Pan-Roasted Chicken, Squash, and Chard Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

Chard is often cooked to tenderize the tough, fibrous stems. Here the crisp leaves are sliced and used as a salad green. To add interest, use a variety of seasonal wild mushrooms, such as oyster, lobster, or chanterelle. Ripert starts with one whole roasting chicken and quarters it; you can purchase the parts separately as the recipe directs. Be sure to check the temperature of the chicken breasts early because they will probably cook a little more quickly than the leg quarters.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• Chicken:
• 2  bone-in chicken breast halves
• 2  chicken leg quarters
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  teaspoons  canola oil
• 
  Salad:
• 1 2/3  cups  sliced Fuji apple
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
• 8  ounces  Swiss chard leaves, thinly sliced
• 1  tablespoon  butter
• 4 1/4  cups  (1/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 3  tablespoons  maple syrup
• 
  Vinaigrette:
• 2  bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
• 8  ounces  wild mushrooms, halved
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 3  tablespoons  apple cider vinegar
• 1/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 
  Remaining ingredient:
• 3  tablespoons  walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. To prepare chicken, loosen skin from breast halves and leg quarters by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; rub salt mixture evenly under loosened skin. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, to pan; cook 5 minutes or until brown. Bake at 400° for 28 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°. Remove chicken from pan; let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin. Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour drippings into bag; let stand 10 minutes (fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Drain drippings into a bowl, stopping before fat layer reaches opening. Reserve drippings and 2 tablespoons fat; discard remaining fat.

3. To prepare salad, combine apple, juice, and chard in a large bowl; toss to coat. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add squash to pan; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Cook 10 minutes or until tender, turning to brown on all sides. Remove from heat; stir in maple syrup. Add squash mixture to apple mixture. Sprinkle salad with remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; toss.

4. To prepare vinaigrette, heat reserved 2 tablespoons chicken fat in pan over medium heat. Add bacon to pan; cook 4 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and garlic to bacon mixture; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in cider vinegar, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 1 minute or until liquid evaporates. Stir in reserved chicken drippings and broth; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Arrange 2 cups apple mixture on each of 4 plates; drizzle each serving with 1/4 cup vinaigrette. Top each serving with 1 chicken breast half or 1 leg quarter, and sprinkle each serving with 2 1/4 teaspoons walnuts.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

488 (35% from fat)

Fat:

19.2g (sat 5.2g,mono 6.4g,poly 5.3g)

Protein:

41.5g

Carbohydrate:

40.8g

Fiber:

6g

Cholesterol:

128mg

Iron:

5.1mg

Sodium:

845mg

Calcium:

143mg