Poached chicken and blueberry salad with smoked almonds and sumac dressing

New York. I have so many things to thank you for. Firstly just for being you. And for Bergdorf's, Saks, the apple pie at Bubbies and the pastrami sandwich at Katz. But it is my undying obsession with chopped salads that I will forever thank you for. That and the multitude of flavours that mean you could eat one for lunch everyday of the week and still have options a century from now.

The chopped salad screams for glasses of chilled pink wine, long lunching with best friends, with the obligatory bread baskets, people watching and chatter that you never want to end.

This salad is the salad whisperer of chopped salads. So bright and so so pretty, just like your insides will be after you've eaten it. You might question the blueberries. Don't. You will almost certainly question the dukka, circa 1990 but stop judging me.  In the background of this salad it adds a delightful textural crunch and a little extra flavour kick. Besides, no one needs to know.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

2 large skinless chicken breasts

2 cups water

270ml coconut milk

250g blueberries

½ cup smoked almonds

2 tbsp dukka

1 red onion, peeled, very thinly sliced

1 bunch coriander, finely chopped

1 cup roasted sweet potato, chopped

1/2 cup Persian feta

Sumac dressing

1 tbsp sumac

60 ml (¼ cup)extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tbsp caramelised white balsamic (replace with 1-2 tsp white sugar if unavailable)

Method

Bring water and coconut milk to the simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Add chicken, simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool in the liquid (20-25 minutes). Just before serving, coarsely shred chicken.

Combine the almonds and dukka in a small bowl then place in a large serving platter. Add each of the remaining ingredients separately to the serving platter.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, stirring to incorporate then spoon over the salad when you are ready to serve.