Well hello! We have arrived to WEEK THREE of my Summer Salad Series, and I’m excited to bring you a new recipe after a looong week of night shifts. It feels SO GOOD to get back onto daylight hours after a tough week on-call. I feel tired but positive about it, I was TERRIFIED this time last Sunday and I’m so proud of myself for getting through it. And since I’m straight back into day shifts this week, I figured what better opportunity than today to get a new meal-prep recipe going for you guys!

So my overall inspiration for this recipe is a salad-style take on a roast turkey dinner. You know the classic ingredients I mean – turkey, spuds, cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts, roasted veggies – YUM! So I’ve decided to retain SOME of those aspects in this recipe, while of course giving the whole thing the Ciara treatment. This salad has all of your key macro-nutrients with some veggie goodness too – turkey, wholegrain and red rice, roasted veggies, plus cranberries and hazelnuts for a fruity crunch on top! Feel free to use whatever rice you like – I’ve gone for convenience this week using Uncle Ben’s Express Microwave Rice. I’m a big fan of these packs – they’re pretty clean, and have a whole range of healthy varieties – wholegrain, brown and red rice, and quinoa mixes too! They’re widely available in supermarkets, and 1 pack is 2 servings! You guys know I cook from scratch pretty much 99% of the time, but I have a few favourites for ready-made food, and this is definitely one of them! Now, to the recipe!

Recipes (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp ground sweet paprika
• 2 x 250g Packs of Uncle Ben’s Express Wholegrain & Red Rice (Of course, you can use dry uncooked rice either but these packs are brilliant, the brand Tilda do a few versions too!)
• 2 x 120g Packs of Roast Turkey Slices (I used the Greene Farm brand) (Alternatively, get yourself 4 turkey breasts and roast in the oven to cook!)
• 4 medium sized carrots, halved and sliced lengthways
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped into 1 inch thick strips
• 50g dried cranberries
• 50g chopped raw hazelnuts

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (fan oven), and line a baking tray with tinfoil.
2. Chop up your carrots and peppers, then toss them in a little olive or coconut oil and paprika. Spread them across the baking tray, and roast for 25-30 minutes.
3. Next, microwave the two packs of Express Rice in the microwave for 2 minutes each. When done, tip the rice into a large bowl and fluff it up using a fork. Set aside to cool.
4. Dice up the cooked turkey slices/breast and set aside on a small plate.
5. When the veggies are done (i.e. slightly crisped and softened), remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes.
6. Add your cranberries and hazelnuts to the rice, and stir so they’re well mixed in.
7. Tip your roasted veggies into the bowl of rice and mix again.
8. Finally, add the turkey pieces, and toss all the ingredients one final time.
9. Voila! Your Roast Turkey Salad is ready!

Enjoy guys! I hope you like this one – its sort of a twist on a roast turkey dinner, and I’m really pleased with the final result! Tag me if you try it out –@theirishbalance on Instagram!

Ciara 🙂 x