Summer is my favourite season of the year, not only because there are so many birthdays to celebrate (including my own), but also because it’s the beginning of barbecue season! When I think of summertime my mind is quickly flooded with bright and refreshing salads, grilled meat and delicious summer cocktails out on a patio. Thankfully summer is just around the corner and I’m firing up my grill!
When the Ricardo team reached out and asked me to review and test one of their recipes from their Ricardo Chicken Recipes Category, I checked out their website and there were quite a few recipes that caught my eye for their simplicity and flavour combination. The recipe that appealed to me the most for its fresh and lively summer profile was the Grilled Chicken with Tomato, Mango and Quinoa Salad.
This recipe called out “Summer is here!” and I responded with my BBQ tongs in hand. I was so excited to get grilling!
There are two components to this recipe, the quinoa salad and the grilled chicken. The recipe as a whole was very simple to follow and had ingredients that you can easily find at your local grocer. The fresh ingredients in the salad are easy enough to chop and dice.There is also a video on how to peel and dice a Mango on the recipe link. Since there are only two components that require cooking and only a few vegetables too, the meal took no more than 30 minutes.
The spice rub for the chicken called for mustard seeds so I used what I had on hand which were yellow mustard seeds. The yellow mustard seeds have a very mild flavour in comparison to brown mustard seeds. Feel free to experiment and see what you prefer!
For the quinoa salad, the dressing was very light and refreshing—mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper. This allowed the mango and tomatoes to shine and bring their natural sweetness to the salad. Make sure you pick ripe mangos and tomatoes as they really add a great complexity of flavour to the quinoa salad.
This meal looks beautiful and would be great to serve as a part of a menu for a large group as well as at a summer BBQ or potluck. It’s a healthy recipe that has delicious and complimenting flavours. If you’re grilling for any vegetarians this summer, you can use the same spice rub on a piece of hard tofu or on a Portobello mushroom.
Disclosure: I have been provided with a subscription to Ricardo Magazine for review, but have not been compensated for this post and all recipe opinions are my own.