Welcome to Week Two of our Bunny Hop for Spring. Please visit all 4 bloggers (links below) to enjoy a wide range of Easter culinary delights! A special thank you to Debbie Stolle of Your Home Your Happy Place for organizing and leading us!
Today I have a recipe for a Mediterranean salad for Easter that includes chicken. Like most salads, this one is quite easy to put together. The only real work involved is dicing vegetables and cooking the chicken.
So let’s address the chicken first. The chicken can be cooked any number of ways. The original recipe that I used as my inspiration includes the following instructions for cooking the chicken. Marinate boneless skinless chicken breasts in a marinade of olive oil, lemon, garlic, and seasonings, and then cook it on the barbeque grill. If you have the time and the resources to do so, then it’s a great way to cook the chicken.
Other options might be cutting up the chicken to bite size pieces and sauté it on the stove.
If time does not allow for cooking, there is always rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
And finally, if time DOES allow, read my post here on how to cook chicken in a crockpot. In this post, I cook the chicken in a mixture of salsa and ranch dressing. For this Mediterranean salad, I would recommend slow-cooking the chicken in a balsamic vinegar based salad dressing, or a citrus-y salad dressing.
In the spirit of being prepared and having all the ingredients ready to go before starting (I should practice what I preach), line your kitchen counter with the ingredients that are listed in the recipe box. Also – please note like most salads, this is a very flexible recipe. If there is something in the ingredient list that is not your favorite, feel free to swap it out with something that is your favorite! You can use goat cheese instead of feta, or broccoli instead of cucumber, or even walnuts instead of pine nuts. It’s your salad – create it for your own personal taste!
Next comes the real work: Slicing and cutting cucumbers, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, avocado.
Drain the artichoke hearts and remove or cut the woody sections of the leaves. (You may want to keep the oil from the artichoke hearts and use it to saute your diced chicken.) Drain the capers as well.
Toast the pine nuts, using a small saucepan lightly coated with a cooking spray. Keep the pine nuts on a low heat, with a wooden spoon nearby. When they start to toast a little, stir them frequently to keep the browning even.
When all the chopping, cutting and toasting is complete, start layering your salad. Use your salad greens as the base. I used Italian style greens combined with a mixture of spinach and arugula.On top of the greens, start the first layer of vegetables, using the cucumber, tomato, orange pepper, mushrooms and red onion.
The next layer is the chopped artichoke hearts and sliced avocado.
And the final layer is the feta cheese, the toasted pine nuts, and the capers.
I left the chicken separate from the salad so that my guests can add as much (or as little) chicken as they wish.
Any kind of dressing would work with this salad. Ranch, oil & vinegar, a balsamic vinegar based dressing…. The options are endless.
This salad is a great option for a simple and delicious Easter lunch. It takes a little preparation, but it’s flexible, healthy and can be tweaked any number of ways to suit your own taste!
Here is the recipe, in an easy to print format. If you have any questions at all, please leave them in the comments.
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or choppped
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 Roma tomato, coarsely chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced red onion
- 1 cup of mushrooms, stems removed, sliced
- 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
- 1 14.75 oz. jar artichoke hearts in oil, drained and chopped
- 1 4 oz. jar capers, drained
- 1 6 oz. container feta crumbles
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- Salad dressing of choice
- Mixed salad greens
- Prepare chicken, refrigerate until ready to serve
- Toast pine nuts in a small pan on low heat until browned, stirring as needed
- Put down a layer of salad greens in salad bowl
- Scatter chopped cucumber, tomato, orange bell pepper, mushroom and onion on top of greens
- Layer chopped artichoke hearts and sliced avocado on top of vegetables
- Top with feta cheese crumbles, toast pine nuts and capers
- Serve with salad dressing of your choice
Below are links to 4 other blogs that are sharing recipes and menus for your Easter meal. Please ‘hop’ on over to take a look!
From our home to yours
Kristine
I am sharing at these link parties:
I Should be Mopping the Floor Inspiration Monday // Everyday Edits Inspire Me Monday // Home Stories A-Z Tutorials & Tips // Cedar Hill Farmhouse The Scoop // Yesterday on Tuesday Project Inspired // Sweet Parrish Place Terrific Tuesday // Jody Fitz Reader Tips // Ginger Snap Crafts Wow Me Wednesday // French Ethereal Share Your Style // A Delightsome Life Home & Garden Thursday // The Painted Hinge // Chic on Shoestring // Best of the Weekend //
That looks yummy! I really like the idea of keeping the chicken separate so your guests can choose the amount that works for them.
Thank you, Janis. In addition to chicken, this salad could be served with shrimp, hard-boiled eggs, or salmon. It really and truly is so very flexible.
Looks delicious!
Thank you, Nancy. We actually had it for dinner when I was done with the photos; it was very tasty!
Kristine, first I think I can tell you are using your new camera? I don’t have a recipe for a salad like this. The ingredients look so healthy and what a great light meal to have waiting after church. It looks so good and I loved seeing all of the steps. Your table looks so festive!
Thank you, Debbie! These are iPhone photos, but using a tripod has been a game-changer! It is a very healthy salad in many ways, and the bonus is it’s quick and easy to put together! Thank you so much for leading us on our Bunny Hops!
This salad looks amazing. It has so many tasty ingredients and makes a great light meal.
Thank you Erlene! I think what I like most about this salad is it includes some of my favorite foods; avocado, artichoke hearts, and pine nuts! And you’re right – it is a great light meal!
Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #OverTheMoon this week. Each Hostess displays their own features so be sure to visit me on Sunday evening and to see your feature! I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon. Please don’t forget to add your link numbers or post title so we can be sure to visit!
Marilyn – I wish you could have heard me squeal when I read this! This note from you is a lift to both my spirits and energy! Thank you so very much – I am honored and thrilled! I have very much enjoyed being included in your link parties, and will definitely continue to do so! Thank you again!
This looks amazing and perfect for making ahead salads to take to work for a healthy lunch. Can’t wait to try it! Pine nuts and capers are two of my favorite foods!
Thank you Cathy! This salad is so versatile and flexible. As you said, it can be a healthy work lunch, or a summer dinner, where you can grill the chicken. You can even change up the vegetables. My favorites are the avocado and artichoke hearts!
Kristine, the salad looks so delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe. Perfect for spring and summer dinners!
This salad looks great, so many different ingredients. It sounds really interesting and delicious.