Zucchini and Chicken Salad

***Brad and I love salads...especially this time of year. The following recipe is for a salad that easily makes my "top 5 salads...ever!" list. This one is seriously tasty. The light, lemony dressing makes all the flavors pop. On first seeing this recipe, you might be thinking that it's a strange mix of ingredients. I never in a million years would have thought to combine zucchini, chicken, pecans, and mint...but it definitely works. It's the perfect summer salad, combining fresh veggies of the season with a light, yummy taste.

This is yet another recipe from my new favorite cookbook by Martha Stewart: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. If you haven't gotten this cookbook yet, I highly recommend it!***

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/4 pounds zucchini, thinly sliced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bunch (about 8 ounces) spinach, chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup oil and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Add zucchini; toss to coat, and let marinate while cooking chicken.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil over medium. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken until golden brown and opaque throughout, about 7 minutes per side.

Toss chicken with zucchini mixture, spinach, onion, pecans, Parmesan, and mint. Serve.

Helpful Hint:
This recipe can also be made using leftover or store-bought roasted chicken.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Celeste! This looks so good! Thank you for posting this because I'm seriously going to make it this week now! YUM!

August 5, 2008 at 6:31 AM

What's Cookin Chicago said…

This looks so refreshing and that addition of mint sounds great!

August 5, 2008 at 9:29 AM

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Sugar & Spice by Celeste

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