Winter chicken & date salad (Random Recipes)

As the month is moving towards the end quite rapidly, I knew I needed to act fast if I wanted to join in Random Recipes challenge for November. Dom from Belleau Kitchen has challenged foodie bloggers to take out all old magazines and clippings, put them in one big pile and pick a random recipe. While I cannot say, I put ALL of my old magazines together, as I have too many baskets and boxes full of that stuff, all around the house. I went to our bedroom, where I keep several hamper baskets under the bed, picked one randomly and without looking grabbed an old copy of BBC Good Food (Christmas 2004). So far, so good, though I was secretly hoping for an Italian magazine or Taste Italia (which doesn't exist anymore, such a shame, they combined it with the travelling magazine, and I am not interested in renting villas on Lake Como or skiing in the Italian Alps).
Anyway, back to BBC Good Food, let's open the magazine. There are two recipes on the page, for a winter salad and a pizza.

I have slightly adapted the recipe. It asked for using the remains of a chicken roast, but then suggested using 600g cooked chicken or 4 cooked chicken breasts (an interesting chicken with 4 breasts). I didn't roast a chicken specifically for the purpose, but bought two chicken breasts instead. So, I halved the ingredients.

Winter chicken & date salad (serves 3-4)
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cooked
1 Knorr garden herbs stock pot
1 clove of garlic
2tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2tbsp caster sugar
a 2cm piece of ginger, grated
3tbsp creme fraiche
2 smaller parsnips
1 banana shallot
a handful of mint leaves
a handful of dates (about 6-7)

Cook the chicken breasts in boiling water with a stock pot for flavour. Let it cool in the stock to keep juicy and moist.
Mix together the garlic, rice vinegar, grated ginger and sugar. Coat the shredded or cubed chicken breasts. Leave to marinade for a couple of hours.
Remove the chicken from the marinade. Add the soured cream to the marinade, mix well. Fold the chicken back in the marinade with the coarsely shredded parsnips, thinly sliced shallot and dates, which were stoned and halved lengthways. Scatter a few mint leaves before serving.

We just had it for dinner, after a small cup of hot carrot lentil soup.
I liked it but would change the ratio of ingredients if I decide to cook it again. More parsnips, and probably not grated, but cooked and cubed. I might add a grated apple too, and a tablespoon of low-fat mayo. Mint wasn't quite the right herb either, flat leaf parsley or coriander would work better.
I love salads, and this wasn't a bad recipe at all.