We had a bunch of leftover pumpkin tagine for dinner tonight, but not much in the way of protein. Luckily, we still had a chicken in the freezer, so I was able to roast that up and combine it with some bread and veggies to make this "salad". It is a salad without lettuce or leafy greens. But I guess the inclusion of a vinaigrette makes it a salad nonetheless? Either way, it was tasty and rounded out the meal nicely.

Roast Chicken and Bread Salad with Green Beans

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (~1kg), cut into pieces¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3 thick slices of bread, cubed
• 250g green beans, trimmed
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 shallot (or small red onion), minced
• 2 Tbsp. red wine or cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. grainy mustard
• 2 Tbsp. dried currants
• 250g strawberries², hulled and quartered

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Season chicken with most of the salt and pepper (reserving a little for the beans).
3. Roast at 200°C (400°F) until chicken is done (45-60 minutes).
4. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
5. Toss the bread cubes with 2 Tbsp. of the oil and spread out on the (now empty) baking sheet.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until lightly browned and crisp on the outside (~15 minutes), turning once or twice during cooking.
7. Meanwhile, blanch the beans in some water seasoned with some of the reserved salt and pepper. Cook until just barely tender (2-3 minutes).
8. Shock the beans in cold water, drain, and set aside.
9. Whisk the winegars with the mustard, currants, and red onion.
10. Drizzle in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil while whisking vigorously.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I used a bit of the reserved salt and pepper from above.)
12. Add the beans and toss to combine.
13. Top with chicken, strawberries, and croutons and serve.

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¹ The original recipe called for the chicken skin to be left on, but I chose to skin my chicken and just baste it with a little of the rendered schmaltz instead. ^Back
2 I wasn't impressed by the strawberries this week, so I gave them a miss and just tossed some leftover peach salsa onto this salad instead. I think it worked quite well! ^Back