Chicken and radicchio salad with pickled raisins + walnuts
Delight your taste buds with this flavorful chicken and radicchio salad, tossed with tangy pickled raisins and crunchy walnuts. A true culinary experience awaits!
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts, preferably bone-in with skin
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups walnuts
- 1 tablespoon walnut oil
- 1/2 lemon, preferably Meyer
- 2 medium shallots, finely diced
- 2 small heads radicchio, Chioggia, or Treviso, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup pickled raisins (see recipe below)
- 1 handful parsley, torn
- 1 handful cilantro, torn
- 1 handful mint, torn
- 1 1/2 cups golden raisins
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 3 juniper berries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Instructions:
- For the salad:Preheat your oven to 425° F. Coat each chicken breast with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes until they turn golden brown and are cooked through. Once done, take out the chicken from the oven and let it cool a bit. Shred the meat into large bite-sized pieces and set them aside. (Note: Cooking time may vary for chicken breasts. If you're using bone-in breasts with skin, they will cook faster; check after 20 minutes.)While the chicken is cooking, place walnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast them for 8 to 10 minutes until they are golden brown. Afterward, roughly chop the walnuts, mix them with walnut oil and a pinch of sea salt, and set them aside. (My husband jokingly calls my method of tossing walnuts in walnut oil as cheating, but he doesn't mind as he enjoys them directly from the bowl on my cutting board -- they're that delicious!)In a large bowl, combine the lemon zest and juice. Season with a pinch of salt, a pinch of fresh cracked pepper, and the diced shallot. Allow the shallot to soak in the juice for 5 minutes. Slowly pour in the remaining olive oil while whisking continuously.Mix the chicken, walnuts, radicchio, raisins, herbs, and a pinch of salt into the vinaigrette. Toss everything together. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.For the pickled raisins:Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the mixture simmer until the liquid reduces by half, which takes about 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool down completely, then transfer everything to an airtight container. Store the raisins in the pickling liquid in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; strain before using.
Summary:
- Calories: 4746 kcal
- Fat: 295 g
- Protein: 177 g
- Carbs: 409 g
- Potassium: 6393 mg
- Magnesium: 726 mg