I know Spring is in full swing when I walk out of the back door one morning and find myself lost in a jungle of fresh greens.
Thus begins one of my favorite seasons for cooking from the garden. True, there’s no tomatoes. No peppers. No corn. None of the big, sweet superstars of summer. But basking in a sea of succulent greens feels exhilarating! Like a bracing dip in a green mountain lake. Okay, that’s maybe taking it too far… But still: greens!
So, what to make with them? I mean, salads obviously. And spring pestos are a whole other category of wonderful. But when I want something with a little more meat on the bone (ha), I turn to a spring chicken salad. Slowly poached chicken enveloped in a creamy green sauce, tossed with sweet apples and crunchy nuts, and supporting a full salad bowl of chopped greens. Dive in!
Spring Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1½ pound chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
- ½ onion, yellow or white
- ¼ cup parsley, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- 5 chives, finely chopped
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp pickle juice
- 2 squirts of your favorite hot sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 apple, roughly chopped into ½-inch pieces
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
- 1 handful of fresh greens, like arugula or kale or chard
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Fill a medium pot with water and salt to taste. Add a few peppercorns, the half onion, and the chicken breasts. Bring to a simmer then cover and continue simmering on low for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and shreds easily with a fork.
- In the meantime, make the dressing. Toast the walnuts in a skillet and set aside to cool.
- In a small blender (or using an immersion blender) puree the parsley, mayo, and yogurt.
- Combine the puree with all of the other ingredients except for the fresh greens in a bowl.
- Strain the cooked chicken, discarding the onion and peppercorns, and move it in a bowl. When it's cool enough to touch, pull the chicken apart with your fingers or two forks. You're wanting 1-2 inch chunks. It's okay if they're not uniform! All those nooks and crannies will help the dressing stick to it.
- Add the chicken to the bowl with the dressing. Roughly chop the greens and add them to the mix.
- Eat fresh on a salad or, my fav, on toasted brioche buns.
- Note, the greens will start to get soggy pretty quick, so this is best enjoyed immediately or the day you make it.
