This salad hits all the right notes between tasting green-vibrant, juicy, fresh, sweet, salty, tangy, and meaty. It serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a side salad that pairs brilliantly with vegetarian main courses such as quiches and eggplant- tomato tarts. I have been tweaking this recipe the past few months and encourage you to add your own touches as we all know food is fluid and ever evolving.
I have been in the process of creating a new chapter in my life, which can be daunting at age 73. I moved to Amsterdam in March, 2020, 3 days before Covid lockdown, after 20 years of living in Bozeman, Montana, following the death of my beloved husband of 35 years. During the Summer of 2020, when the EU allowed residents to travel within the EU, I bought a second home in Cortona, Italy. In both countries, I knew no one and did not speak the language. Food, though, has only one language. Is it delicious? Or not?
In Amsterdam, during those shuttered days, I was creating recipes for my website and always had quantities of food I could not eat. So I knocked on neighbors doors and handed them containers of cookies, cakes, breads, stews, soups and salads. Suddenly, I had friends, even the notoriously standoffish Dutch, inviting me to dine once lockdown eased. My life is now marvelously filled with new dear friends gathered around my table. Food is love and it does unite us.
This is a salad I keep returning to this summer as everyone loves it and the components ( dressing, crunchies and chicken) that take time can be prepared well in advance. I suggest grilling chicken for dinner a day or two before serving this salad and throwing on a couple of extra chicken breasts so you have them on hand. You’re going to want to have extra dressing and crunchies as they store well and perk up all sorts of other meals. —sally Uhlmann
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