Grilled Chicken Summer Salad Recipes

SUMMER LAYERED SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN AND TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat. Roughly chop 2 of the tomatoes, and put into a blender, along with the lemon juice, mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, cayenne and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth.
• Toss the chicken with 3 tablespoons of the tomato dressing and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
• Lay the bread, corn and zucchini out on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush everything all over with 2 tablespoons of the tomato dressing, and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Keep the baking sheet near your grill to transfer the grilled ingredients to when they're ready.
• Grill the chicken until it is nicely marked on the outside and registers 160 degrees F in the thickest part on a meat thermometer, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Remove and let cool (it will finish cooking as it cools). Grill the zucchini until grill marks appear and it's slightly tender, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Grill the corn, turning as needed, until charred on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Grill the bread until nicely charred, about 2 minutes per side.
• Keeping all the individual ingredients separate, shave the corn kernels off the cobs, and cut the chicken, bread and zucchini into bite-size pieces.
• Using a straight-sided 3-quart tall glass bowl for 1 large salad or four 16-ounce wide-mouth glass jars with lids for 4 individual salads, make a first layer with half the romaine, then add the following in separate layers: half the basil, the chicken, the zucchini, the feta, the corn, the remaining romaine, the remaining basil, and the bread. Cut the 2 remaining tomatoes into thin wedges, and arrange on top. Sprinkle with more basil leaves for garnish. The salad can be put together, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 hours before serving.
• If making 1 salad, just before serving, transfer it to a large bowl, toss with the remaining dressing and season with salt and pepper. If making 4 salads, add dressing to each jar, season with salt and pepper, cover with the lid and shake to coat.

GRILLED CHICKEN SUMMER SALAD

Steps:

• Make vinaigrette:
• Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients, except oil and chives, with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Whisk in chives.
• Make radish-cucumber salad:
• Boil water with salt, sugar, garlic, and peppercorns in a 4-quart pot, uncovered, 10 minutes.
• While brine boils, trim and halve radishes. Halve cucumbers lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• Remove brine from heat. Add radishes and cucumbers and let stand, uncovered, 10 minutes. Drain in a colander, discarding garlic and peppercorns. Transfer radishes and cucumbers to an ice bath to stop cooking, then drain well in colander.
• Transfer to a large bowl and chill, uncovered, about 20 minutes.
• Make chickpea salad:
• Stir together chickpeas, onion, 1/4 cup vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook green beans:
• Cook green beans in a large pot of well-salted boiling water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 6 minutes. Drain. Transfer to a large ice bath to stop cooking. Drain again and pat dry.
• Grill mushrooms and chicken:
• Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas); see Grilling Procedure .
• Toss mushrooms with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and marinate 10 minutes.
• Grill mushrooms in 2 batches on oiled grill sheet, covered only if using a gas grill, stirring frequently, until golden-brown, about 5 minutes per batch. Toss hot mushrooms with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette.
• Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Oil grill rack, then grill chicken over medium-hot charcoal (medium heat for gas), covered only if using a gas grill, turning chicken occasionally and moving it as necessary to avoid flare-ups, until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.
• Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices and toss with pesto in a large bowl.
• Dress salads and assemble dish:
• Toss brined cucumbers and radishes with parsley, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Stir mint into chickpea salad.
• Toss beans with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with almonds.
• Toss tomatoes with 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss lettuce with 1 tablespoon vinaigrette.
• Arrange chicken, mushrooms, and salads side by side on a large platter and serve remaining vinaigrette on the side.