Chicken Rice Salad

Submitted by dale7793

"A very pretty salad with a slightly Morrocan feel to it. Special enough for a dinner party or just whenever! Easily adjusted for more or less servings."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 354.88 ml brown rice
• 4.92 ml olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 stalk celery, thinly sliced (optional)
• 118.29 ml dried apricot, sliced
• 118.29 ml currants
• 78.78 ml pistachio nut, toasted
• 59.14 ml of fresh mint, chopped
• 2 oranges, peeled and cut into 8 segments each
• 118.29 ml fat-free French dressing (or whatever type you prefer)
• 1 baby romaine lettuce, washed

directions

1. Cook rice until just tender and drain well.
2. Heat oil in a large non-stick pan or wok.
3. Cook garlic and chicken until chicken is just browned and cooked.
4. Remove chicken from pan and let rest 5 minutes, then slice the breasts thinly.
5. Combine rice, chicken, onion, celery, apricots, currants, nuts, mint and oranges in a large bowl.
6. Just before serving, stir through dressing.
7. Arrange lettuce leaves in the base and sides of 4 bowls and spoon salad over the top.
8. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Reviews

[Annie H]

I had such a great time making and eating this recipe! I'm not doing stars b/c, as is my habit, I alter a recipe with things I have(not) on hand. I used basmati rice b/c of a time contraint. I also cooked the onion with the chicken and garlic as I prefer cooked and it added a nice pungent sweetness. The chicken was chunked rather than sliced. I omited celery, apricots, corrants and mint, but used crasins and almonds. I cut the peel and pith from the orange and used membrane-free segments. I loved the lettuce-bed arrangment; it looked so classy. My 2 year old and I had a good time eating this with our hands. I even tried some of it wrapped in my garnish and that was delightful. I also added 1/2 tsp of Rogan Josh curry (Penzey's blend), 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper. I will definitely try this with the other fruits some time, but I will keep the spices, and maybe use sautee'd green onion for extra color. Thank you for a very fun and versatile recipe! I would give it 4 stars, b/c without the other spices I think it would have been a little bland. Edited to add: I totally forgot the French dressing!! Oh my goodness. I will have to try this and not forget it this time. I'm so sorry about that. Update: I tried it yesterday with the French dressing and really enjoyed it. I also used chopped dried apricots, raisins, and celery. I forgot about the pistacios. Once again I liked it rolled up in the lettuce leaves. Good measurement for the French dressing as it could so easily overwhelm the recipe, but it accents the flavors nicely.