SUNDAY SALAD

My good friend the Winchester Whisperer recommended the Ottolenghi Cookbook to me so of course I sent for it and I'm very glad I did. When I get a new cookbook, I first read it through as though it were a novel, then I go back and pick out the recipes or new ideas I want to try. One of these ideas is to grill peaches for use in salad and another is the use of sumac in salad. [I'm fond of sumac and have some that a kind friend sent from the UK.] So this evening, having abandoned a plan to embark on a complicated dish because of lack of time, I decided to incorporate these ideas into a salad. Here's what I did:

First I marinated 3 very thin, skinless chicken fillets in 2 tablesp balsamic vinegar [as I am wont to do] for 2 hours. Later I dealt with the peaches: you have to stone and cut each one into 6 wedges [I used 2], then marinate these for a few minutes in a little olive oil with seasalt and black pepper. When you are ready, heat a ridged griddle pan, lift the peaches out of their bowl with a slotted spoon and grill for 1 minute on each side. Lift off the pan and put on a plate to cool. Then, without wiping or washing the pan, cook the chicken fillets [which you have dried a little with kitchen paper] for 1 minute on each side also. Lift off and let them cool until you can handle them. Cut the chicken into small pieces. Put whatever salad leaves you have into a bowl with some basil leaves, sun-dried tomatoes and the chicken and peach pieces. Whisk up a dressing consisting of 2 tablesp olive oil, 1 tablesp of honey, seasoning, some dried oregano and some sumac and dress the salad. This will serve 2 people very generously.