Bread Salad with Cranberries, Spinach, and Chicken

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