curry roasted chicken and cauliflower salad
this dressing will change you
April is a wild time to be a recipe developer — there is absolutely no continuity to the weather across the country/world right now. It’s been 50s and rainy here in Carmel Valley, CA, this week, and in the 80s in my hometown of Winston-Salem, NC. I’ve been craving cozy warm food; my North Carolina friends and family have moved onto lighter, springy meals.
So today we’re cooking something that marries those two vibes: cozy, roasty curry chicken and veggies meets a fresh, crisp salad. It’s got something for everyone, and I’m 1000% positive that you are going to love it.
Curry powder is one of the most under-utilized ingredients in a home cook’s arsenal, IMO. It’s a mild ground spice blend that typically consists of turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, and more — so it packs in tons of nutrients and delicious flavor. Your usual grocery store should carry it in the spice aisle.
Here, we’re using curry powder in two ways that really make it shine: 1) with a few other spices to roast our veggies and meat, and 2) paired with creamy things plus lime juice for a truly delectable salad dressing.
Now that you have curry powder in your pantry, use it as a seasoning for any roasted veg or protein, add it to soups, and sprinkle it onto popcorn. You can also cook saucy chicken and cabbage satay bowls and one-pan coconut curry chicken with roasted vegetables and lime.
Every time I write a salad recipe, I emphatically call for it to be served in a large, shallow serving bowl. This is for a reason! We want a really wide, shallow bowl so that the ingredients can sing! They can’t shine if they’re all clumped together, buried at the bottom of a narrow, deep bowl.
And this is just as important for your entree bowls! When’s the last time you went to a restaurant and they served you a salad out of a cereal bowl? That’s right — never! They served it in a wide, shallow bowl, because it created an optimum eating experience for you. Optimize your eating experience, people! Put shallow salad bowls on your Mother’s Day/birthday list!
Even if you’ve been here for a while, you may have missed this spatchcocked curry chicken from way back in 2021. And if you’re in the mood for more salads, might I suggest my lemon-parm chicken quinoa salad? If you read that post, you’ll find a bunch of other good-all-week salad combos I love to meal prep, too.
Serves 4 to 6
Cook time: 45 minutes
