I told Chef Brian I didn’t like salads, so he hid one in a delicious sauce  and a slab of Indian-spiced chicken.

I guess I always thought of salads as bland health food, or worse, a pool of watery Ranch dressing littered with withered iceberg, but the second meal of Week 21 packs enough hearty wallop to make me forget this one’s technically a plate of greens  ‘n’ stuff.

This is Week 21, Meal 2: Indian spice marinated chicken breast over curry roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas with tomato and spinach.

The Recipe (Yield: 2 servings)

Chicken and marinade
2 6-8 oz. chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t ginger, grated
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t coriander
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t cardamom
2 T vegetable oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Curry roasted veggies
2 t vegetable oil
1 sweet potato, peeled and medium diced
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 T curry powder
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
2-3 oz. spinach, stemmed and roughly sliced about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
salt and pepper, to taste

In a blender or Magic Bullet combine the juice of 2 lemons, 1/2 minced shallot, 1  clove of minced ginger,  1 t of grated ginger, 1/2 t of cumin, 1/2 t of coriander, 1/4 t of cinnamon, 1/4 t of cardamom and 2 T of olive oil.

Blend until well combined. Salt and pepper to taste. Reserve 1/2 for chicken and 1/2 as a sauce to finish the dish.

Put 2 6-8 oz. chicken breasts in a plastic container or bag with half the marinade and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Preheat the grill to high.

In a medium bowl, mix 1 diced sweet potato, 1 can of chickpeas, 2 t of vegetable oil and 1 T of curry powder. Season with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat and transfer to a baking dish.

Roast for 12-14 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft and  the chickpeas are a bit crunchy.

Toss with 2-3 oz. of spinach and 2 diced roma tomatoes.

While the sweet potatoes and chickpeas are roasting, grill the chicken breast about 4-5 minutes per side. Slice after allowing to rest for 5 minutes.

To plate: Put 1 cup of sweet potato mixture on the plate. Top with sliced chicken breast and drizzle with vinaigrette. Add fresh parsley as a garnish if desired.

Wifey Nadia and I both thought this dish was in the top 3 of all Fat Dude recipes. The sweet potato and chickpeas both add slight crunch and the citrus-y dressing is intensely flavorful.

I ate so fast that I wasn’t breathing right and forgot to drink water in between bites. Embarrassing, but absolutely the truth.