Chicken, Berry, Date & Candied Walnut Salad

This salad is fresh, savory, sweet and satisfying.

Posted by kim p.

About

This is one of my salad-for-dinner recipes. In other words, a salad that is substantial enough to serve for dinner. It is a nice way to make a second meal out of leftover roast chicken, or you can use a grocery store roast chicken if you don't have leftovers (or time to cook chicken).

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You Will Need (17 things)

  • 1 cup Walnuts (halves)
  • ¼ cup Sugar (divided)
  • ¼ tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 Shallot (finely minced; about 2 Tbs)
  • 1 ½ tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Spanish Sherry Vinegar (Vinagre de Jerez)
  • ½ tsp Honey
  • 6 tbsp Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)
  • ½ Head Butter Lettuce
  • ½ Head Red Curly Lettuce
  • 2 cup Strawberries (sliced)
  • 4 oz Blueberries
  • 2 cup Shredded Roast Chicken
  • ½ cup Medjool Dates (chopped)
  • 4 oz crumbled Feta Cheese

Steps (3 steps, 30 minutes)

  1. 1

    To make candied walnuts, heat a skillet over medium heat and briefly toast walnuts until they begin to color, stirring frequently so they do not burn. Sprinkle the walnuts with half the sugar, and stir until the sugar has melted. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and remaining sugar, and continue stirring. The pepper will smoke, so make sure your exhaust fan is on. Continue stirring until all the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and spread out on a sheet of tinfoil, making sure all the walnuts are separated. Allow to cool.

  2. 2

    To make the dressing, put the shallots, vinegars and honey in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to form an emulsion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  3. 3

    Build the salad in a wide shallow bowl. Spread the lettuces over the bottom of the bowl. Arrange the strawberries, berries, chicken, dates, candied walnuts and feta over the lettuce. Toss with dressing and serve.