Grilled Chicken Salad with Fire Roasted Chile Honey Dressing

I cannot believe it is nearly half way through July. It seems like the days just evaporate every week. Maybe it’s because I am really busy. I could also be having way too much fun and we all know that time passes quickly when that’s the case.

If you have been reading our site, you know that I have been having lots of fun lately and have been working hard. I have been busy planning with Jaden Hair and Diane Cu to bring Food Blog Forum to Atlanta in September. I have been interviewing some amazing chefs (Chef Johannes Klapdohr and Chef John Fleer). I also have some other really nifty articles that will be coming in the next few months.

I also know that I have been preparing far too many desserts. I have definitely been taking advantage of the local fresh fruits and berries, then I had The Daring Bakers Challenge with all the decadent chocolate mousse. Most recently, I made Chef John Fleer’s amazing Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Strawberry-Champagne Soup. That dessert is truly over the top!

I have to admit that after all the sweets, I need to go on a very strict diet have been craving something light and healthy for dinner on these miserable and sweltering warm summer evenings.

I received a lovely goodie bag from the folks at Honey Ridge Farms a few weeks ago. Honey Ridge Farms is located in Brush Prairie, Washington. They make all-natural specialty gourmet honeys and honey-based specialty foods. They are a small family business where the grandson is working with his grandfather as a fifth-generation beekeeper. These are the kind of products I love to try and support!

Their balsamic honey vinegar is award winning, so I was particularly interested in using some of the Fire Roasted Chile Honey Vinegar in a dressing. This vinegar has lots of heat from the roasted chile (my kind of vinegar!) and is tangy and spicy and perfect for mixing with olive oil for an easy dressing. I used more of the vinegar than I normally would when I combined it with the olive oil because the flavors were just delicious.

It has all of the seasonings in the vinegar that you could possibly want, so I did not need to add another thing. I am sure that this would be a great addition to other salads and marinades for light and east dinners. Since summer is fleeting by, the less time spent in the kitchen, the better.

I had purchased some lovely red and yellow beets at the farmers market, so I decided to roast them. I really think this is a delicious way to prepare beets and it is so simple. I never cook them any other way now.

I marinated the beets for about a half hour in some of the dressing and they were just delicious! They almost didn’t make it into that big salad bowl. They were so sweet and good that I couldn’t stop snacking.

We had a half of a chicken leftover from grilling the evening before, so I chopped up the breast meat, sliced hard boiled eggs and added some feta cheese (I love that stuff.). I would have added some avocado, but ours was not ripe. I would definitely add it next time.

This is the perfect dinner when it’s hot outside and time is escaping to prepare a quick meal. It cannot be much easier or delicious than this.

Add a crusty loaf of French bread and a crisp white wine (such as a Sauvignon Blanc) and enjoy a relaxing evening this week.

Print Recipe

Grilled Chicken Salad with Fire Roasted Chile Honey Dressing

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

4 fresh beets (I like a combination of red and yellow)
1 5-ounce package of mixed baby lettuces
1 3.5-ounce package crumbled low-fat feta
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
Leftover chicken breast meat, preferably from a whole, grilled chicken
Any other vegetables or ingredients that you might want to add (I would suggest ripe, sliced avocado)
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons Fire Roasted Chile Honey Vinegar (you can use a little less if you like – I preferred the texture of the dressing with more vinegar and less oil)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash, dry and wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for approximately 45-50 minutes, depending on the size of your beets. You should be able to easily put a knife into the beet. When they are done, remove from the oven, open to let the heat escape from the foil. Cool until you can handle them.

Meanwhile, whisk together the olive oil and Fire Roasted Chile Honey Vinegar to make the dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When beets are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into 1/4 inch wedges. If you are using red and yellow beets, be sure to keep them separate because the colors will run. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the dressing (or more to taste) over each of the dishes of beet wedges. Toss together and taste for seasoning. Cover and leave at room temperature. Let the beets marinate in the dressing for at least 1/2 hour. *You may not use all the beets for the salad, so you can nibble on them while you are putting everything together!

When you are ready to prepare the salad, put the baby lettuces in a large bowl and arrange the chicken, beets, feta and egg slices on top. Drizzle with the remaining dressing. Serve immediately.