When I presented this recipe on television for Food in a Minute, it was a sensational hit and it remains a perennial favourite in my home. Use a bought cooked barbecue chicken to make this salad in a jiffy.

Ingredients

• 4 large juicy, ripe tomatoes
• 1 small rock melon
• 1 small honeydew melon
• 2 avocados
• 1 pre-cooked barbecue chicken, unstuffed
• ½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• easy basil vinaigrette
• ¾ cup your favourite vinaigrette
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Method

1. Blanch the tomatoes and refresh in cold water. Peel and cut into quarters.
2. Halve and deseed the rock and honeydew melons. Scoop the melons into balls or remove the skin and dice into 2-cm pieces.
3. Peel and slice the avocado into 1-cm slices.
4. Cut the chicken into chunky, bite-sized pieces.
5. Gently toss the salad ingredients together.
6. Easy basil vinaigrette
7. In a food processor or blender, mix together the vinaigrette and basil. Make the dresisng just before serving as the basil will brown if it is allowed to stand too long in the dressing.
8. Pour the dressing over and serve from a large bowl or on top of lettuce-lined plates if wished. Serve slightly off-chilled.

Cooks Tips

When buying melons look for those that are:

- heavy for their size

- have a sweet aroma and don't smell musky which means they are over-ripe

- have thick and unblemished rind.

To keep a melon, place in a cook place and use soon after purchase. If refrigerating, wrap the melon in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container as the smell will quicky permeate its way through other foods.

To blanch a tomato, score the skin by making a cross in the base. With a shallow cut remove the core end. Place tomatoes into boiling hot water only until the skin splits - about 30 seconds - and then plunge into cold water to arrest cooking. Peel off the skin.

Variations:

- Use smoked chicken in place of roasted chicken.

- Use 1-2 tablespoons of basil pesto in the dressing in place of, or in addition to, the fresh basil, if wished.