Summer Layered Salad With Grilled Chicken And Tomato Vinaigrette Recipes

SUMMER LAYERED SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN AND TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat. Roughly chop 2 of the tomatoes, and put into a blender, along with the lemon juice, mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, cayenne and ¾ teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth.
• Toss the chicken with 3 tablespoons of the tomato dressing and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
• Lay the bread, corn and zucchini out on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush everything all over with 2 tablespoons of the tomato dressing, and sprinkle with about ½ teaspoon of salt. Keep the baking sheet near your grill to transfer the grilled ingredients to when they're ready.
• Grill the chicken until it is nicely marked on the outside and registers 160°F in the thickest part on a meat thermometer, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Remove and let cool (it will finish cooking as it cools). Grill the zucchini until grill marks appear and it's slightly tender, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Grill the corn, turning as needed, until charred on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Grill the bread until nicely charred, about 2 minutes per side.
• Keeping all the individual ingredients separate, shave the corn kernels off the cobs, and cut the chicken, bread and zucchini into bite-size pieces.
• Using a straight-sided 3-quart tall glass bowl for 1 large salad or four 16-ounce wide-mouth glass jars with lids for 4 individual salads, make a first layer with half the romaine, then add the following in separate layers: half the basil, the chicken, the zucchini, the feta, the corn, the remaining romaine, the remaining basil, and the bread. Cut the 2 remaining tomatoes into thin wedges, and arrange on top. Sprinkle with more basil leaves for garnish. The salad can be put together, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 hours before serving.
• If making 1 salad, just before serving, transfer it to a large bowl, toss with the remaining dressing and season with salt and pepper. If making 4 salads, add dressing to each jar, season with salt and pepper, cover with the lid and shake to coat.

SUMMER LAYERED CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• In deep 3-quart salad bowl, place half of the lettuce. Layer with chicken, cheese, pecan halves, remaining lettuce and strawberries.
• In small bowl or glass measuring cup, mix dressing ingredients with wire whisk until well blended. Just before serving, pour dressing over salad.

GRILLED CHICKEN SUMMER SALAD

Steps:

• Make vinaigrette:
• Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients, except oil and chives, with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Whisk in chives.
• Make radish-cucumber salad:
• Boil water with salt, sugar, garlic, and peppercorns in a 4-quart pot, uncovered, 10 minutes.
• While brine boils, trim and halve radishes. Halve cucumbers lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• Remove brine from heat. Add radishes and cucumbers and let stand, uncovered, 10 minutes. Drain in a colander, discarding garlic and peppercorns. Transfer radishes and cucumbers to an ice bath to stop cooking, then drain well in colander.
• Transfer to a large bowl and chill, uncovered, about 20 minutes.
• Make chickpea salad:
• Stir together chickpeas, onion, 1/4 cup vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook green beans:
• Cook green beans in a large pot of well-salted boiling water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 6 minutes. Drain. Transfer to a large ice bath to stop cooking. Drain again and pat dry.
• Grill mushrooms and chicken:
• Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas); see Grilling Procedure .
• Toss mushrooms with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and marinate 10 minutes.
• Grill mushrooms in 2 batches on oiled grill sheet, covered only if using a gas grill, stirring frequently, until golden-brown, about 5 minutes per batch. Toss hot mushrooms with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette.
• Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Oil grill rack, then grill chicken over medium-hot charcoal (medium heat for gas), covered only if using a gas grill, turning chicken occasionally and moving it as necessary to avoid flare-ups, until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.
• Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices and toss with pesto in a large bowl.
• Dress salads and assemble dish:
• Toss brined cucumbers and radishes with parsley, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Stir mint into chickpea salad.
• Toss beans with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with almonds.
• Toss tomatoes with 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss lettuce with 1 tablespoon vinaigrette.
• Arrange chicken, mushrooms, and salads side by side on a large platter and serve remaining vinaigrette on the side.

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH TOMATO AND BREAD SALAD

Steps:

• Make Salad:
• Preheat broiler.
• On a large baking sheet spread bread in one layer and toast under broiler about 4 inches from heat until pale golden, about 3 minutes on each side. Cool bread. Bread may be toasted 2 days ahead and kept in a sealable bag at room temperature.
• In a bowl toss together bread, tomatoes, chopped celery, olives, onion, and capers. In a blender or small food processor blend together vinegar, garlic paste, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste until smooth and drizzle over salad. Toss salad well and let stand at room temperature while grilling chicken.
• Grill Chicken:
• Prepare grill.
• Brush chicken with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill chicken on a rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through. (Alternatively, chicken may be grilled in 2 batches in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat.) Transfer chicken to a cutting board and cool.
• Stir basil into salad. Slice chicken on the diagonal and serve with salad. Garnish each serving with whole celery leaves.

GRILLED VEGETABLE SALAD WITH FRESH HERB VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Whisk shallot, red wine vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, parsley, chives, cilantro, and dill together in a large bowl. Slowly stream olive oil into the mixture while whisking vigorously until the oil is incorporated into a smooth and creamy dressing.
• Arrange asparagus, corn, zucchini, yellow squash, green onions, bell pepper, and red onion onto baking sheets. Brush olive oil onto all the vegetables to coat; season with salt and pepper.
• Cook vegetables directly on preheated grill, turning frequently, until slightly charred and just tender, about 5 minutes for green onions, 8 minutes for asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, and red onion, and 10 minutes for corn. Remove vegetables to the baking sheets used for preparation and cool.
• Cut asparagus, green onions, zucchini, yellow squash, and red bell pepper crosswise into 1-inch pieces and put into a large bowl. Quarter red onion slices; add to bowl. Cut corn kernels from cobs; add to bowl. Let vegetables cool to room temperature.
• Drizzle vinaigrette over the vegetable mixture and toss to coat.