Grilled Chicken and Cos Caesar with Crispy Chickpeas
All the comfort of a Caesar with none of the grain. Crisp cos, juicy grilled chicken, jammy soft eggs and crunchy roasted chickpeas, brought together with a creamy tahini Caesar.
The Spring Bowl I Keep Making
It is the last day of winter and I have already mentally moved on. This is the bowl I have been making on repeat lately, the one that tastes like the weather is about to turn.
Everything in it either comes off the BBQ or out of a jar, so it is barely a recipe. It is more of an assembly job with very good components, which is honestly how most of my weekly food works.
What's in it
- 1/2 bunch of kale, shredded
- 150g free-range chicken tenderloins
- Juice of half a lemon, mixed herbs and garlic salt, for the chicken
- A few thick slices of pumpkin
- Olive oil and garlic salt, for the pumpkin
- 1/2 avocado, sliced
- 1 tbsp feta, crumbled
- 2 tbsp OG Crunch
- A spoonful of beetroot relish (mine is from the Kyilla farmers markets)
- A spoonful of kraut, or pickled onions if that is what is open
How I make it
- Toss the chicken tenderloins in the lemon juice, mixed herbs and garlic salt. Ten minutes is fine, overnight is better.
- Slice the pumpkin thick, rub it with a little oil and season with garlic salt.
- BBQ or airfryer both. The pumpkin wants to go until the edges catch and caramelise, the chicken until it is golden and cooked through. Rest the chicken for a few minutes, then slice it.
- Shred the kale into a wide bowl and give it a quick massage with your hands. It softens it right down and makes the whole thing far nicer to eat.
- Build it: kale on the bottom, then the pumpkin and the sliced chicken, then the avocado.
- Add the beetroot relish, the kraut or pickled onions, and crumble the feta over.
- Finish with a generous two tablespoons of OG Crunch. This is not the moment to be shy.
Why it works
The crunch does the heavy lifting. A bowl like this can go soft and samey very quickly. Two tablespoons of OG Crunch over the top is what stops that, and it is the thing people always ask about.
Free-range chicken for protein. Good quality protein is what turns a salad into an actual meal, and tenderloins cook in minutes so there is no excuse.
Avocado and feta, together. That double hit of fat is what keeps you full for hours afterwards, rather than reaching for carbs an hour later. It is the difference between a bowl that satisfies and one that leaves you hunting through the pantry at three o'clock.
From the greens outwards, as always.
Marnie x
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