This recipe comes to me from my friend Karin in New Orleans. She's a gifted home cook and brilliant hostess, but living where she does, she also knows about making wonderful meals without adding heat to the kitchen. This recipe uses a pre-roasted chicken, preferably one bought from a butcher who knows how to make a great rotisserie bird.
This is the kind of meal that's a relief to make and eat on a summer night when the air conditioning is blasting and it's too hot to turn on the oven, even for a minute. This salad is loved for being satisfying enough for big suppertime appetites but it's also perfect for a city picnic (there's no mayonnaise to spoil as in traditional chicken salads). It's delicious with a loaf of Pugliese or ciabatta bread, a chilled Graves or Pinot Grigio or Castello di Ama rosé, and fresh fruit and cookies.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 whole store-bought rotisserie chicken (about 3 pounds) or a chicken that you have roasted and let cool to room temperature
3 to 4 cups mixed greens that have been washed and dried (mesclun, pieces of Romaine lettuce, arugula, or whatever you have or prefer)
3/4 cup thinly sliced red and yellow peppers
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup feta cheese cut into a small 1/2" dice
1/4 cup red onion cut into a small dice, about 3/8"
1/4 cup of your favorite vinaigrette
Tip: Feta cheese is often available from the three countries where this sheep cheese is produced -- Greece, France and Bulgaria. Here's how to choose based on texture and taste: Greek is usually the saltiest and most firm. French usually has the mildest flavor. And Bulgarian is usually the strongest with the creamiest texture.
As with any cheese, try to taste before you buy your feta to choose the one you like best. If possible, have your cheese monger pack it in a plastic container along with some of its milky brine so that it keeps better in your refrigerator. Just rinse off the salty brine just before you use the cheese.
Making the Salad
- In a 250ºF oven, toast the pecan halves in a sheet pan until fragrant, crisped and slightly golden. Be careful that you don't burn them. Let cool.
- With the chicken at room temperature, use your hands to pull it apart into large bite-sized shreds. Do not cut or dice the pieces. The goal is to have them rough. The chicken is also more appealing if it is not chilled but instead at room termperature with its natural fat slightly glistening.
- Discard the bones, any skin you've removed, and any gristle from pulling the chicken apart.
- In a large bowl combine the shredded chicken pieces with the sliced peppers, cranberries, pecan pieces, feta cheese and onion. Gently combine.
- In a separate salad bowl, place the washed greens and toss with a small amount of your favorite vinaigrette. The greens should be slicked with the oil, not wet.
- Place the chicken combination on top of the dressed greens.
Serve immediately.
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