Phil Vickery’s summer salad

The bikinis are being dusted down (finally!) alongside the cocktail shaker so all we need now is a new recipe for all those barbeques.

This year, why not wow guests with a fabulous new dish that will have them begging for the recipe. With its healthy qualities and delicious taste, Turkey should not be forgotten about during our warmer seasons.

Here Britain’s best loved chef, Phil Vickery, shows us his American Style Chopped Turkey Salad. With his easy homemade dressing on the side you can’t go wrong in making this tasty recipe. All you need now is friends around the table with a perfectly chilled bottle of white wine...

American Style Chopped Turkey Salad (pictured above)

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 6 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 British turkey breast steaks or breast fillets
• 1 Iceberg lettuce
• 4 tbsp honey roast peanuts, finely chopped
• 4 small, ripe tomatoes, diced
• ½ large cucumber, deseeded with a teaspoon, diced
• 4 hardboiled eggs, diced
• 4 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
• 2 large carrots, peeled, diced
• 4 tbsp chives, chopped

Dressing

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp safflower or sunflower oil
• 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 pinch caster sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Gently fry the turkey breast steaks or sliced breast fillet in a little oil for about 3 minutes on each side and lightly browned. Set aside to rest.

Finely chop the Iceberg lettuce and put into a serving bowl. Add the peanuts, tomatoes and cucumber, along with the diced eggs, shallots, carrots and chives. Mix well.

Chop the cooked and cooled turkey, add to the bowl and chill in the fridge.

Meanwhile make the dressing by placing all the ingredients into a bowl and whisking together.

After a couple of minutes, the mustard will emulsify the oil and vinegar and you will end up with a thickish dressing.

Pour over the chilled salad and toss well. Check the seasoning and allow the flavours to infuse for 5 minutes before eating. If you are going to eat at a later time then add the dressing at the last moment.

Tip: you can use leftover meat from a roast instead of cooking fresh turkey. You will need about 250g of chopped turkey breast and/or leg meat for this recipe