In the heat of summer, I’m always looking for a light, fresh salad to feed to a houseful in Southampton for lunch. Chicken salads are usually solid crowd-pleasers at our house, but this one breaks free of the usual formulas. The chicken is coated in a unique and flavorful dressing that’s made from a boiled and pureed whole orange, and fennel, cilantro, basil and mint stand in for lettuce. (In a way it’s the cold cousin of another favorite dish, Roasted Chicken with Clementines.) The flavor is incredibly fresh and bright.
In summer when the beach is calling, fast is as important to me as light and fresh, and so I sometimes use the meat from a rotisserie chicken from the market instead of preparing my own. The recipe is also flexible and forgiving. You can make the orange dressing well in advance, and you can vary the quantities of the herbs according to your taste. If you don’t care for fennel, arugula with green onion makes a good substitute.
The boiled, pureed orange sounds a little weird, I know, but give it a try. I’ll bet we’ll soon be finding other uses for that fresh, sweet-tart dressing — like topping grilled tuna or swordfish.
Recipe
(adapted from Saffron Chicken & Herb Salad in Jerusalem, a Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, serves 6)
Ingredients
1 orange
2 1/2 tablespoon (50g) honey
large pinch of saffron threads
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
About 1 1/4 cups (300ml) water
2 2/4 pounds (1kg) boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 very small or 1 medium fennel bulbs
1 cup (15g) picked cilantro leaves
2/3 cup (15g) picked basil leaves
About 15 mint leaves
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 red chile
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped or run through a press
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
2. Make the saffron orange dressing (this can be done in advance.) Trim and discard about 3/8 inch (1cm) off the top and bottom of the orange and cut it into 12 wedges, keeping the skin on. Remove any seeds.
3. Place the wedges in a small saucepan with the honey, saffron, vinegar and just enough water to cover the orange wedges. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently for about an hour or until the orange is soft and you’re left with about 3 tablespoons of a thick syrup. (Add water during cooking if the liquid gets very low.)
4. Put the orange wedges and syrup into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and process until it forms a smooth, runny paste. (Add a little water if needed.)
5. Coat the chicken breasts with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Heat a ridged grill pan or heavy skillet over high heat for about 2 minutes and then place the chicken breasts on it. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side until lightly browned (and you have those nice char marks if you have a grill pan) and then transfer them to a roasting pan or a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, just until cooked through.
6. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the salad greens –pick the cilantro leaves off the larger stems, slice the fennel as thinly as you can (using a mandoline if you have one), tear the mint and basil into large pieces and seed and slice the red chile.
7. In a medium bowl, make a lemon vinaigrette by whisking together the the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
8. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, tear it into large rough pieces and toss it with half of the orange paste in a medium bowl. (Reserve the remaining orange paste for another salad or another use, such as on grilled fish.)
9. Now, assemble your salad. In a large salad or serving bowl, toss the greens in the vinaigrette until well coated and then add the chicken and toss again. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and lemon juice, if necessary.
