieces.

I love this with broccoli, but if I don't have broccoli in the freezer I will make it with other vegetables such as sliced or julienned zucchini, sliced mushrooms, shredded kale or baby spinach. With the mushrooms and zucchini, I would add them when after the garlic to fry them off before continuing with the recipe.

​You can add chilli flakes if you like, I however don't think it needs it.

​This is such a tasty dish for something so simple to make.

​Recipe adapted from simplehomeedit.com/

500g fettuccine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast (roughly 600g), finely sliced
2 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
320g pesto (store-bought or homemade)
300ml thickened cream
750g broccoli or broccolini
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
Cracked black pepper, to taste
​
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Season with about a teaspoon of salt.

Once the pasta water is boiling, place the broccoli in for 2 minutes. Remove the broccoli and set aside until needed.

Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions, less 1 minute (the pasta will finish cooking when it’s combined with the sauce).

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium–high heat.

Add the chicken, in batches and cook for 1–2 minutes until it just colours (it will still be uncooked in the centre). 

Add the garlic and continue stirring for 30 seconds until fragrant. Return all the chicken to the pan.

Add the pesto, cream, broccoli and cherry tomatoes. Place the lid on and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat, stir through the cooked pasta and parmesan, keep stirring until the sauce thickens and absorbs into the pasta, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Serve sprinkled with extra parmesan, and extra cracked black pepper, if desired. ​

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/creamy-pesto-chicken-pasta.html 
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​Even people like me that love to cook, don't always want to cook.

My husband is growing Chinese Broccoli at the moment, so he requested a dinner where I cooked with it. Usually I cook it separately as a side dish to go with another meal, which we love, so I went with that. I finally decided on pan fried chicken thighs to go with my Asian greens, as I really wanted an easy dinner tonight. So I went out and bought the chicken, but when I got home, I didn't feel like that anymore.

So quick google search and this recipe caught my eye, I had all the ingredients at home, apart from the ginger and shallots, but I thought, do it. It's one pot, it looks good. This dish is very easy to prepare and you don't need to marinate the chicken for long. It is one pot, so minimal dishes to clean up and it looked like my family would enjoy it.

Once I marinated the chicken I felt this sauce might be too strong, but I went with it, when I was cooking the chicken, I thought this sauce is too strong, but I've committed to this now. But once we were eating it, it was not too strong. It was delicious. My family all agreed I could make this frequently as they loved it. Now don't get me wrong although the aromas are strong wafting through the house, my family were loving the aroma and were excited to try this. I just felt there might have been too much sauce for the quantity of rice, but I was wrong.

Try to get Chinese Broccoli with thick stems so they don't become overly soft when cooked in with the rice. If you can only find ones with thin stalks, scatter the stalks on top of the chicken instead of stirring into the liquid. Other Asian Greens - like pak choy, bok choi etc Cut as per recipe but scatter across the top of chicken, do not stir into liquid, otherwise it will be too mushy when eating.

Now the size of your pot matters. I used 32cm round non stick sauté pan, with height about 7-8cm. It has a domed lid which is ideal when adding the leafy part of the greens at the end. Why I say the pan matters is because when you add the chicken over the rice, you want it all to be in a single layer, so the chicken sits in the liquid for even cooking.

You can serve your favourite chilli sauce with this dish of you like, my boys did, I preferred it without.

This is a great mid week meal idea, it's quick and easy to make, it's delicious and you only have one pot to wash afterwards.

​Recipe adapted from www.recipetineats.com/

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoon ginger, grated
2 onions, finely chopped
1kg chicken thighs, skinless boneless, halved 
2 big bunches Chinese Broccoli with thick stems

Rice:
2 cups (360g) uncooked white rice, jasmine or long grain
3 cups (750 ml) chicken stock, low sodium

Sauce:
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
​4 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
6 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Garnish:
Green onion , sliced
Sesame seeds, toasted
​
Mix sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken and set aside to marinate for 10 minutes to overnight.

Cut Chinese broccoli stems cut into 2.5 cm pieces, leafy part 5cm pieces.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Remove chicken from marinade, shaking off excess marinade,  RESERVE the marinade.

Cook both sides until golden - about 90 seconds on each side, don't let them burn! Remove chicken onto plate.

Add a touch of oil if pot is dry. Add onion, garlic and ginger, cook for 2 minutes,. Add rice, stir to coat grains in oil. Add stock, reserved marinade and Chinese broccoli stems. Stir.

Place chicken across the top, pour in juices pooled on plate. Cover, bring to simmer then lower heat to medium.
Cook for 12-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Working quickly, scatter Chinese broccoli leaves across surface, clamp lid back on. Immediately remove the pot from the heat.

Rest for 10 minutes. Remove lid, toss rice and serve, garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/one-pot-chinese-chicken-and-rice.html 
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​One of my aunts (Teta Marica) gave me this recipe years ago. She's my cookbook aunt, one that tries new things all the time. Each time you go over her house, you get to try something new (quite often I ask for the recipe). Back when I got the recipe I made it regularly, however over the years I tried other things and I'd forgotten to make this again. Yesterday I made it again for some of my family that I had over for dinner, and it was a hit. The flavours go so well together. It is great to serve when guests arrive, with drinks.

It is really easy to make, you can prepare the bases and filling in the morning, then just assemble before serving.

​Recipe adapted from an Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook

Makes 32

1-2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
200g ricotta cheese
3 teaspoons hot water
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
3 teaspoons horseradish cream
6 slices smoked salmon, chopped coarsely
32 capers
Salt and pepper, to taste
​

Preheat oven to very hot 250C/230C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Allow the pastry to thaw slightly. Cut 5.5cm rounds from pastry sheets (you need 16 rounds). Place the rounds on your prepared tray. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until browned. Once cooled, split the rounds in half. They have a natural line you follow, but do it carefully to not crack the pastry cups you make. At this stage once cooled completely, place the cups in an airtight container, and leave until needed.

​In a medium bowl, add the ricotta and water, stir to combine. Stir in the chives and horseradish cream. Refrigerate until needed.

Just before serving, spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the rounds. Top with the salmon. Add a caper to each. Season with a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper, decorate with chives.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/smoked-salmon-and-caper-pizzas.html 
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​Recipe adapted from www.recipetineats.com/

​Makes 12-15 burritos

Spice Mix:
1 1/2 tablespoons chipotle powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon All Spice powder
1 teaspoon ​coriander powder
1 teaspoon onion powder or
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt and pepper, each

Beef:
1 – 2 tablespoon olive oil
1.5kg beef chuck, cut into 4 pieces
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 brown onion, diced
3/4 cup (185 ml) orange juice
2 tablespoon lime juice
400g can crushed tomatoes
2 cups (500 ml) beef or chicken stock
1/2 cup (125ml) water
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mexican Red Rice: make 2 batches
​1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 small white onion, finely chopped
1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
1 3/4 cups (435 ml) chicken or vegetable broth
2 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno pepper, whole (optional)
1 sprig coriander

Guacamole:
2 large ripe avocados
Lime juice, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

For assembly:
Flour Tortillas, I use Mission Wraps as they are large and soft
300ml Sour Cream
2 x 400g can black beans, drained, rinsed
2 x 400g can corn kernels, drained, rinsed
375g shredded cheese
Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped, to taste

Pico de Gallo: to serve
4 vine-ripened tomatoes, deseeded, diced
1 small white onion, diced
½ cup coarsely chopped coriander
Juice of 2 limes
2 jalapeño chillies, finely chopped
2 jalapeño chillies, seeded, finely chopped, optional
1 small garlic clove, crushed

Corn Chips, to serve, adds crunch


Combine the Spice Mix ingredients in a bowl. Sprinkle 4 teaspoons over the beef and pat it on so it sticks to the beef.

Cook the beef: Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Add the beef and brown well on all sides. Remove onto a plate.

Turn the stove down to medium. If the pot looks dry, add more olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 3 minutes until soft. Add the orange juice and lime juice, and scrape the bottom of the pot so the brown bits mix into the liquid. Add tomato, beef stock, water and remaining spice mix. Mix, then return beef into pot. 
Put the lid on, bring to a simmer then turn the stove down so it is bubbling gently, not rapidly. 
Cook for 2 hours, then remove lid and simmer for another 30 minutes until beef is tender enough to shred.

Meanwhile make the Mexican Rice: Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, stir briefly, then add onion. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes until translucent. Add rice, broth, salt and tomato paste. Stir until tomato paste is dissolved. Place the jalapeno and coriander on top of the rice. Cover, bring to simmer, then lower heat to low so the water is simmering gently. Cook for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed (tilt pot to check).
Remove from heat, leave lid on and rest for 10 minutes, this is important. The residual liquid on the surface of the rice will get absorbed and rice will go from sticky to fluffy. Fluff with fork then set aside until needed.

Make the Pico de Gallo, if you are eating the burritos today: combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside for flavours to develop.

Continue with the beef: Remove the beef from sauce, shred with 2 forks. 
Leave the sauce to simmer with the lid off for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce and thicken to your taste. Adjust salt to taste. Toss beef back into the sauce.

Place a tortilla on a clean work surface. If your tortillas are not soft and pliable, you can heat them up in a microwave, uncovered or wrapped in foil in a warm oven.

Place about 1/2 tablespoon of sour cream on lower third of the tortilla, top with 1 tablespoon of guacamole, top with about 1/2 cup rice, shape the rice in roughly a 12cm x 5cm rectangle, top with about 1/2 cup of beef, about 1/3 cup cheese, 2 tablespoons of beans and 2 tablespoons of corn then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of fresh coriander. These measures are all guides, you want a full burrito, but you do need to be able to roll it up.

​​Fold up, burrito style-start rolling up from the filling side, folding in the sides when you're halfway, then finish rolling up

​ Toasting: If eating right away: Either pan fry over medium high heat (no oil) for 2 minutes each side to make tortilla crispy and melt cheese a bit OR wrap tightly in foil and bake in oven 10 minutes.

Serve burritos with pico de gallo and corn chips.

If you are freezing them: Don't toast them: Place a piece of foil on your work bench, top with a piece of baking paper. Place your rolled burrito on one edge seam side down and roll it up tightly, folding in the ends. Place in the fridge for up to 4 days or freezer for up to 3 months, they never last that long in my house.

If you cooking some you assembled earlier and were in the fridge, heat them up in a microwave for 2 minutes, before crisping up the tortilla either in warm in oven – 15 minutes at 180C wrapped in foil or remove foil and baking paper and heat in a dry frying pan. 

Frozen – thawed overnight - remove foil, heat in a microwave for 2 minutes then warm in a 180C oven 15 minutes.

To reheat from frozen in the oven, keep wrapped in foil and place in oven for 40 minutes at 180C.

To reheat from frozen in a pan, first remove foil and baking paper, microwave for 2 minutes, then turn them over and microwave a further 2 minutes, then eat as is or crisp them up in a dry frying pan.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/mexican-pulled-beef-burritos.html 
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella

​Recently I wanted to get away from my usual toast with butter breakfasts. I wanted something with more vitamins to start the day. So I decided to start having smoothies for breakfast.

These are so quick and easy to make, are delicious and I do feel better by having them.

This smoothie says serves 1, but it is a big serving, so I personally share it with someone in my family, or if no one is home I have half for breakfast and the rest for lunch.

You do need a good blender for this recipe.

If it's not peach season, I use tinned peaches and I add 1 tablespoon of the peach syrup as my sweetener.

So if you're like me and you want something healthier to start your day, this smoothie is a great recipe to start with.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/peach-and-spinach-smoothie.html 
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​Recipe adapted from iowagirleats.com/ 

Serves 8

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup dry quinoa
400g can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 English cucumber chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup packed fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup loosely-packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup roasted salted pistachios, roughly chopped
200g crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

For the lemon dressing:
1/2 cup lemon juice ~3-4 lemons
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper to taste
​

For the Lemon Dressing:
Add all the ingredients to a jar with a tight fitting lid, then shake to combine.

For the Salad:
Add chicken or vegetable stock to a small saucepan over high heat then bring to a boil. Add quinoa then turn heat down to low, place a lid on top, and simmer until quinoa is tender and broth has been absorbed, 12-15 minutes. Fluff cooked quinoa with a fork then scoop into a storage container or large mixing bowl to cool. Once cool, cover then refrigerate until chilled. Can be made a day or two ahead of time.

Add chilled quinoa to a large mixing bowl then add chickpeas, cucumber, red onion, parsley, mint, pistachios and feta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing, you don't need to use it all. Then toss to combine and serve, or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/the-perfect-salad.html
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella

​Recipe adapted from Jane Kennedy's cookbook The Big Book of Fabulous Food

Serves 4

2 x roasted chicken thighs
2 x roasted chicken legs
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
6 rashers middle bacon
1 baby cos lettuce, leaves separated
4 large egg, soft boiled and cut in half lengthways
1 telegraph cucumber, halved lengthways, sliced in 5mm slices
2 avocados, stones removed, thickly sliced
2 tomatoes, cut into bite sized wedges
250g Danish feta, cubed

Red Wine Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
60ml extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
​
Shred chicken meat into bite sized pieces. Discard bones.

Make the vinaigrette: Mix together in a jar the vinegar and oil, season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

Heat the sunflower in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the bacon for 3-4 minutes per side, or until crispy.
Allow to cool, cut up into bite sized pieces.

Make a bed of lettuce on a large platter. Arrange the chicken, bacon, eggs, cucumber, avocado, tomato and feta on top, in separate sections, it looks pretty and people can choose what they want in their salads. Drizzle with the vinaigrette.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/roast-chicken-cobb-salad.html
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​Recipe adapted from Jane Kennedy's cookbook The Big Book of Fabulous Food

Serves 2

2 roasted chicken breasts, shredded
200g plain drumhead and/or red cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, grated, optional
2 large shallots, finely sliced

Dressing:
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
White pepper, to taste


Make the dressing: In a jar add all the ingredients, shake to combine.

In a large bowl add the shredded chicken, shredded cabbage, carrot, if using and shallots. Drizzle over the dressing. Toss to combine and serve.

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