Tag Archives: pecans

Peachy Keen Chicken Salad

Peachy Keen Chicken Salad

This salad!!! Oh my! New family favorite. I love to cook using ingredients in their peak season and right now peaches are perfection. Mmmm! This salad is our only meal of the day…it’s that hearty and satisfying!

The base flavors of this salad are peaches, goat cheese, blueberries and basil. These flavors compliment each other with sweet, savory and tangy tastes.

Salad notes – I always try to add a hidden vegetable to bump the nutritional value and the hidden jem here are green beans. They don’t change the taste but add nutrition and pack a crunch.

Bacon and peaches play off of each other with salty & sweet flavors and give this extra layers of YUM!

Compote note – Leeks add a savory tang to the sweet peaches and sugar in the compote. Balance is key to a yummy dish.

Marinade note – I always use grapeseed oil when I can. It’s better for our hearts than other oils and can handle heat up to 500 degrees which makes it perfect for the grill to help keep proteins from sticking when flipping.

Peach Compote:

6              fresh peaches; peeled and sliced

1/4c         sugar

1              leek; white part only finely sliced

Chicken marinade:

4 -6         chicken breasts (# of pieces depends on # of servings)

4T           balsamic vinegar

3T           garlic powder (not garlic salt)

1T           Herbs de Provence

4T           grapeseed oil

Salt & pepper to taste (be a little generous with the salt)

Dressing:

1/2c         balsamic vinegar

1/2c         extra virgin olive oil

2              fresh peaches; peeled and Sliced

2T            good white wine (preferably not “cooking wine”)

1/4c         sugar

1/2t          salt

1T            Herbs de Provence

Salad:

10oz       spring lettuce

5oz         baby kale

1/2c       fresh basil; finely chopped

2c            fresh green beans; ends cut off and beans cut in thirds

1c            green onions; chopped

4oz         goat cheese; crumbled

1c bacon; cooked and crumbled

1c            cranberries (50% less sugar)

1pint      blueberries

1c            pecan pieces

3              fresh peaches; peeled and sliced

1c            red pepper; diced

1              avocado; sliced

Peach compote topping

Directions:

1. Begin the peach compote. Place 6 sliced peaches and sugar in small saucepot and cooking on medium heat, stirring often so it doesn’t burn.

2. Once bubbling, turn down the heat to low and add sliced leeks. Simmer on low until sauce becomes translucent and compote is loose-jam consistency. It will take a good 20 minutes so start this step first.

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3. While compote is reducing, prep chicken by rinsing the chicken then the trimming fat and cutting breasts in half lengthwise.

4. Add chicken halves to a gallon plastic bag and then add the marinade ingredients.

5. Massage the bag gently and thoroughly to coat the chicken pieces evenly.  Set aside.

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6. Now make the dressing by blending all dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pour into a serving bottle and chill until ready to use.

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7. Place cut green beans in a small pot with enough water to cover and boil for 5 minutes (set a timer!).

8. Immediately remove beans from heat and dunk them in an ice bath (a bowl with enough ice and cold water to cover the beans). This is called blanching. Boiling will slightly cook the beans, and the ice water bath shocks them so they stop cooking and keep their crunch and color. Keep them in the ice bath until ready to use.

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9. Heat grill and place chicken halves on the grill. Cook thoroughly. (You can also bake the chicken in the oven or air bake for approx. 20 minutes @ 350 turning halfway through- in lieu of grilling.)

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Time to assemble the salad…

10. Compote should be finished. Once it is thick, pour into a bowl and let cool on the counter while making the salad.

11. Keep checking on and turning the chicken, then remove from heat.

12. Assembling the salad – plate the ingredients per their list order beginning with lettuce and ending with avocado. (I always put the green items on the bottom so the colorful items pop on top.)

13. Drizzle dressing over top. (Leftover dressing makes a great marinade for chicken or pork – or more salads!)

14. Place two grilled chicken halves on top of each salad. Evenly spoon compote over all chicken pieces. Serve immediately.

Culinary Quest #12 – Pecan & Pear Salad

Oh man!  These hot temps are really pushing cool food, so here we go with my family’s weekly pick.  Recently, we visited one of our favorite eateries in D.C. called Matchbox.  Great pizza, very cool atmosphere and it is a local favorite.  And, as of this trip, home to an incredible salad.

We walked the National Zoo in record heat for 9 hours before reaching the restaurant and were hot beyond belief!  We were seated immediately, and although we never order appetizers, etc. because of our family budget, we couldn’t pass up a cold salad.  Honestly, we had eaten so much fast food on the trip from vending carts to tent stands to Union Station with its food court, I told my kids the next meal absolutely had to have something green on it.

We all shared Matchbox’s rendition of a pear, pecan and gorgonzola salad.  It was so fresh and chilled and yummy that we splurged and ordered a 2nd one to split!  My kids liked it so much, and I am bored of making the traditional lettuce, tomato, cucumber salad at home, I thought I’d try my own version of theirs.  Glad I did!

This salad is very savory, without having to use a ton of ingredients.  Sometimes, using a few flavorful ingredients packs more of a punch than many mild ingredients.  This is one of those dishes.  The sweet, sugared pecans and pears mixed with the slightly pungent gorgonzola cheese and rich balsamic vinegar makes this salad taste like you worked on it for hours – but you did’t!  (Shh, it’s our secret!)  Great to serve when impressing company or just sitting barefoot in the backyard under a shade tree.

The secret to any salad being a success, in my opinion, is the dressing.  I once paid a hefty price for a salad in a bistro.  I instantly knew at first bite that something was off.  I asked the server if the dressing was made in-house.  She confided in me that they walk across the way to the grocery store and buy a common brand by the bottle off the shelf.  What?  I knew I tasted mass production in there.  It killed the experience for me.

Below is super tasty summer salad that can be a starter, side or add protein to it (fish, chicken or steak) and you’ve got an easy one-dish meal.  The dressing is so simple, don’t settle for bottled.  Your taste buds, and budget, will thank you.  It takes me about 3 minutes to whip it up, seriously!

To mention about the sugared pecans, traditional candied pecans (often made at Christmastime) call for double the sugar and less cinnamon.  Because these are just one element to the salad, I was able to half the amount of sugar and double the cinnamon.  Just another tip to reduce calories.  We didn’t miss the sugar at all, and the extra cinnamon was tasted without overpowering the pecans.  When I bought the pecans, I used 2, 6oz bags of pieces.  This gave me an extra cup left over to either save or let my family indulge. 🙂

Also, I bought the field greens by the bag (3 bags) at a reduced price because of the sell by date.  I was using them the same day, and the sell by date was still 2 days off, yet I received $1 each bag.  Every little bit helps!  The greens were perfectly fresh.

When cooking at home, a great advantage is tweaking dishes to your preferences.  Although Matchbox’s salad was delicious, for still far less than buying it there, I was able to add extra pecans to some, extra gorgonzola to others, and still extra pears to others depending on my family’s taste.

Enjoy a taste of summer! ~ Kristi

Pecan and Pear Salad

Serves 6

Salad

15oz                       mixed field greens

7oz                          gorgonzola cheese; crumbled

3                              pears; sliced thin

2c                            sugared pecans (see below)

Honey Balsamic Dressing (see below)

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Sugared Pecans

2c                          pecan pieces

1                             egg white

1T                           water

1/2c                       sugar

1/2t                        salt

1t                          cinnamon

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Honey Balsamic Dressing

1/2c                        canola oil

4T                           balsamic vinegar

4T                           honey

1/4t                        salt

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Directions:

#1           Pecans – whip egg white and water until foamy.  Add pecan pieces to froth & mix.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until completely coated.  Spread on parchment paper-covered baking sheet & bake @ 275 for 50min – tossing twice while baking.  Slide parchment off of baking sheet and onto counter and allow pecans to cool. Set aside.  (These can be made a few days in advance. Store in airtight container.)

#2           Dressing – mix all dressing ingredients in blender, Magic Bullet, or food processor until whipped.  Set aside. (Can be made at least a week in advance. Keep refrigerated.)

#3           Salad – when ready to serve, toss lettuce with dressing in large bowl with lid.  Shake until evenly coated.  Layer on plate: lettuce, gorgonzola, pecans and then fan pears around the edge of the plate.