Grilled Chicken Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Dressing
Blueberry balsamic dressing is the star of this summery main course salad. Make the dressing with either blueberry balsamic vinegar or good balsamic vinegar to start. For something really special, read the post and order some of the speciality vinegar. It is totally amazing. You could drink it! For four servings, this recipe doubles easily. Grill chicken or use leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken for faster assembly.
2tablespoonsbalsamic vinegarblueberry balsamic or regular
2teaspoonshoneyif using regular balsamic
1teaspoonfinely chopped shallotoptional
2pinchessea salt
2pinches ground black pepper
Chicken
1poundboneless skinless chicken breast
¼teaspoonsea salt
¼ teaspoonground black pepper
¼ teaspoongranulated garlic
1tablespoonextra virgin olive oil
Salad
6-8ouncescrisp clean salad greens
1wholeavocadoskinned and diced
¾cupfresh blueberries
¾cup diced roasted beets optional
Instructions
Place oil, blueberries, vinegar, honey, and shallot into blender and puree until smooth. Pour through a small fine strainer to get rid of small bits of blueberry skin. Season with pinches of salt and pepper.
Place chicken breast in a heavy zip bag and seal out air. Pound thick end flatter using the smooth side of a meat mallet, a meat pounder or the flat side of a frying pan. Don’t hit it so hard that you destroy the chicken. Use gentle but firm, even pound until the thicker end is flatter like the shin end. Remove from the bag and sprinkle wit salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Drizzle with oil.
Heat a grill to hot, scrape grates clean and oil to prevent sticking. Alternatively use a grill pan indoors. Place the smooth side of the chicken breast down first with one end facing 10:00. Grill for approximately two minutes. Then move the end to facing 2:00. and grill for two more minutes. This will give you nice grill marks. Turn the chicken and grill for approximately another 3 minutes or until chicken is firm to the touch (165º). Remove chicken and allow to stand for a few minutes. Slice or dice into cubes for the salad.
Place salad greens in two bowls or plates and divide the goodies between the two. Serve dressing on the side, a few tablespoons per person. Extra keeps well covered and refrigerated.
Notes
Extra dressing thickens up after it sits or is refrigerated. Thin with a little water and whisk until smooth again, or if you have the blueberry balsamic vinegar, thin with that.