About Me
- The Lush Chef
- Twitter: @thelushchef Provenance: Santa Monica Dish: Coq au Vin Spirit: Whiskey Wine: Malbec Beer: Hefeweizen Farmer's Market: Santa Monica on Main Street
Jun 18, 2013
Parsley Walnut Pesto Chicken Salad
Libations used: 1/4 cup white wine...
Libations left over: Pretty much the whole bottle, so serve with dinner...
I love making chicken salad, and it's one of my go-to's during the week for lunch. Usually, I cheat and just make it with canned chicken, some celery and chopped nuts. If I'm feeling adventurous, I'll throw in some pickled red onions, pickled blueberries or curry with raisins. I knew I had a busy week coming up with plenty of dinners out, which ultimately meant I'd be eating lunch at my desk to save money, so I wanted something somewhat healthy and hearty. The Kitchn had posted a recipe a while back for a Creamy Chicken Salad with a Parsley Walnut Pesto. It's a relatively quick dish to make, and yes, I recommend cooking the chicken and not cheating with the canned stuff. Because why waste good pesto on canned chicken? The recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but I picked up some nicer looking free-range chicken breasts that still had all the rib bones and skin on. The chicken is poached in a white wine braising liquid and takes only about 15-20 minutes. I bought plenty of fresh, flat-leaf parsley from Maggie's Farms at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market to use for the pesto. Yes, it's a lot of green on the plate, but I also used Maggie's arugula to serve with the chicken for some extra flavor and texture. Top it with some pretty cherry tomatoes, chopped walnuts and a little shaved Parmesan, and you have yourself a simple and gourmet, summer meal. The leftovers will also make a killer sandwich...
Parsley Walnut Pesto Chicken Salad - serves 6-8
Ingredients for the chicken:
- 2 1/2-3 lbs chicken breasts, with skin removed (about 4-6 breasts)
- 3 large garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (I used Flo Chardonnay)
- Handful of flat-leaf parsley (both leaves and stems)
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Ingredients for the pesto:
- 2 cups packed flat-leaf parsley
- 2 large garlic cloves, smashed
- 1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (Umm, I skipped the toasting part and they were all in halves too)
- 1/4 cup and 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 3 Tbs mayonnaise
- 2 heaping Tbs of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- Fresh-squeezed lemon juice, to taste (I used about a teaspoon)
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper
To garnish:
- Toasted, chopped walnuts
- Sliced cherry tomatoes
- Grated Parmesan
To make the chicken:
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, add the chicken, garlic, shallots, wine and parsley.
- Season with salt and pepper and top with enough water to cover the chicken by about an inch.
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Immediately remove from heat and cover.
- Let the chicken stand for about 15-20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and tent it with foil to finish cooking.
- When it's cool enough to handle, slice into bite-sized pieces.
- To make the pesto:
- In a food processor or blender, add the parsley, garlic, walnuts and oil and process until smooth.
- Add the Parmesan and pulse until incorporated.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl, add the mayonnaise, sun-dried tomatoes and some lemon juice, to taste.
- Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken to the bowl and gently toss to combine.
- Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight so all the flavors have a chance to marry.
- Serve over a bed of arugula and top with chopped walnuts, tomatoes and Parmesan.
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