Grilled Chicken Salad with Lemony Dijon Dressing

Cafeteria food, usually not something to be excited about but PepsiCo has a pretty nice cafeteria, including a great salad bar.  About a year ago I made a commitment to making sure I eat more greens, so, for the past year I have been making myself a salad for lunch every day.  Well, not every day.  Every other Wednesday is Sushi Day and it is a little crazy how much we look forward to that day (really good classics made in front of you).  After a year of eating salad, I have become a little tired of the same salad every day. 

So, I set out to find a new salad to shake things up.  Mainly I was interested in the dressing aspect and was trying to find a light caesar salad recipe.  However, every recipe I came across included sardines and I didn’t want to deal with those. Eventually I stumbled across this Martha Stewart recipe which is rather simple (meat, lettuce, and peas), but the dressing sounded crisp, refreshing and a little tangy.  I would highly recommend! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 3 or 4 lemons), divided

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic (4 cloves), divided

5 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves (10 to 11 ounces each)

12 chicken drumsticks

2 cups shelled fresh peas (from 2 pounds in pods)

2 tablespoons minced shallot

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, plus 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves (from 2 bunches)

1 to 2 heads butterhead lettuce such as Bibb or Boston, trimmed and separated into leaves

Directions:

Whisk together 1/4 cup oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon garlic. Pour over chicken, and refrigerate 2 hours.  Cook peas in a large pot of boiling water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, and submerge in ice water to stop the cooking and retain color.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat or set up grill for indirect heat. Remove chicken from marinade, and grill chicken, turning often, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes for drumsticks and 20 to 25 minutes for breasts. Let cool, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, cut chicken breasts into thick slices.

Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup oil, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon garlic, the shallot, mustard, salt, and chopped mint in a medium bowl. Arrange lettuce, whole mint leaves, and peas on a large serving platter. Toss chicken in dressing, and arrange on salad. Pour remaining dressing over salad.

Picture Source: Lindsay Klindt

Recipe Source: Martha Stewart