Chicken Satay Chopped Salad

With Thai Butternut Soup simmering on the stove top, and the smell of curry, lime, and thai basil filling our house, we wanted to find a salad to compliment the soup.  After looking through many recipes online, but not finding anything quite right, we decided to concoct our own, using elements of recipes we'd seen.  Below, is what we came up with, a salad with a skewer of chicken satay, and a sesame lime dressing.  This could definitely be a meal on it's own, but, combined with the butternut soup, made a fantastic soup and salad dinner combo.

Ingredients

Chicken Satay
1/2 can of coconut milk
zest from 1 lime
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sweet thai chili sauce
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into one inch pieces
wooden skewers 

Salad
2 cups organic baby mixed field greens
1 cup chopped cabbage (purple is great for color)
1/2 small red onion finely sliced
2 carrots chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 cucumbers, chopped
3-4 tablespoons of fresh chopped thai herbs - we used thai basil and cilantro
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped/crushed

Dressing
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated
1/2 clove of garlic, minced
Sriracha or red paper flakes to taste (optional)

Directions:
Make marinade for the chicken satay (coconut milk, lime zest, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sweet thai chili).  Mix well.  Add chicken pieces and marinate for at least 30 minutes, 1-2 hours if possible.  Place marinated chicken pieces on wooden skewers and grill until cooked through.  Be sure to oil your grill grates and watch chicken carefully, as it has a tendency to stick.

Combine ingredients for the dressing in a small food processor.

Mix the cabbage and field greens together to form the base of the salad.  For beautiful presentation,  arrange the colorful chopped vegetables in sections around the salad.  Add peanuts and fresh herbs.  Put the skewers of chicken satay on top.

Serve with dressing, extra peanuts, lime wedges and cilantro.  Or like us, serve a small salad with the bowl of thai butternut soup!

Thai Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, Carrot Soup

Fall is, by far, our favorite time of the year - cool weather, nights by the fire pit, apple cider, and the beginning of fall/winter comfort food.  Butternut squash soup has always been a fall favorite of mine, and when Mr. S brought home some butternut squash from a local farm, I knew I had to make some.  As much as I love traditional butternut soup with cinnamon and nutmeg, we wanted to try something new!  A long time ago, I came across a recipe for Thai Butternut Soup on Pinterest, and have been waiting for butternut season to give it a whirl.  I'm not sure what we were expecting, exactly, but we couldn't get over how delicious this recipe turned out.  Not only was it super flavorful, it was healthy, filling, and beautiful! 

Thai Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use coconut or canola)
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1/4 cup Thai Kitchen red curry paste (more at the end to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 6-7 cups uncooked butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1”cubes, seeds separated
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1”cubes
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (14 oz.) can Thai Kitchen coconut milk (we used light)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped Thai basic
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• Sriracha/Asian hot chili sauce to taste (optional)
  
  Honey Sriracha Butternut Squash Seeds
• Reserved butternut squash seeds
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha/Asian hot chili sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick ground cumin
  
  Garnish
• Freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
• Sriacha hot chili sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Rinse squash seeds and pat dry. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, Srirach, oil, salt, and cumin; add seeds and stir until evenly coated. Spread seeds out evenly on baking sheet in a single layer. Cook for 15-20 min (watch closely so they won't burn).
2. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat in a dutch oven. When oil is hot, add, onions and sauté until onions are soft, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add red curry paste, red pepper flakes, ginger and garlic; stir to combine with onions; saute for 3 minutes. Add squash, sweet potatoes, carrots and chicken stock. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
3. Pour  vegetable mixture into blender/food processor (you will have to do this in batches unless you have a giant blender). Puree soup in batches until it is smooth.   Return to pot, or to a new pot.  *** Make sure that your blender is properly vented so it doesn't explode from the heat ***
4. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, and basil to the soup and cook until soup is heated through (2-5 minutes). When ready to server, stir in 2 tablespoons lime juice. Taste soup and add desired amount of Sriracha, salt and pepper to taste.
5. To serve, squeeze fresh lime juice onto individual bowls for a fresh pop and garnish with roasted seeds and cilantro.

This soup is very filling.  So, a couple bowls could be a meal by itself.  But, to up the freshness factor, we decided to have it with a thai chopped salad!  Recipe to follow to soon :)

Adapted from the fabulous Carlsbad Cravings blog!