These crunchy chicken strips are a great finger food, and children love them. The cornflakes give a nice texture and I often use them instead of bread crumbs. You can vary the dressing as the mustard may not be to everyone’s taste. Sometimes I use a barbecue sauce. Tomato relish is nice, too. Make sure to get Bord Bia quality-assured chicken.

These delicious spiced chicken skewers are marinated in yoghurt and spices, which makes them beautifully tender. We have so many excellent yoghurt producers in Ireland these days that there is wonderful choice. Killowen in Enniscorthy is one I enjoyed visiting. Another is Glenilen in west Cork who are open to visitors and do school tours.

Like so many people, I am delighted to be back at the Ploughing. I really missed it. It’s great to meet old friends and make some new ones. A big thank you to the Irish Farmers Journal and Simply Better teams for making my events run so smoothly.

Happy Cooking,

Neven

Crunchy chicken strips with honey mustard dip

Serves four

50g (2oz) plain flour

2 eggs

2 tbsp milk

150g (5oz) cornflakes, crushed

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into eight even-sized strips

olive oil spray, for cooking

½ cucumber, cut into chunks

For the honey mustard dip:

2 tbsp thick Greek yogurt

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp runny honey

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/gas mark 6). Line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper.

2 To make the honey mustard dip, mix the yoghurt with the mayonnaise, mustard and honey in a small bowl and season to taste.

3 Cover with cling film and chill until needed.

4 Place the flour on a plate and season to taste. Beat together the eggs and milk in a separate dish. Put the cornflakes in another dish.

5 Toss the chicken strips lightly in the flour, then dip in the beaten egg mixture and coat with the cornflakes.

\ Claire Nash

6 Arrange the coated chicken strips on the lined baking sheet and spray lightly with the olive oil.

7 Place in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.

8 Arrange the crunchy chicken strips on plates with small bowls of the honey mustard dip and the chunks of cucumber to serve.

Spiced chicken skewers with shredded salad

Serves four

Juice of ½ lemon

2 garlic cloves, crushed

6 heaped tbsp natural yogurt

3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, plus extra to garnish

1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

500g (1lb 2oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets or thighs, cut into 2cm (¾in) cubes

lemon wedges, to garnish

For the shredded salad:

½ head of red cabbage, tough core removed and shredded

2 carrots, cut into julienne (a mandolin is best for doing this)

½ small red onion, very thinly sliced

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice of ½ lemon

½ tsp runny honey

good pinch of ground cumin

good pinch of ground coriander

good pinch of ground turmeric

good pinch of paprika

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Mix together the lemon juice, garlic, yoghurt, fresh coriander, ginger, spices and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a shallow non-metallic dish. Season with pepper and stir in the cubes of chicken, then cover with cling film and leave to marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to 2 days in the fridge.

2 Heat a griddle pan until it’s smoking hot. Thread the chicken on to 15cm (6in) skewers, then brush the griddle pan with the remaining tablespoon of oil and put on the chicken skewers. Cook for 12–14 minutes, until the chicken is just tender and cooked through, turning regularly. Season lightly with salt.

3 Meanwhile, to make the salad, place all the vegetables in a bowl. Mix together the oil with the lemon juice, honey and spices (or shake in a jar with a tight-fitting lid), then use to dress the salad.

4 Serve the shredded salad alongside the spiced chicken skewers on plates and garnish with lemon wedges and chopped fresh coriander.