Summer Salad {Butter Lettuce, Strawberries, Apricots, Nectarine, Pear, Pickled Fennel & Orange-Dijon Vinaigrette + Optional Marinated Chicken & Goat Cheese}

Whew, that is one long title!!  Too much goodness to say in one breath. 😉

I’ve been getting creative with my salads lately… I love the ol’ cuke, tomato, and avo combo, but every so often, I want something that’ll give my taste buds a surprise.  So I came up with this!  It’s all about the pickled fennel… which I should add does not entail traditional pickling, just a super simple and speedy pickling technique I much prefer.  It’s quick pickling… or quickling as I like to call it.

This guy is also packed full of summer fruits, which balances the acidity of the fennel wonderfully.  I love strawberries, apricot, nectarine, and crisp pear with this, but you can play with other options of course, if you like.  Add green apple, maybe some grapes, how about some grapefruit or kiwi instead?  Modify as you wish!  Make it veggie with no pollo, or add in chicken and cheese for a heartier plate… the world is your oyster.  Err, salad.

The vinaigrette is simple… a slightly tangy slightly sweet combo that plays off all these flavors well.  And the Butter lettuce, oh the Butter lettuce, it is a must… so refreshing, light, and perfect.  It’s my fave with this.  ♥

serves approx four

INGREDIENTS

for the pickled fennel…

1 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tsp peppercorns

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp honey

for the vinaigrette…

3 tbsp fresh orange juice (1/2 an orange)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 small shallot clove (approx 1 tbsp chopped)

for the salad…

1 head Butter lettuce

6-7 strawberries

2 apricots

1 nectarine

1/2 pear (any variety you like)

optional: handful of arugula leaves

optional: crumbled goat cheese

optional: chopped chicken breasts, recipe follows

optional, for the chicken…

3 tbsp fresh orange juice (1/2 an orange)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup chopped green onions, green parts only

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 small or 1 large chicken breast, boneless/skinless

DIRECTIONS

To make the quick pickled fennel…

Slice the top and bottom ends off so you’re left with just the bulb

Keep the tops for later… the fronds make a perfect garnish

Using a mandolin (on the thinnest setting) or if you have keen knife skills, a very sharp knife,

slice the fennel into to super thin slices… as thin as you can while keeping them in tact

In a small-medium jar with a lid, add vinegars, peppercorns, salt, and honey

Seal and shake to mix

Add the sliced fennel, replace the top, shake to coat the fennel,

then refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, while you prep the rest of the ingredients

(Every 15 minutes or so, shake it up again to make sure all the fennel marinates)

To make the vinaigrette…

Slice the shallot and measure out honey and mustard

(Shallots can be strong when raw- start with half if you’d like, then add more if wanted

Add all vinaigrette ingredients to a small food processor

Blend until smooth and creamy

Taste and adjust flavors as desired

Pour the vinaigrette into a small serving bowl, cover, and keep cool for now

For the chicken… if not adding, skip to next step 🙂

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

If making the chicken marinade, go ahead and use the same food processor

No need to clean it- those flavors meld well

Add all marinade ingredients…

Blend until liquified

Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking

 Coat the chicken in the marinade, cover, and let

sit while you prep the remaining ingredients…

This can be done ahead of time for up to 24 hours, or for as little as 30 minutes

Keep in mind the longer it sits, the more flavor it’ll have

Place breasts in an ovenproof pan over medium heat

Cook for approx 5 minutes, then flip

Cook for 5 minutes longer, then plop the pan in the oven for approx 10 minutes more

(If you’d prefer to cook it all on the stovetop, no prob… just increase the cooking time as needed)

Let the chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing

Chop into bite-sized cubes…

Now onto the salad!

If you have the option, grab some Butter lettuce that’s still alive…

That stuff stays so fresh and crisp

See those little perfect guys… oh Butter lettuce, how I love thee

Rinse and dry leaves if needed, then rip or roughly chop them up

For fruit, you can adjust however you’d like… add green apple, maybe some peaches,

grapes, or blueberries… whatever you want, as long as you think it’ll mesh well with the others 🙂

Slice all fruit

By now, the fennel should be done… even after just 30 minutes, it should have quite the bite!

(Traditionally, pickling entails boiling, but this is a quick simple method here… no strict rules) 🙂

You’ll want to make sure your fennel is free from

peppercorns before serving… those aren’t fun to bite into to

Save the liquid if you’d like for something else, or strain

(If the fennel is too intense for your taste buds, just give it a little rinse)

To plate…

Serve Butter lettuce in large bowl, tossed with arugula if using

Lay the fruit and fennel over the top in any way you choose…

Add some fennel fronds…

And if you’d like some crumbled goat cheese…

And some chopped chicken if you’d like to!

That’s it… drizzle with vinaigrette and dig in!!

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