How delicious are summer salads? Fresh, satisfying, rich, and tasty! Super colorful and often vitamin-rich unique dishes, perfect to bring to the table on the hottest days or to enjoy under the umbrella at the beach! Their characteristic is versatility and practicality, in fact, they are easy and quick to make, and you can vary them each time with whatever you desire! Having recently opened the new section Special Cold Salads, I invite you to replicate some recipes in this regard and, of course, this refreshing chicken salad, super nutritious and tasty! A truly unique mix of flavors! At the base, lettuce hearts to add a touch of crunchiness, grilled chicken strips with rosemary, fresh cucumbers with a decent vitamin and mineral content, oblong tomatoes, red onion rings, black olives, salted capers, and a sweet and sour touch with pickled onions. The whole dish is dressed with oil, salt, and lime juice, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds! Serve this salad with slightly toasted baguette crostini, you will get a unique and complete dish from a nutritional point of view! If you want, for more completeness, you can also add legumes like chickpeas or cannellini beans. It will be perfect for your outdoor summer brunches, in the countryside, by the sea, and even to take to the office.
If you, like me, could live only on fresh salads in the summer, here are other ideas for inspiration:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Grill
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work while costing you nothing extra!
- 14 oz chicken breast
- 1 baguette (small)
- 3 tomatoes (oblong)
- 1 lettuce (heart and crispest leaves)
- 1 cucumber (small)
- 1 red onion
- 1.75 oz black olives
- 1.25 oz salted capers
- 2 tablespoons pickled onions
- to taste sesame seeds
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- Some leaves basil
- 1.2 cups extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lime juice
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Non-stick grill
- 1 Knife
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Salad bowl
Steps
Start by grilling the chicken breasts on both sides on a well-heated grill, seasoning the surface and flavoring with rosemary sprigs, then let them cool and cut them into strips.
On a chopping board, cut the mini baguette into slices and then into pieces.
On the same grill where you grilled the chicken, toast the bread until lightly golden.
Wash, trim, and cut the cucumber into cubes.
In a large salad bowl, place the lettuce heart cut into julienne strips, then add the cucumber cubes.
Also add the oblong tomatoes previously washed and cut into rings, the now cold chicken strips, the desalted capers under running water and well-squeezed, and the pickled onions.
Finally, add the red onion cut into rings, the pitted olives, and the toasted bread croutons. Flavor everything with extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, a pinch of salt, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top.
Serve with some fresh basil leaves.
And voila… your cold chicken salad with cucumbers, pickled onions, olives, and capers is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appetit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣 To this already tasty salad, you can add avocado sliced, corn, and replace the sesame seeds with other preferred oily seeds like flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.
