Inspired Chinese Chicken Salad

Happy Chinese New Year! :) To celebrate, I'm sharing a recipe that Chris and I are currently obsessed with. We've made it for our lunch two days in a row and eaten every single bit from the salad bowl. It's an inspired Chinese Chicken Salad that I found in Food and Wine magazine. Fresh, crunchy, delicious and fast- this is one recipe you'll want to share too! Kung Hei Fat Choi- Happy 2011 year of the rabbit :)


Chinese Chicken Salad (serves 2-3)
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
3 Tbsp. plus 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. light soy sauce
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. Tabasco
one 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced or 1 tsp. ground ginger
1 small garlic clove, minced or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded (I use a rotisserie chicken)
3 stalks green onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1/2 c. unsalted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
one small head of romaine, cut into 1/2 inch ribbons
1/2 head of Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
lime wedges for serving

In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, Tabasco, ginger and garlic.
In another large bowl, toss the lettuce, green onion, celery, cabbage, shredded chicken, peanuts, and cilantro. Add the dressing to coat (don't worry, you will have left over dressing for tomorrow! hahaahaa) and toss all together. Serve and eat immediately

Salade Nicoise

Ask 10 people what ingredients comprise a Nicoise salad, and you may get many different answers. Typically, a true salad Nicoise consists of haricot verts, anchovies and potatoes, but has evolved to sometimes include tuna or even salmon, boiled eggs, tomatoes, olives, bell peppers, artichoke hearts, capers and/or onions.
This salad traces its origins to Nice, France- and therefore, I believe it should be full of big, assertive flavors to mirror the bold and saucy culture found along the coast. If you've ever been to Marseille or Cassis, you know exactly what I mean.
Because the salad has several different components it's a labor of love and won't be ready in just a few minutes. But, because it's a composed salad with varied textures and flavors, your taste buds will thank you with every bite. I like to dress each component before layering on a platter. The recipe for garlic aioli follows, and is, in my opinion an absolute must for this salad. Trust me, you won't get the same garlicky bold flavor without it. Eating this makes me think of warm sunny days by the ocean. All I need with it is a nice glass of wine and maybe even a chunk of toasted bread.

Salade Nicoise (serves 4)
1 lb. haricot verts, lightly blanched but still crunchy
1 lb. baby new potatoes
4-6 anchovy fillets, rinsed
1 can of albacore tuna, drained
5 soft-center hard cooked eggs
basil leaves
head of lettuce
2 tomatoes, cut into 6 pieces each
assorted marinated olives
premade french vinaigrette (or recipe follows)
garlic aioli (recipe follows)

Boil 1/3 cup of water, and a pinch of salt and add baby potatoes. Cover tightly and steam, stirring occasionally until fork tender. Drain water if any remains and toss lightly with vinaigrette while still warm. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, tear lettuce and basil into slightly bigger than bite size pieces and toss lightly with vinaigrette. Arrange on large platter. Lightly dress and toss blanched haricot verts and lay in a section over the lettuce. Cut boiled eggs in half, arrange on platter and season with salt and pepper. Drape the anchovy fillets over some of the eggs. Mound the drained tuna in the middle of the lettuce leaves. Lightly toss cut tomatoes with vinaigrette and arrange in another section over the lettuce. Arrange cooled baby potatoes over lettuce. Sprinkle the olives in the last available section over the lettuce.
Serve immediately at room temperature with the garlic aioli, making sure to get a little bit of everything. Bon Appetit!

Simple French Vinaigrette
1 shallot, finely diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
3-4 T. red wine vinegar
salt, pepper to taste
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Add all ingredients and shake together to create vinaigrette.

Garlic Aioli
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper to taste
3-4 cloves garlic, smashed to a paste with a little bit of salt

Put egg yolks in a bowl and stir with a whisk until slightly thickened. Add a spoonful of oil at a time, whisking well as an emulsion begins to form. Continue whisking until finished sauce is as thick as softly whipped cream. Add salt, pepper and garlic, stir and let aioli sit for a few minutes to incorporate all the flavors. Serve immediately with salade Nicoise.

Beet and Citrus Salad

So, you've probably heard it said that we eat with our eyes first, right? This salad is a rainbow of beautiful colors and fresh tastes. You've got the bright orange from the clementines, the green from the mint, the crisp white from the fennel slices, the deep purple from the beets, the dark olives and the pink from the grapefruit. This salad is so beautiful you may be tempted not to eat it. Fall into temptation (this time) and you'll be glad you did. The flavors are so bright and sweet, it's pure delight. Seriously. Chris had to ask me to stop making "MMMMM MMMMM" sounds through dinner. It's delicious and it's good for you, what more could your eyes and stomach ask for?

Beet and Citrus Salad (serves 2 adapted from Simply Delicioso)
4-5 roasted or cooked beets *I buy a pkg of cooked beets from Trader Joe's
2 clementines (you could substitute 1 large orange or blood orange)
1 ruby red grapefruit
1/4 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 c. olives, sliced
10 mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil
2-4 lime wedges

Peel and segment the clementines and grapefruit and place in a large bowl along with the onion, fennel, mint, and olives. Toss together with some salt and pepper.
Cut the beets into 1/4 inch wedges and add them to the bowl. Lightly toss.
Place on plate and drizzle olive oil over the top (I used about 1 tsp. per serving) and squeeze a lime wedge (or two) over the salad. Serve and eat immediately.

Greek Style Couscous Pearls

I'm pretty sure most people have seen and tried couscous- you know those tiny granules of semolina that are steamed. But have you tried Israeli couscous? They are also made of semolina pasta but resemble pearls or white peas. Israeli couscous are larger than traditional couscous and has a much creamier texture. I recently tried it for the first time and absolutely love it!! You need to toast the couscous with a little bit of olive oil (much like you do for risotto) until it is nicely golden brown. This is a critical step and shouldn't be skipped because it's this toasting that gives the Israeli couscous such a wonderfully nutty flavor.
After I bought the couscous, I went looking for the perfect flavors to go with it. I had a recipe for Greek salad and since Greek salad is sometimes paired with pasta, I thought the two would go together nicely. I was in for a big surprise. This dish was so tasty and all the varied textures were amazing together.
Chris asked to bring the leftovers back to work with him after he came home and ate a big bowl of it for lunch! Two hours later, I receive a text from him that said one word: yummy

Greek Style Couscous Pearls (serves 4)
1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous
1 Tbsp. of olive oil
1 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. water, broth or stock
for salad:
1 cucumber, seeded and diced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 red bell pepper, diced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 red onion, diced small
1/3 c. feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 c. kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
for vinaigrette:
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

Drizzle 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add couscous, stir until evenly coated with oil. Toast until lightly brown (about 5 minutes). Slowly add the liquid (water, stock or broth) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med. low and cover. Simmer for 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove cover and take off the heat.
Meanwhile, make vinaigrette and then pour over warm couscous.
Place all remaining salad ingredients into a large bowl. When couscous is cooled, add to bowl and toss all together. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature and enjoy! :)

Caramelized Onion and Grapefruit Salad

The other day I was watching Giada on Food Network television and saw her making a caramelized onion and grapefruit salad that looked so interesting and fresh that I decided I just had to try it sometime soon.
Today was the day.
The salad seemed simple enough to make with 3 components to put together: the dressing, the caramelized onions and the salad. There were a couple of changes I made to the original recipe.
1. Giada's recipe called for cucumber, which I didn't have in my refrigerator, so I decided that celery would be the perfect bright, crunchy substitution.
2. I adore honey. My mom had brought me back some kiawe honey from Hawaii and instead of using a scant teaspoon like it instructed, I increased it to a Tbsp.
3. I changed a few of the proportions of the dressing and added lemon zest.

The salad was easy to prepare and put together. I tossed all the ingredients together in a large salad bowl, dished it into plates and took my first taste.
It was love at first bite. You have the bright citrusy flavor of the grapefruit, the crunchy bits of romaine and celery along with occasional bits of slightly sharp scallion and earthy thyme, all dressed in a simply delicious vinaigrette that's sweet from the honey and sour from the red wine vinegar at the same time. Add the mellow caramelized onions and it's elevated to salad nirvana. It is salad perfection. Here's my version of the salad

Caramelized Onion and Grapefruit Salad (2 servings)
caramelized onions
3 T. olive oil
2 onions, very thinly sliced
1 T. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, heat the oil over med. heat. Add the onions, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Lower heat to med-low and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are deep golden brown, about 20 minutes
dressing
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 T. honey
1/8 c. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest and honey. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until blended. Season with salt and pepper
Salad
1 1/2 pink grapefruits
6 oz. romaine hearts (a little more than half of a 10 oz prepared bag)
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
2 scallions, finely sliced
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Peep and trim the ends from each grapefruit. Using a pairing knife, cut along the membrane on both sides of each segment. Free the segments and add them to a large salad bowl. Add the lettuce, fennel, celery, scallions and thyme. Add the cooled caramelized onions to the salad, and pour dressing over the top. Toss until all ingredients are coated. Serve and enjoy!

Almond Crusted Chicken with Spinach and Arugula

Okay, first, I've got to come clean with you. Once again, I devoured my food without taking a photo- I'm trying to work on remembering that, and I promise to do better next time. That said, this is a photo from Body and Soul magazine that shows the recipe. All I've got to say is it was so delicious!! Seriously. I usually don't really enjoy salads unless someone else makes them for me (I know, kind of wierd, right?) but this had the right combo of flavors, it was substantial enough to satisfy me for lunch, it's healthy and it was super simple and easy to make.

Almond Crusted Chicken with Spinach and Arugula (4 servings)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup unsalted almonds, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt, pepper to taste
3 T. olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, line a baking sheet with foil and place a cookie rack on top.
Halve the chicken breasts through the middle so you end up with 4 breast fillets of chicken. Place in a plate and move to the side while you make the crust.
Stir all remaining ingredients together to make an almond crust. pat generously over front and back of all chicken pieces and lay on top of cookie rack. Slide baking sheet into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the thickest part.
Cut almond crusted chicken into strips and lay on a bed of spinach and arugula that has been lightly tossed with the dressing of your choice (I recommend Trader Joe's low fat cilantro dressing). Finish with a squeeze of lemon over the top and enjoy! MMMM MMMMM GOOD!