If I were to make a top-ten list of things I miss about the living in the States, the availability of cilantro would most certainly be on it. This much-adored herb has yet to break into the Czech foodscape, and is relegated to Vietnamese shops and sometimes sold in pots in herb sections of the grocery stores. So last year I started growing my own. Sometimes from little potted plants, sometimes from seed, but always with fairly good results.
As long as the pot is deep enough for the long 'tap root' it is said to have, one shouldn't have any problems. I keep popping in a few more seeds every few weeks to keep up the rotation in a few pots to give me a constant supply all summer long. Which means, for this months' Forever Nigella challenge Salad Days, hosted by Belleau Kitchen, I could easily throw together her Chicken, Mango and Chilli Salad.
Both groundnut (peanut) and sesame oils are called for, but I omitted the peanut oil and used just a wee bit of sesame oil, and it was just the right touch. Also, the recipe states that it serves 2-3, but I easily gobbled it all up on my own for a nice big filling dinner after a long day. I didn't have leftover chicken to make it with (as the recipe calls for), but rather threw a piece on a little grill machine for 20 minutes while prepping (and photographing) the salad bits. The result: crisp, bright and tangy, with a bit of spice. Lovely.
Can't wait to be inspired by the other salads in this month's round!
Dobrou Chut'/ Enjoy.
-- Jo
oooh, this looks so good, I love fresh combo of the mango and the chicken... scrummy!... thanks so much for taking part x
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