It’s those warm, lazy-hazy days of summer when I start to seriously crave light food. Fortunately, the heat is not suffocating, but still in the evening we always gladly eat a meal like this summer garden salad. I have made this salad many times in the past but last night i got a chance to take snaps and I thought this is a good time to republish one of my old posts that hardly anyone read, but we really like.
This salad is joyfully simple to prepare and has a wonderful array of delicious vegetables, salad leaves, herbs and topped with crispy chicken for some protein. I like my salads with everything in them. Nice and hearty, filling, and full of different flavors and textures. The beauty of this summer garden salad is that there are no rules, nor do you have to follow the recipe exactly. You just need to have some sort of imagination and quality ingredients.
I was eager to use some of the tender swiss chard from my garden besides romaine and curly lettuce that started showing signs of bolting so I harvested it. Herbs are a great way to jazz up the flavor and nutrition of almost any dish! In this particular salad I tossed basil, mint, and parsley to uplift the freshness and flavor. They make the salad so delicious that I actually crave them. The flavors here are fresh and perfect, and with extras like red onion, some cherry tomatoes, beetroot, bell pepper, avocado, and mini cucumbers that I got rather fancy with, rolling the ribbons into little rolls. I thought it all looked very pretty together.
A pretty salad deserves to have a tasty vinaigrette to top it all off, this roasted shallot vinaigrette is certainly that. I am not a fan of store-bought bottled dressings, so I almost always make my own (although I do have a few exceptions the poppy seed dressing that comes with kale salad is just so delicious). This vinaigrette can easily be doubled and refrigerated to last for several salad meals.
The chicken on this salad is nice and crispy. I followed the basic shallow pan frying method. You could substitute chicken for a tofu slab or leave it out to make this more of a side salad.
Let me know if you tried my recipe, please feel free to tag me and use my hashtag #simpleglutenfreekitchen on your lovely creations in Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, so I don’t miss them.
This elegant salad is everything you want out of a light but satisfying meal
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless
- 1/4 cup rice flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
- Few curly lettuce and tender swiss chard leaves, bite sized or keep them whole if they are small (optional)
- 1 bell pepper, diced (any color)
- 1 summer squash, sliced into half moons
- 2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and diced or sliced
- 2 small cucumber, sliced or in ribbons
- Few small radish, quartered
- 1/2 red onion, thickly sliced
- 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes
- 1 beetroot, sliced
- Handful of herb leaves (basil, mint, parsley)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot
- 4 garlic
- 2 tbsp honey (if you are using aged balsamic you won’t need any honey, it already contains some sugar)
Instructions
- Roast garlic and shallots in a small skillet on the stove until tender and slightly colored.
- In a blender add the balsamic vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, olive oil and roasted shallot & garlic. Turn on the machine until well blended.
- In a large salad bowl, combine the romaine lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, beetroot, bell pepper, and herbs.
- In a bowl, combine flour, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and Italian Seasoning. Stir well to blend.
- Pound the chicken breast into an even thickness using a mallet or a heavy pan.
- Spread the flour mixture in a plate. Using a fork or tongs, coat the chicken breasts in the flour mixture and set aside.
- Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a heavy bottom steel pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, place flour coated chicken breasts in the pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, turning once between cooking.
- Remove chicken from pan. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes. Slice.
- Toss the salad with a few tablespoons of vinaigrette. Divide among 4 bowls. To each salad bowl add the sliced chicken breast. Serve with additional vinaigrette.
Dolly Aizenman
What a lovely crispy and summery dish, full of goodness, dear Bal!
angiesrecipes
We have been eating lots of salads too. Your summer salad looks delicious and well balanced with all the summer produce and that crisp chicken.
laura
What a beautifully plated Salad, Balvinder! It looks so appetizing and sounds delicious! I love homegrown veggies and these look divine!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
I need too make more dinner salads. You’re right this is perfect for a warm summer night!
Dennis Yannakos
So tasty and healthy. Thanks!
Tarnjit
Wow! So creative, fresh and nutritious too. You have the ability to elevate anything Balvinder. Very inspiring.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
That was a great idea to use rice flour to bread your chicken, and I loved the adorable curled cucumbers in the salad. So cute!
Pauline
Your salad is so beautifully presented in a lovely photo. It looks delicious. Perfect for Summer. I always make my own dressing and will try yours as soon as I can. Stay safe, Pauline.
John / Kitchen Riffs
We often have salad with chicken for dinner at this time of the year. Such a great combo of flavors, isn’t it? Your dish looks terrific — SO pretty. Thanks!
Abbe@This is How I Cook
I am always looking for summer salads and this one is perfect! Like the idea of using rice flour on the chicken!
evi erlinda
What a pretty and fresh salad plate!
Yum!
Kelly | Foodtasia
Such a lovely salad! The cucumber rolls are so cute!
Priya
Perfect 🙂