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Do you ever go crazy at the market? This Chicken and Fresh Berry Salad is the result of me having that very problem.
It happens quite often quite often, especially at this time of the year. It seems that beautiful produce is beginning to pop up everywhere, whether I'm shopping at local farm stands or my neighborhood grocery store.
This week it was berries, they were so pretty and I had so many types to choose from. I came home with strawberries from a nearby patch, plump blueberries and glistening blackberries. I had rotisserie chicken in the fridge, along with avocados, and decided they would go quite nicely together in an arugula salad.
The only thing I was missing was the dressing, and nothing I had seemed quite right. Creamy with lots of fresh herbs sounded perfect, so I tinkered around with buttermilk, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and olive oil till the consistency was what I was looking for. A generous dose of finely chopped fresh herbs was the final touch. I used basil, chives, thyme and rosemary, but you could just as easily stick with one herb of your preference.
We love a little crunch in our salads, so I added some candied walnuts; a super simple recipe that takes seconds to put together. Just throw some walnuts in a pan, add a drizzle of honey, olive oil and salt. A short stint in the oven transforms ordinary walnuts to golden, sweet bites of deliciousness.
We actually ate this salad twice in a row and loved it both times. The first time was last night; I had thrown it together for dinner with my stash of lovely berries. It was so fresh and delicious, we decided it was definitely blog-worthy and would be perfect for summer meals. I made it again for lunch today and we captured a few images for you, before gobbling it up.
Bon Appetit!
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Chicken and Fresh Berry Salad
Ingredients
- For the dressing:
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup Feta cheese
- 1 small clove garlic
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, from 1 small lemon
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the candied walnuts:
- ½ cup walnut pieces
- ½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- a pinch of kosher salt
- For the salad:
- 6 cups baby arugula
- 1 ½ cups of each fresh berries, feel free to use whatever types are freshest and available. I used strawberries, blackberries and blueberries
- 1 large avocado, peeled, cored and diced
- ½ cup sliced shallot or red onion
- 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken breast
Instructions
- Combine buttermilk, Feta and garlic in a blender container. Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a medium size bowl.
- Whisk in Greek yogurt until smooth. Add mustard, lemon juice and lemon zest and stir to incorporate.
- Drizzle in olive oil in a steady but very slow stream. Don't try to drizzle the oil in too fast or dressing will come out very thin. As you slowly add the oil, the dressing is emulsified, which means the oil and the buttermilk/yogurt mixture become one.
- Add fresh herbs and stir to combine. Take a taste and add salt and freshly ground pepper as needed.
- For the walnuts, preheat oven to 350˚F. Combine walnuts, olive oil, honey and a pinch of salt in a small oven-safe pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden, stirring every 2-3 minutes. I recommend using a timer. Watch carefully as they can go from golden to burnt in a heartbeat. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally to keep nuts from sticking to pan.
- For the salad, place a handful of arugula in the bottom of four shallow bowls. Arrange berries, avocado, chicken, shallot or red onion and more arugula in sections. Add a scoop of candied walnuts in the center of each salad. Drizzle each salad with dressing or pass dressing at the table.
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It's a great recipe. I wanted to mention that I was out of soy sauce so used Worcestershire sauce instead, and it came out even better. It's one of those rare recipes where I almost always have the majority of the ingredients on hand. Always a winner. Thanks!
Chris this salad looks so inviting the way you've presented it and your buttermilk dressing sounds delightful!
Yummy recipe and so versatile thank you and your photos are always so mouthwatering xoxo
Beautiful! Everything is so vibrant and fresh, looks amazing. I really like the dressing recipe, very similar to the way my Grandma made it, thanks for sharing!
What a beautiful salad! Love the colors and brightness. Just wish I had one right now.
I love your 'deconstructed' salads Chris. They look so pretty! Strawberries are getting pretty bad here towards the end of the season 🙁 Will have to save this one away for later.
A lovely salad. Love the dressing.
I've been on a berry buying kick lately also. Your salad is so colorful and it also looks very filling.
What a lovely salad - it looks beautiful and delicious!
I was browsing your site with my husband and telling him about all the great dishes that you make -- and of course, your piping skills. He was so impressed to see your food through the photos. He pointed several, saying " this looks great... look at that one... etc, etc". You do an impressive job, Chris! You have become a source of inspiration... I love to visit you here. I wish my life was not so busy so I could come here every single time that you post something.
The salad looks super fresh and very well presented. I also love the table set up -- typical of a Southern lady!
This salad would be worth traveling to the northern hemisphere for. I love it.
Dear Chris, I love the combination of fresh fruit and vegetables plus that chicken and that wonderful, tangy buttermilk dressing! This is certainly my kind of salad! Fabulous photos as well! They really make me want to run into my kitchen to make some for myself (even before breakfast)!
Thanks for another terrific recipe!
I too love to use buttermilk making dressings!
Your salad looks so beautiful, Chris.
What a gorgeous salad Chris, love the salad dressing.
Everything in this salad looks so incredibly fresh, and I love how you've laid it out, too. I know we've never met, Chris, but I so wish I could ring your doorbell and share this with you!
Chris, I wish I could follow you around the supermarket! I sort of missed my chance when I ran into Scott at Trader Joe's! After a great chat, I let him get away, and thought later I should have followed him and bought whatever he put in his basket!!!
Susan, you made me laugh with your comment 🙂 Hope you are doing well and enjoying the beautiful springtime! Chris
This is the perfect salad on hot days like we experienced yesterday. But I would enjoy it anytime of course.
I am in a salad frame of mind..
Thank you!
Yeah, it's way too easy to buy too many veggies and fruits at the time of the year. Always so much fun, though. 😉 Great salad, and I really like the dressing. Thanks for this.
So healthy, and the dressing looks wonderful!