Caramelised Pineapple, Coconut, Quinoa and Chicken Salad with Spicy Chilli Dressing

Ingredients

1 cup of quinoa (uncooked)
½ pineapple
½ red cabbage
¼ white drum cabbage
½ bunch spring onions, sliced
1 carrot, peeled
½ bunch of coriander, washed well, stalks chopped finely and leaves picked
1 roast chicken, meat pulled off the bones and shredded
1 cup of shredded coconut toasted
Extra coriander for garnish
For the dressing
- 2 long green chillies, sliced
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 60ml fish sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- 150ml sweet chilli sauce

Directions

Rinse the quinoa and cook as directed on the packet, drain and set aside to cool. Peel the pineapple and slice it into round of 1 cm thickness, depending on how many people you are serving. Heat a grill pan over a moderate to high temperature and place the pineapple in the pan leaving it for 4–5 minutes before looking or turning it over – you want to caramelise the pineapple and see the char lines from the grill pan. If you don’t have a grill pan you can use a normal fry pan. Set the pineapple aside.

For the remainder of the salad, either shred or finely chop the red cabbage, white cabbage and the carrot together – you can also do this by placing the ingredients into a food processor and pulsing the ingredients for a couple of seconds.

To assemble the dish, combine the cooked quinoa with the chopped cabbages, carrot, spring onions, coriander and the shredded chicken. Add in the toasted coconut and the dressing and toss well to combine the dressing and the salad. Place a slice of grilled caramelised pineapple onto the plate and then pile up a generous portion of the salad, garnish with extra coriander, a slice of lime and a scattering of toasted coconut and serve.