YUM!
The salad was really easy to put together. I had roasted the chicken earlier in the day so that it was ready to be shredded. I also blanched the asparagus at the same time and kept them in the fridge to chill. The dressing was a breeze to throw together – I just love making my own fresh salad dressings. I originally thought about serving this salad over some cold sesame noodles or even in a pita, but the fresh spinach leaves worked out wonderfully to make this a great dinner salad.
Thank you to Kenzie over at Kenzie’s Kitchen for choosing this month’s recipe…go check her out along with the rest of the Ina Garten fans over at Barefoot Bloggers! The Barefoot Bloggers are a group of cookers and bakers brought together to test out the talented Ina Garten’s always fantastic recipes…come join us!
Recipe from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Parties! and Food Network
4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on) (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted
For the dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.
Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.
PS…I will be posting my Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe tomorrow…it’s dinner tonight!!
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks beautiful! I really enjoyed making this dish, too
That will be perfect for warm days, when it is just too hot to cook. And I can trick the kids with the green spinach by calling it something relating to a super hero. Ha! Definitely a recipe we will be trying!!
This chicken salad looks delicious! I love all those veggies. Dinner salads are always great, and I also like your idea of putting it in a pita. That would make a yummy lunch the next day.
Boy…this salad looks incredibly good, Aggie! So pretty, too.
mmm this looks like a really great light dinner. Confession- I use to say I hated peppers and now I love them! I can’t get enough
Aggie this looks perfect, I’m loving the flavors!!
oh Aggie, yum yum yum!
I love these types of salads.
It looks beautiful, Aggie – love it over spinach leaves, and I also LOVE your ideas about serving it over cold noodles or in a pita. It is a versatile salad that way! We really enjoyed this one too.
How beautiful! I love dinner salads and you’ve done a really good job with this one.
I wish I had been able to find sesame seeds. Mine would have looked so much better.
This salad looks great! I bet the flavor combination is delish.
Yum! I sort of did the same thing, used the salad to make lettuce wraps. I’m sure using a fork and eating it with spinach was much less messy!
~Cat
I have been craving Chinese food lately – this salad sounds perfect. YUM! Can’t wait to try this one out.
The meal looks fantastic. Anything coupled with spinach works for me.
Love the picture. Looks so tasty.
That’s my kind of salad! Yum!
I’ve seen Ina make this, and have always drooled over it. Thanks for posting the recipe….In LA dinner salads are just a force of nature.
Great looking salad. I had fun making this dish. My husband loved it.
Beautiful! This was a good one,great colors and flavors and so great the next day too.
I like the spinach idea. Looks great! I needed a nice light salad.
Not to be a jerk but… well, I’ve seen this around the blogs today and…
*whispering* I like yours the best.
This salad sounds really tasty! I really like using peanut butter in dishes like this!
Looks like a yummy lunch Aggie!!
I’m so glad you liked it! Your pictures look great, too!
Your salad looks delicious. This was so good and different, and I am going to try some of your suggestions (spinach, noodles, pita) the next time I make it!
Hi Aggie! I hope you are well! This is such a delight to see, a nice dish for the spring season, crisp, cool, and LUSCIOUS.
The photos are fantastic.
your photos look so refreshing! i loved this recipe.
I made this tonight and it was AMAZING!!! We also had some snow peas grumbling in the drawer, so I threw those in too. Snow peas go in Chinese food, right? Anyway, I made a double-batch of the dressing so that I can dump it on something else later this week.
ooh I so want to make this!! Quick question: do you think it would work with low-calorie peanut butter like Better 'N Peanut butter? Or do you think that would make it weird? Thanks!!
fittinbackin: I'm not really familiar with that peanut butter, is the texture and flavor similar to regular peanut butter? I used natural peanut butter so it probably wasn't as sweet as regular PB but I liked it that way. If you like how it tastes then it should probably be good! Let me know if you try it!
I'd love to invite myself to this sumptuous meal and have a taste of your oriental chicken salad. yum-my!