Hunger Buster

You know how I mentioned I had a lot of free time lately?

Well I take it back completely. I don't.

I've become so busy that as soon as I get home, I wanna shove some food in my mouth asap. When periods of hecticness like this occurs, I don't have time to make a proper dinner, so quick meals for me usually consist of stir-fries, lots of avocado toast, a whole packet of nuts or yoghurt and berries if I'm feeling really lazy.

The other day I left home with some lentils soaking on the stovetop with not really any idea of what I was going to do with them when I got home that night.

After a long day I finally arrived home and mindlessly put together a warm salad with lentils and chicken, so please forgive the lack of proper measurements and the fact that the dish looks significantly jumbled in the photo. It was only half way through it that I thought the meal was worthy of a mention. The warm herby chicken, melded with soft chunks of ricotta cheese and spoonfuls of lentils really did make a nice way to end a day.

Warm Lemon Chicken, Lentil and Ricotta Salad
This serves 1 but maybe 2. I eat large portions!

150g piece of chicken breast/thigh, cut into strips
Half a cup of soaked brown lentils
1 garlic clove, minced
Handful of baby spinach leaves
100g fresh ricotta
1 lemon
Handful of fresh oregano and parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Half a zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
1/4 of a red (spanish) onion, thinly sliced
A small handful of whole basil leaves
A few broccoli florets
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Cut the chicken into thin strips and marinate in half of the lemon juice, fresh oregano and parsley, salt and pepper, 1 tsp olive oil and the garlic. While the chicken is marinating cook the lentils by placing them in a pot and covering completely in water. Bring them to a boil on high heat and then reduce the heat to medium to simmer away for about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Assemble the salad by placing the baby spinach, red onion, basil leaves, chunks of the ricotta and warm lentils in a bowl. Stir fry the chicken off in a medium to high pan with the juices from the marinade. Chuck in the after a few minutes zucchini and broccoli and stir fry until the chicken is cooked through and the vegies are slightly softened but still have some crunch.

Place ontop of the salad and finish with a final squeeze of lemon juice. Delish.