BENGALURU: My journey as a chef has been a complex, informative and highly knowledgeable roller coaster ride, tapping into an explosion of diversity, versatility, new age trends, gastronomic indulgences and sinful passion and bliss.During my tenure at the Dorchester, London and with 3-star Michelin Chef Alain Ducasse, I was exposed to channeling gastronomic food down the health road with a consistent and persistent watch on quality, texture, flavours and most importantly taste, thus breaking the notion that healthy cooking a’int all that tasty.
During my entire journey, I have imbibed the concept of cooking healthy.A key feature to cooking healthy is to incorporate the freshest local ingredients, minimalistic cooking techniques and lots of love.
Among many ingredients I’ve been exposed, one such ingredient from the repertoire of sorts was Flax Seeds – both Tan and Golden. Flax seeds has been consumed as food for around 6,000 years. It could very well be the world’s first cultivated super food. Their benefits help you improve digestion, rejuvenate the skin, lower cholesterol, reduce sugar cravings, balance hormones, fight cancer and most definitely promote weight loss. Often called linseeds, they are the richest source of plant based omega-3 fatty acids, called alpha linolenic acid.
There are many ways to add this super seed into one’s diet. I prefer to add them into muffins, flat breads, breads and cookies. However, the best way to consume them is in its sprouted form. Soaking flax seeds and then sprouting them eliminates phytic acid and may greatly increase mineral absorption. My favourite incorporation of flax seeds would be Roasted Peppers & Lemon Rind Scented Greek
Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
Chicken breast - 200g
Lemon Rind - 5g
Worchestershire Sauce - 5ml
Garlic - 5g
Olive Oil - 5ml
Ice Berg lettuce - 30g
Lollorosso Lettuce - 30g
Green Lettuce - 30g
Rocket Lettuce - 20g
Roasted Bell Peppers - 100g
English Cucumber - 60g
Crumbled Feta - 20g
Cherry Tomatoes - 30g
Toasted Flax Seeds - 5g
Olives - 10g
Thyme - 5g
Lemon Vinaigrette - 20ml
Salt to taste
Method:
Marinate the chicken breast with a marinade of olive oil, salt, thyme, lemon rind, Worcestershire sauce and garlic for an hour.
In a grill pan, add a few drops of olive oil and grilled the chicken breast on both sides until done. Shred or slice and set aside in the pan juices.
Wash and clean the lettuce with ice cold water.
Slice the cucumber into triangles. Roast the bell peppers in an oven until done or over a naked flame, peel the skin and cut into rough wedges. Cut the cherry tomatoes into half.
Toast the flax seed in a pan until it begins to crisp up. Prepare the lemon vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and a dash of honey. In a mixing bowl, lightly mix the lettuce with the chicken, cucumber, roasted bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, olives, thyme and lightly toss in the lemon vinaigrette.
Serve in a salad bowl with a generous topping of toasted Flax seed. Enjoy
– Chef Jason Desouza, Culinary Ops Head & Food Design - Eat Fit