Fresh Fennel Salad with Chicken & Portobellos
Serves 8
Salad:
8 c spinach
2 bulbs fennel (thinly slice fennel, removing core and chopping off top fronds)
2 pink grapefruits
1 c soft goat’s cheese (optional)
½ c toasted pine nuts (place pine nuts in a saute pan on low heat until you can smell the pine nuts, usually one minute!)
Layer the ingredients on half of a large plate in the order listed above and then top with the dressing below right before serving.
Dressing:
½ c olive oil
¼ c apple cider vinegar
1 T maple syrup
1 T dijon mustard
½ t salt
½ t black pepper
Combine all of the ingredients in a pint size Mason jar or a similar container that has a lid so you can shake it well for one minute. Drizzle some on the salad and leave the jar on the side for individual servings.
Grilled Portobellos & Chicken
16 oz bottled balsamic vinaigrette dressing
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thick
4 portobello mushroom caps (or six small caps are nice too), rubbed clean with a paper towel and stems removed
Herb garnish such as parsley, thyme, or rosemary; lemons for color
Marinate the pounded chicken in 12 ounces of vinaigrette in one or two large ziplock bags overnight. Marinate the portobello caps in the remaining 4 ounces of dressing in one or two large ziplock bags overnight.
Start the (preferably charcoal) grill and have half the grill be high (direct) flames and the other half low (indirect) flames. Grill the chicken on the low coals first and portobellos on the high heat first. After 7 minutes, flip the food over and salt the tops of everything. Switch the chicken to high heat and portobellos to low. Cook for 2 minutes per side and (making sure they are at the correct temperature) then remove. Let the chicken and portobello rest for 5 minutes, slice into smaller pieces and serve on the other half of the spinach salad platter with some quartered lemons for color.
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