green party

sodden coleslaw, Russian salad or Sauerkraut served with sanitised

bits of chicken, ham or, in some of the more salubrious eateries in Scotland, a heap of frozen chips. Tres tasty, I'm sure, but we really

should be striving for something a little more up to

date to warm up these last of the millennium chilly January

evenings. What we need is tasty food that will fill us up without

bogging us down.

Perversely, the proponents of this particular culinary artform

come from a part of the world that is 100% un-Scottish in

attitude, climate and eating habits. California, through years of eclectic experimentation, has derived a cuisine that is both full of taste and packed with

nutrition, using the freshest of ingredients. They always employ the quickest

cooking methods, in order to get on with sunning the silicone and otherwise looking California gorgeous. Bearing in mind that in the year-and-a-half that we have been

writing this column there have been roughly three suitable days for scorching the

cellulite around Scotland's coast, we are not suggesting that Californian cooking techniques should be embraced as part of your daily ritual. As a quaint little

New World interlude between fish suppers and dough balls, however, it's

no too bad at all.

chicken, walnut and goat's cheese salad

1/2 small cup of walnuts (I personally hate walnuts, so I always leave them out. You can always substitute cashews, pecans or whatever is your favourite). If you suffer from the curse of a nut allergy, you can substitute garlicky croutons instead

4 chicken fillets per person, or 1 chicken breast, sliced lengthways, each

2 oz goat's cheese per person (a chevre log slices into perfect rounds)

some butter

a wee splash of soy

a wee splash of dry sherry

oil to fry

balsamic vinegar for the dressing

a big heap of mixed leaves (those pre-done bags from the supermarket are perfect)

tomatoes (optional)

salt and pepper if necessary

method

Nauseatingly healthy and simplicity itself to prepare, this salad can be made as easily for one as it can for 10 in about five minutes - and that includes opening the packets. So if you're sick of watching all the check-breeked creativity on TV while munching yet another bought-in dinner, the solution (if only fleetingly) is at hand.

The most finicky part of the preparation is cutting the cheese and spreading the individual rounds with butter. (Why butter? Well that's how you get a nice shiny glaze on your cheese.) When done, place the cheese on a lightly-greased baking tray, and place on one side. Then move onto the serious cooking bits.

First, light your grill and heat a frying pan. While this wonder of twentieth century living is shaping up, open the chicken fillets into a bowl and douse with sherry and soy. Pour enough oil into the frying

pan so that when the goat's cheese is

cooked you still have enough left to make the vinaigrette.

Place the cheese under the grill, then place the chicken fillets in the pan. Allow them to brown slightly before turning over (about two minutes on either side - a medium heat should do), all the time keeping an eye on the cheese.

While all this is going on, strategically pile your salad into the middle of the plates. By now the cheese should be golden brown on top. Remove the tray from the grill and serve slightly to the side of the salad.

Return to the fillets, which should now feel firm to touch - ie, cooked. Sprinkle with as few or as many nuts

as you like and deglaze liberally

with balsamic, to form the vinaigrette. Serve the chicken immediately, sprinkled with the nuts and dressed well with the vinaigrette.

Admittedly, by now you are probably up to about eight minutes. If your life is too hectic to be a little liberal with three minutes, forget grilling the cheese and just sprinkle it on raw. Either way it's delicious.

and to drink . . .

Salads and winter in most peoples psyche are diametrically opposed.

Depending on your tolerance to alcohol, and your New Year's resolutions, drinking wine with your healthy and nutritious chicken and goat's cheese salad may be out of the question. Carrot juice, prune juice, cranberry juice or exotic fruits of the forest with added vitamin juice may well be satisfying, gratifying and enjoyable, but when your palate is used to the subtler flavours that even a small glass of chilled white wine can offer, the benefits of drinking exotic, coloured, fragrant fruit juices for a whole year may seen an onerous task.

Diluting your liquid diet with red or white grape juice may alleviate some

of the burden and we started with

a Semillon/Chardonnay from South Eastern Australia. Rosemount Estate is a model winery and Philip Shaw is probably one of Australia's best winemakers. Together they have been producing award-winning wines from Rosemount for the past 10 years. Their Honey Tree Semillon/Chardonnay is one of Australia's simple ''gluggers''. Enjoyed young, it is rich and ripe in fruits - a perfect match for the salad and a great way to reintroduce grape juice into your daily diet.

Rosemount Estate, Honey Tree, Semillon/Chardonnay, is available from Marks and Spencer at #5.99.

l Colin Clydesdale, Restaurant Chef of the Year, and Carol Wright, pictured above, are chef and greeter respectively at Stravaigin, Gibson Street, Glasgow

l Food photography by Graham Lees