Lemon Thyme and Ginger

Grilled Chicken Salad with Orange Saffron Dressing

Grilled Chicken Salad with Orange Saffron Dressing recipe

Several years ago I discovered two cookbooks that opened a new world of food and cooking, Jerusalem and Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. When first published, I resisted reading these cookbooks because of the hype surrounding them. It is my experience, hyped-up media often disappoints and does not live up to the claims. Later, when I got around to reading the books for myself, I realized how completely wrong I was. These cookbooks and all their other publications, are worthy of all the praise they receive. Jerusalem and Ottolenghi cookbooks changed the way I approach learning about new ingredients, cuisines, and cooking.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Orange Saffron reicpe

There are many recipes between these two books that I love, like Roast Chicken with Clementines and Arak, and Basmati Rice with Saffron Barberries Pistachios and Mixed Herbs, just to name a couple. However, I wanted to feature their recipe for Saffron Chicken with Herb Salad. I just learned this recipe and believe is perfect for this time of year. I renamed it, Grilled Chicken Salad with Orange Saffron Dressing. This recipe is fresh and vibrant and easily prepared. Perfect for the days when the warm sun is beckoning you outside.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Orange Saffron Dressing reicpe

For another salad idea try chicken salad with avocado dressing.

Grilled chicken salad with orange saffron dressing shows how well bitter and sweet flavors blend to form a perfect union. To start, a whole orange simmers for an hour with honey and saffron until soft and the liquid is reduced. The bitterness of the orange peel mellows when combined with grilled chicken salad, crisp fresh fennel, and handfuls of fresh herbs. This is a well composed salad and with each ingredient plays an important role. The grilled chicken provides the backbone and mellows the concentrated flavor of the orange dressing. A composed blend of fresh herbs brightens and lightens the salad with sweet aromas and a refreshing bite. The finishing touch that ties everything together, is a spark of heat from the fresh hot red pepper.

Additionally, this recipe taught me a new trick. The secret to making this dressing is to blitz the whole cooked orange in the food processor with the reduced syrup. Using the whole fruit developed intense orange flavor that reminded me of concentrated frozen orange juice. Also, the best orange popsicle you ever had on a hot summer day. It is amazing how bittersweet fruit flavor can cut the heat of summer in an instant like diving into a mountain pool.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Orange Saffron Dressing recipe

Personally, I hate throwing away citrus rind and am always looking for ways to include the zest in my meals. Citrus zest makes everything taste better so I was more than happy to use the orange rind. There is also less food waste. This grilled chicken salad recipe will turn heads and enlighten taste buds because of a simple and brilliant idea. It is a healthy and refreshing salad with hardly any added fat to weigh the meal down.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Orange Saffron Dressing recipe

The moment I read these two cookbooks, it was love at first sight. Savoring the bold flavors in each tested recipe, inspired me to be more daring in my cooking. I no longer shied away from unfamiliar spices like za’atar and sumac, but embraced them. For the past several years, Jerusalem and Ottolenghi hold an influential spot in my life like The Silver Palate and Marcella Hazan cookbooks did in the 1980’s. Not only are they inspirational, but educational about new ingredients, fresh insights, and different cultures. I am forever grateful.

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Grilled Chicken Salad with Orange Saffron Dressing recipe

Grilled Chicken Salad with Orange Saffron Dressing

This is a bright and refreshing salad. By itself the orange dressing has a very concentrated bitter-orange flavor lightly sweetened with honey and saffron. The dressing mellows with the other ingredients and the freshness of the herbs are key to the bright flavor. A kick of heat from the fresh red chili pepper ties everything together. You can mix the salad with arugula if desired. Best eaten the day it is made. This recipe is from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, Saffron Chicken and Herb Salad.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author Ginger

Ingredients

  • 1 orange
  • 2 1/2 TB 50g honey
  • 1/2 tsp saffron threads
  • 1 TB white wine vinegar
  • 1 1/4 300 ml cup water
  • 2 1/4 lbs / 1 k skinless boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 small fennel bulbs or 1 large bulb
  • 1 cup / 15 g picked cilantro leaves
  • 2/3 cup / 15 g picked basil leaves torn
  • 15 picked mint leaves torn
  • 2 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 red chili thinly sliced
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Make the Orange Saffron Syrup

  1. Cut a thin slice off the top and bottom of the orange so it will stand flat on a cutting board. Cut the orange in half then cut each half into 6 wedges. Add the orange wedges into a medium sauce pan. Add the honey, saffron, vinegar, and water to the saucepan. If any of the orange wedges are exposed and not submerged under water, add more water so all oranges are covered. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the oranges to a boil. Then turn the heat down and simmer the oranges for about 1 hour. By the end the wedges will be soft and there will be about 5 tablespoons of syrupy liquid.
  2. Once reduced, add the oranges and syrup to a food processor and process until the orange syrup is smooth. If needed, add water to thin out the sauce and reach a runny and smooth dressing. Set aside.

Prepare Chicken

  1. While the oranges are simmering, preheat the oven to 400F /200C. Gently pound the chicken breast with a meat mallet or the heal of your hand to create an even thickness in each piece. Mix the chicken breasts with 2 tablespoon of the olive oil, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and a couple of grinds of pepper. Sear the chicken breasts for 2 minutes on each side on a stovetop grill pan, or cook on a grill. Transfer to a sheet pan or baking pan and cook in the oven until done. (If you are using the grill there is no need to cook the chicken in your oven.) Pierce each breast with a fork, if the juices from the chicken are clear, not pink or cloudy, then the chicken is done. Internal
  2. temperature of 165F - 170F (74C - 77C). Depending on the thickness of each piece of chicken, roasting time could last for 5 to 15 minutes.
  3. Remove the chicken from the oven (or grill) and set aside to cool.

Putting it all together

  1. Once the chicken is cooled, shred the chicken breasts into decent size pieces and place in a bowl. Mix 1/2 of the orange dressing with the shredded chicken. Cut the fennel bulb in half and slice as thin as possible, lengthwise. Trim off the core if desired. Add the fennel, fresh herbs, remaining olive oil, crushed garlic, and lemon juice to the chicken. Gently stir to combine. Add the sliced red chili. Taste and correct for seasoning with olive oil, lemon juice or Kosher salt if needed.
  2. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

For an easy shortcut, substitute the grilled chicken with shredded rotisserie chicken, or any leftover chicken.

© 2017 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.

Inspired Leftovers: Grilled Chicken Salad with Avocado Yogurt Dressing

Grilled Chicken Salad with Avocado Yogurt Dressing recipe.

I could get lost strolling through farmers markets and small local specialty grocery stores. Upon entering the market, I enjoy strolling around, looking for new produce to mark the beginning of their season, and admiring the beauty of the bounty. Plants and their fruit are so beautiful, and the markets know how to display their vibrant, mix-match colors creating a landscape like the composed dots in a pointillist painting.  I go to the market with a shopping list and an idea of what I want, but I can be easily swayed by the texture, color, and shape of the fruit and vegetables enticing me to take a closer look.

My inspirational browsing does not transfer to the supermarket. The stacks of pre-packaged fruits and vegetables greet me at the entrance., immediately making me defensive. No lingering allowed, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. The costumer is encouraged to grab and go, not to examine and select. Ironically it often takes me longer to shop at the supermarket, despite the design for speed and efficiency. My focus concentrates on what I absolutely need, while my inner thoughts say, “Damn, this is what I have to choose from?”   Then, I must hunt for the perfect food.

The supermarket may call the pre-packaged produce as “Grab and Go,” I call it wasteful and a rip-off. There is no need to encourage me to spend more money, I do a pretty good job at that already. All I want is fresh food at a reasonable price, that is ripe, flavorful, and I can select as I please without the extra waste.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Yogurt Avocado Dressing.

Grilled chicken salad with yogurt avocado dressing.

I will be honest, I procrastinate going to the grocery store. It is a lot easier to procrastinate now that there are only two of us living under one roof. There are times when 5:30 rolls around after a day of work and I realize that there is nothing planned or prepared for dinner. On these days, leftovers and a well-stocked pantry come to the rescue. I do plan for leftovers and count on them often. As my dependence on leftovers grows, I am more insistent about keeping sneaky fingers from grazing or helping themselves to seconds.

Grilled chicken salad with yogurt avocado dressing.

When I was a kid, a dinner of leftovers was a sentence equivalent to eating the dregs scraped off the bottom of the pan. Mom enthusiastically announced leftovers for dinner, which we answered her with groans, rolled eyes, and exasperated reactions. I vaguely remember my own children giving me the same reaction as well, but it was possibly more directed to the number of times we had chicken for dinner. “Chicken! Again! Can’t we have something different for a change? Why must we always have chicken? Ugh. ”

Grilled chicken salad with yogurt avocado dressing.

How to make Grilled Chicken Salad with Leftovers

Leftovers do not have to be the dregs if there are some fresh vegetables available. Last night’s dinner gets new life with fresh produce. My inspiration for this leftover meal came about because I had more avocados than I knew what to do with, some homemade yogurt that I am in love with, and enough leftover grilled chicken to stretch into a salad for two. The avocado and yogurt dressing was inspired by a recipe of Mark Bittman’s of which I added a tomatillo and poblano pepper, (the leftovers from another meal). Avocado, tomatillo and poblano chili pepper make a perfect marriage of complimentary flavors for salad dressing or salsas.

Look in your fridge and pantry, hidden inside are some forgotten gems of produce and proteins ready to use for an easy impromptu dinner or lunch. These easy dinners are quickly prepared in 30 minutes or less. No dinner tantrums or doldrums with this fresh take on leftovers. You never know, an inspired leftover meal could become a family favorite.

What is your favorite way to use up leftovers?

Grilled chicken salad with yogurt avocado dressing.

What to do with your leftover avocado?

Avocado toast on whole grain bread with a poached or fried egg.

My standby lunch, an open-face sandwich with avocado, salsa and cheese, melted under the broiler.

Toppings for White Chicken Chili or Seared Fish Tacos. For a vegetarian dinner, Black Bean Tacos with Kabocha Squash

 

Or, make the dressing for a composed salad with grilled chicken, lettuce, avocado, and blueberries as pictured below.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Yogurt Avocado Dressing recipe.

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Grilled chicken salad with yogurt avocado dressing. Chicken salad recipe gets a remake with grilled chicken, fresh cucumbers and tangy but creamy yogurt avocado dressing. Add some fresh strawberries for a very refreshing salad which no one will believe was made with leftovers from last night's dinner.

Inspired Leftovers: Grilled Chicken Salad with Avocado Yogurt Dressing

Salads are a great way to use up leftover servings of grilled meats and extra produce. The yogurt avocado dressing sets this grilled chicken salad apart with its bright, tangy and creamy flavors. Crunchy vegetables like cucumbers and radishes add a crisp bite paired with the soft and chewy grilled chicken. Adding fresh strawberries or blueberries changes this salad from ordinary to extraordinary. 

Serve the salad with greens like arugula, spinach, Boston bibb lettuce, or romaine lettuce lightly dressed with your best quality extra virgin olive oil and flaky sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Or make into a sandwich with your favorite bread. 

Course Brunch, Dinner Salad, Lunch
Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings 2
Author Ginger

Ingredients

Grilled Chicken and Cucumber Salad

  • 2 grilled boneless and skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 2 scallions
  • 4-5 springs of cilantro chopped
  • Avocado Yogurt dressing
  • 2 large handfuls of cleaned fresh spinach
  • Fresh blueberries or strawberries optional

Yogurt Avocado Dressing

  • 1/2 Haas avocado
  • 2 -3 TB plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 small tomatillo peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 of a poblano pepper -seeds and stem removed and chopped
  • 1/2 of a shallot minced
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Juice of one lemon and zest of half a lemon
  • Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

Grilled Chicken and Cucumber Salad

  1. Chop the grilled chicken breasts in to bite size pieces about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. Place the chicken in a medium mixing bowl.
  2. Cut the half of cucumber in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Slice each of the 4 seedless sections in each half lengthwise to create 8 long cucumber wedges then cut the cucumber wedges into 1/2-inch chunks. Add the cucumbers to the mixing bowl with the chicken.

  3. Cut the root off the scallion and cut into thin slivers, then add to mixing bowl.
  4. Trim the cilantro leaves from the long stems and gather the leaves into a tight pile, holding the pile together with your non-working hand. Cut across the cilantro pile to mince the cilantro. Add cilantro to mixing bowl.
  5. Mix all the ingredients together until evenly combined.

Avocado and Yogurt Dressing

  1. Place the minced shallot in a small bowl and add the juice of half a lemon to the bowl. Let the shallots macerate in the lemon juice for a few minutes.
  2. Peel the garlic clove and remove the green germ from the center. Mince the garlic then add to the lemon juice and shallots.
  3. Scoop out the avocado meat from the peel and add the avocado to a food processor. Then add 2 heaping tablespoons of yogurt to the avocado along with the chopped tomatillo and chopped poblano pepper, along with a pinch of Kosher salt, about 1/4 teaspoon, and lemon zest. Turn on the food processor and process the ingredients until combined.

  4. Add the orange juice and scallion, garlic and lemon juice mixture to the avocado mixture. Turn on the processor and blend until the dressing is smooth. Taste and correct the seasoning to suit your preference. Add the remaining lemon juice and a little salt if you think it is needed.
  5. Blend in the food processor until desired consistency.

Putting in all together

  1. Pour half the avocado and yogurt dressing in the bowl with the grilled chicken and cucumbers. Stir until well combined. Taste the salad and add more dressing as you desire. I have used all the dressing on one occasion and three-quarters of the dressing on another. (If you have any leftover dressing, use it as a dip with chips or vegetables, that same night, as a light and easy appetizer before dinner).

  2. Arrange the salad on a plate with a handful of fresh spinach. Drizzle the spinach and chicken with your best quality of extra virgin olive oil and a few fresh berries.
  3. Serve immediately. Best eaten the day it is made. 

Recipe Notes

This recipe can also be made into a composed salad with the yogurt avocado dressing served on the side. Slice the grilled chicken into strips and place them on top of crispy lettuce. Arrange with slices of avocado with blueberries and other vegetables of your choosing. Drizzle with dressing and serve. 

© 2016 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.

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