Spring Fling: Grilled Chicken Spring Vegetable Salad

When you take a base of arugula and spring mix and top it with asparagus, green beans, peas, radishes, goat cheese, and a fabulous grilled chicken you have one heck of a main dish salad perfect for Mother's Day!

Grilled Chicken Spring Vegetable Salad

It's time to use up all the abundance of spring produce. Yea Spring!  Today we are making a main dish salad that I served for Easter.  It's filled with spring greens, asparagus, green beans, carrots, radishes, and peas!  It's a smorgasbord of spring ingredients.  I then grilled some coriander rubbed chicken breasts to top the salad.  Finish with a sprinkling of goat cheese crumbles, pecans, and a few raspberries and you have an amazing main course salad!  Feel free to top this with your favorite dressing or use one of my suggestions below.

This is the perfect main course for light lunches, weeknight dinners, Easter, Mother's Day, bridal showers, spring brunches or eating alfresco on a sunny weekend afternoon.  You will be filled with good for your ingredients and have a happy tummy to go along with it!

Enjoy!

What Ingredients do I need?

• boneless skinless chicken breasts - I used thin cut
• 50/50 spring mix - part arugula and spring mix
• asparagus - thin spears
• fresh green beans
• frozen peas
• radishes
• goat cheese with herbs
• raspberries
• pecan halves
• ground coriander
• fresh mint

Substitutions and Variations

• Substitute roasted chicken, a rotisserie chicken, or leftover chicken

• Substitute the protein:  salmon, shrimp or pork tenderloin would be great in the salad

• Use the herb of your choice: basil, thyme, or chives would be great additions

• Use a plain goat cheese, or use feta or ricotta salata - or leave off the cheese

• Switch up the greens:  use red leaf, green leaf, spinach, or butter lettuce

• Use your favorite spring produce - get creative!

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Chicken:  if you like cold or room temperature chicken on your salad, cook the chicken first, then prep all the rest of the salad ingredients.  If you like hot chicken on your salad, cook the chicken last.

• Vegetables:  To get bright green tender crisp vegetables blanch them in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then drain them in a colander and rinse them with cool water to stop the cooking process.  They will be bright and green and tender crisp!

• Instead of using a large salad bowl for the entire group I plated the salads directly on each individual's plate.  It's easier, and the presentation comes out better than tossing a salad.

• See below for some of my suggested dressings.

What do I dress this salad with?:

Avocado Herb Dressing

Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

Apple Cider Vinaigrette 

Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing

Lemon Mustard Dressing

Herby Buttermilk Dressing

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Grilled Chicken Spring Vegetable Salad

serves 4

4 thin cut boneless chicken breasts
kosher salt & ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
8 cups of spring mix with arugula
1 1lb of thin asparagus spears, woody ends discarded
1/2 lb of fresh green beans, ends trimmed
1/2 cup frozen peas
4 radishes, thinly sliced
2-3 oz of goat cheese with herbs, crumbled
1/2 pint raspberries 
1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted

Pre-heat an indoor grill pan over medium-high heat.  Pat the chicken breast dry with a paper towel.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.  Sprinkle the coriander about 1/4 teaspoon for each side on all chicken breasts.  Place chicken on the grill pan and cook about 3-4 minutes per side or until chicken reaches 160 degrees internal temperature.  Set aside and allow chicken to cool.

Meanwhile bring a large pot filled with water to boil.  Cut the asparagus spears in half and the green beans in half.  Add asparagus, green beans, and peas to the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables are bright green and crisp tender.  Remove from heat and drain vegetables in a colander.  Run cold water over the vegetables until cool, to stop the cooking process.

Arrange salad on individual dinner plates by spreading about 2 cups of spring salad mix per each plate.  Divide the green vegetables among the plates.

Cut the chicken breasts in to slices.  Place the slices on each salad plate among the veggies and lettuce mix.  Add sliced radishes, a few raspberries, crumbles of goat cheese, and pecans to each plate.  

Dress with your favorite dressing.

Spring Fling: Melon Salad

My Melon Salad is a trio of luscious sweet melons laced with a lime honey mixture and topped with mint.  This is a salad that is perfect all Spring and Summer long!

Melon Salad

Everyone needs a simple yet scrumptiously delicious fruit salad in their arsenal.  This melon salad is just that and more.  Made with readily available cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon, this salad is dressed up with a petite dainty cut, and a jazzed up mint, honey, lime topping.

The small dice of the fruit makes this the perfect salad to serve for Mother's Day, a bridal shower, graduation party, a romantic picnic, brunch or summer party.  The taste is one everyone will enjoy!

What Ingredients do I need?

• watermelon
• cantaloupe
• honeydew melon
• fresh limes
• honey
• orange champagne vinegar or champagne vinegar
• fresh mint

Substitutions and Variations

• Change the serving size by cutting the measurement in 1/2 for a 3 person portion or doubling for 12 people. 

• Leave out the mint if you don't prefer it.

• Use a melon baller tool to create pretty round melon balls.

• Leave the melons on a bite size or larger scale  

• Use other combinations of melon such as Snow Leopard, Sugar Kiss, Kiss Limon, there are a lot of summer varieties that will all work well.

• Use white wine vinegar if you don't have champagne vinegar

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Plan ahead as this salad will need to sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend.

• For a shortcut, buy pre-cut melon and slice them into bite sized pieces or melon balls- you will need to adjust the lime honey mixture accordingly to the amount of melon.

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Melon Salad

Serves 6

1 mini seedless watermelon
1 cantaloupe
1 honeydew melon
zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3-4 limes)
3 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons Champagne vinegar
2 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

Peel and de-seed all three melons.  Chop the melons in to petite cubes, about 1/2".  Place melons in a large bowl and combine.

In a small bowl, which together the lime zest, lime juice, honey, and vinegar.  Whisk together until the honey dissolves.  Pour the mixture over the melon.  Add chopped mint and stir until it is all combined well and covered with the lime/honey mixture.  

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, stirring once.  Serve in a large bowl or individual glasses/cups.

Spring Fling: Spring Couscous Salad with Lemon Feta Vinaigrette

With a base of pearl couscous, I've added roasted asparagus, tender garbanzo beans, fresh herbs, and green onions, tossed with a Lemon Feta vinaigrette.  This is a side salad that is full of spring goodness!

Spring Couscous Salad with Lemon Feta Vinaigrette

I love couscous as a base or addition to a salad.  Pearl couscous is the larger variety and works perfectly in salads.  It provides you with an open canvas to create so many variations and since it's pasta it absorbs a vinaigrette perfectly.  Today we are taking spring produce, so we are adding some roasted asparagus, lots of fresh herbs like parsley and basil, and fresh lemon.  You will get a double dose of lemon in the salad and the dressing for that bright pop!

This is a wonderful side dish that can be served along side chicken, beef, or pork for a light springtime meal.  It's also perfect as a side dish salad for Easter.  Easy to pull together and the flavors are popping.  It's sure to be one you'll want to repeat often.

Enjoy!

What Ingredients do I need?

• pearl couscous
• thin asparagus spears
• lemon - zest and juice
• feta cheese
• canned garbanzo beans
• green onions
• parsley
• basil
• olive oil
• garlic
• pistachios (optional)

Substitutions and Variations

• Change up the herbs - use fresh mint, dill, thyme, or chives.

• Use thick asparagus if you wish - note: roasting time will be about 5 - 7 minutes longer.  I would cut these in to 2" pieces.

• Can't find pearl (Israeli) couscous?  use the original small type.

• You can substitute the couscous for a grain such as farro, bulgur, or even quinoa.

• Don't like cheese? leave it out or trade it for ricotta salata or even cotija.

• Don't like nuts? leave them out or add your favorite, pine nuts, or hazelnuts would be a good addition.

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• This recipe is great for leftover couscous.

• You will need to allow the couscous to cool so plan a little time for that, or make it ahead.  You may help the cooling by running it under cool water and then draining it well.

• Leftover will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for several days.  

• The vinaigrette will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

• Drizzle leftovers with more vinaigrette to moisten and flavor the salad.

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Spring Couscous Salad with Lemon Feta Vinaigrette

serves: 6

Salad:

1 cup pearl couscous
1 pound thin asparagus spears, woody stems cut off
olive oil
14 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 green onion, thinly sliced both white and green parts
zest of 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoon pistachios, chopped (optional)

Vinaigrette:

Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cook the couscous according to the package directions.  This should be about 15 - 20 minutes.  Meanwhile roast the asparagus by placing them on a sheet pan.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, tossing to combine.  Spread them out on the pan so they are not overlapping.  Roast for 8-10 minutes until they are starting to darken on the ends.  Larger asparagus will need about 5 more minutes to roast.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

Once the couscous is done, drain off any excess water (if any) and place it in a bowl to cool down.  You can run it under cool water and drain again if you like.  Add the garbanzo beans, green onions, lemon zest, parsley, basil, salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine.  

Drizzle with half of the vinaigrette and toss.  Top with asparagus and some pistachios (if using) and drizzle a little more vinaigrette over the top.  Serve.  

To Make Vinaigrette: in a small bowl or jar add lemon juice, herbs, lemon zest, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Whisk in olive oil until well combined (or shake jar vigorously).  Add in the feta cheese and stir.  

adapted from:  How Sweet Eats