There’s no tossing involved, so this composition is purely guided by your eye and intuition.
By Jessica Dang
To me, making a salad is like painting. It’s a creation that’s both composed and ad-hoc. There’s layering involved. Balance. Thought. It’s not hastily chopping up a bunch of stuff and dumping it into a bowl with no rhyme or reason.
Roast Chicken Salad
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 1 1x
Description
There’s no tossing involved, so this composition is purely guided by your eye and intuition.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups of mesclun salad leaves
- 1/2 small kirby cucumber, cut into matchsticks
- A few thin slices of red onion, cut into half-moons
- 1/4 avocado, thinly sliced
- 6 grape tomatoes, cut into small round slices
- Cold leftover roast chicken, torn into shreds
- Crumbled feta cheese
- Citarella’s tartar sauce, or another creamy dressing like ranch or blue cheese
- Fresh dill, chives, tarragon, or chervil
- Maldon sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Start with a large white dinner plate. This is your canvas. Prime the canvas with a generous layer of mesclun salad leaves. Make sure the leaves are clean and completely dry.
- For a crunch factor, sprinkle the cucumber matchsticks over the salad.
- Tear the cold roast chicken into shreds by hand and evenly distribute–the quantity will rely on your appetite!
- Separate the rings of the onion slices and lightly scatter to add a nice kick and heat.
- Drape the avocado slices gently around the plate.
- Strategically place the grape tomato slices where a punch of red is needed.
- Add the crumbled feta and small spoonfuls of your creamy dressing, here and there, being mindful of the balance of white splashes to the composition.
- Pick off bits of the fresh herbs and decorate the plate.
- Finish with a pinch of Maldon sea salt flakes and a shower of black pepper.
- Cut into your masterpiece, fork-and-knife style, and mix it all up!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Main
