Main dish salads are a way to put together a meal with several components. They are also impressive. And today's main dish salad has a lot going for it. Perfectly cooked moist chicken, soft buttery lettuce and a chunky, lemony and slightly sweet vinaigrette.
The recipe appeared about a year ago in the Wall Street Journal's Slow Food Fast column that features chef's and seasonal menus. Most of the featured recipes can be done in about 30 minutes. This recipe for a Basque Salad with Chicken and Piquillo Vinaigrette is the creation of chef Justin Severino, a Pittsburgh-area chef.
It caught my eye for several reasons. First, I am always on the look out for chicken recipes with interesting twists or pairings. Secondly, it had an interesting vinaigrette, described as "chunky" that uses a blend of piquillo peppers, capers and soft-boiled eggs. It's really less of a vinaigrette and more of a topping for the chicken and lettuce. Lastly, it gave me a chance to splurge on some Manchego cheese, Spain's most well-known cheese hailing from La Mancha. The cheese is shaved and served on top of the lettuce. On a trip to Spain several years ago, we enjoyed the cheese many, many times. We ate it on appetizers and stuffed in piquillo peppers.
It's a sheep's milk cheese and authentic Manchego is made only from the Manchego sheep's milk, according to www.cheese.com. Manchego also falls into the category of aged cheeses. Most are aged at least 3 months and up to 2 years. Younger Manchego has a creamier texture and the older is a bit firmer, similar to Parmesan with nutty nuances.
In the Gourmet Cheese Shoppe of Holiday Market in Royal Oak, Mich., they carry 4-month-aged and 1-year-aged Manchego. Cheese Shoppe manager La Donna Gillespie says, "The year old is much sharper in flavor and little drier, while the 4 month is not as sharp. The more it's aged, the drier it is."
The chicken breasts here are cooked the way I normally cook them _ with the skin on. It's my foolproof way of ensuring that the chicken is moist and juicy. Sear the chicken, skin-side down, first and finish cooking them in the oven. You'll need an ovenproof skillet to do this. If you don't have an ovenproof skillet, you can sear them and then transfer to a baking dish. Be sure to transfer any juices and leftover bits in the skillet to the baking dish, too.
Once the chicken breast is cooked, remove from the oven and cover with foil. Let the chicken breasts rest a good 10 minutes before serving. When you are ready to serve, you can slice each chicken breast or serve it whole. You can also remove the skin if you like.
