Grilled Chicken and Nectarine Salad
Lara Hata
Total Time 25 mins
AuthorJay Decker, Medina, WA

Jay Decker combines barbecued chicken, sweet nectarines, tangy goat cheese, and toasted pecans in a great entrée salad. Prep and cook time: about 25 minutes.

How to Make It

Step 1
1

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread pecans in a baking pan and bake until golden under skins, about 10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Step 2
2

Mound salad greens on four dinner plates. In a small bowl, stir vegetable oil, walnut oil, and vinegar to blend. Set aside.

Step 3
3

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Lay on a lightly oiled barbecue grill over a solid bed of medium-hot coals or medium-high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 3 to 4 seconds); close lid on gas grill. Cook chicken, turning occasionally, until meat is no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), about 15 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a cutting board. Remove skin if desired.

Step 4
4

Slice chicken across the grain 1/2 inch thick; arrange over greens. Tuck nectarine around chicken. Scatter goat cheese and pecans over the top. Stir dressing; pour over salads. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5
5

Nut Oils on Salad: A drizzle of walnut, hazelnut, or almond oil makes a salad dressing--like the one in this salad--rich and interesting. Until recently, though, nut oils have generally been imported and pricey. Now, less expensive oils pressed from Western nuts are joining imports in grocery stores.

Step 6
6

Nut oils are good for your heart, as well as your salads. Almond and hazelnut oils are rich in monounsaturated fats, and walnut oil supplies omega-3 fatty acids. Refrigerate nut oils after opening; they turn rancid quickly at room temperature.

Step 7
7

Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving without skin.

Ingredients

 2/3 cup pecan halves
 2 quarts salad greens (8 oz.), rinsed and crisped
 1/4 cup vegetable oil
 1/4 cup walnut oil (or more vegetable oil; see
 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
 4 boned chicken breast halves with skin (2 lb. total), rinsed, patted dry, and fat trimmed
  Salt and pepper
 2 firm-ripe nectarines (12 oz. total), rinsed, pitted, and thinly sliced
 5 ounces fresh chèvre (goat cheese), crumbled

Directions

Step 1
1

Preheat oven to 350°. Spread pecans in a baking pan and bake until golden under skins, about 10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Step 2
2

Mound salad greens on four dinner plates. In a small bowl, stir vegetable oil, walnut oil, and vinegar to blend. Set aside.

Step 3
3

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Lay on a lightly oiled barbecue grill over a solid bed of medium-hot coals or medium-high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 3 to 4 seconds); close lid on gas grill. Cook chicken, turning occasionally, until meat is no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), about 15 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a cutting board. Remove skin if desired.

Step 4
4

Slice chicken across the grain 1/2 inch thick; arrange over greens. Tuck nectarine around chicken. Scatter goat cheese and pecans over the top. Stir dressing; pour over salads. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5
5

Nut Oils on Salad: A drizzle of walnut, hazelnut, or almond oil makes a salad dressing--like the one in this salad--rich and interesting. Until recently, though, nut oils have generally been imported and pricey. Now, less expensive oils pressed from Western nuts are joining imports in grocery stores.

Step 6
6

Nut oils are good for your heart, as well as your salads. Almond and hazelnut oils are rich in monounsaturated fats, and walnut oil supplies omega-3 fatty acids. Refrigerate nut oils after opening; they turn rancid quickly at room temperature.

Step 7
7

Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving without skin.

Grilled Chicken and Nectarine Salad

Search All of Sunset's Recipes