Bread Salad with Cranberries, Spinach, and Chicken

Randy Mayor; Jan Gautro
Chicken, high in vitamin B12, teams up with spinach, nuts, and a little oil to offer a one-dish meal loaded with vitamin E, vitamin C, and folate.
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 2/3 cups)
Ingredients
- Chicken:
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
-
Vinaigrette: - 2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
- 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons cranberry juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
-
Salad: - 6 cups loosely packed spinach (about 6 ounces)
- 2 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed French bread, toasted (about 4 ounces)
- 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
- 2 tablespoons sliced pitted kalamata olives
Preparation
To prepare chicken, combine first 4 ingredients; rub evenly over chicken. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan.
To prepare vinaigrette, add 2 tablespoons shallots and garlic to pan; cook for 3 minutes or until shallots and garlic begin to brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in red wine vinegar, orange rind, juices, honey, 1/2 teaspoon fennel, black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 1 minute). Remove vinaigrette from pan, and cool completely.
To prepare salad, chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. Combine chicken, spinach, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add vinaigrette; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information
- Calories:
- 307 (24% from fat)
- Fat:
- 8.2g (sat 1.1g,mono 4g,poly 1.7g)
- Protein:
- 29.5g
- Carbohydrate:
- 28.9g
- Fiber:
- 2.2g
- Cholesterol:
- 66mg
- Iron:
- 2.7mg
- Sodium:
- 511mg
- Calcium:
- 70mg
Member Ratings and Reviews
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Yummy, I really like this salad. The seasoning on the chicken is great! Although, it doesn't seem to make enough dressing to fully coat the leaves. Maybe try mixing the dressing with leaves before adding the bread cubes?01/14/10
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My husband and I loved this recipe! I changed a few things: I omitted the orange rind, and substituted soy nuts for the pine nuts. This was an excellent full meal salad! My husband asked for me to make it again exactly the same way. If you don't have 4-6 people to eat the entire salad, I would suggest holding off on tossing the croutons into the salad, and only mix into the individual servings. The croutons would get soggy in the leftover salad.03/24/09




