South Beach Style Warm Chicken Salad

I tasted a version of this salad while eating lunch at a restuarant in Fishkill, NY. I asked the waitress for the recipe, and she vaguely described how they prepared the chicken. Last night, I attempted to recreate the entire dish, and was very pleased with the results. Here is what I came up with. Please note that all of the dressing ingredients will be to taste and also the chicken cook time will be slightly different depending upon how much your pieces weigh, as well as how thinly you pound them. Herbes de Provence is a French dried herb blend containing lavendar. If you can't find it, use another herb blend you prefer. To get the amount of ground pistachios you will need to purchase a little over half a pound of them in the shell, then grind the nutmeats in a food processor until they resemble bread crumbs - and then measure them after grinding.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4  boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded thin
• 1  cup  finely ground salted pistachios
• 4  slices bacon
• 4  tablespoons  crumbled feta cheese or 4  tablespoons blue cheese
• 2  cups  whole cherry tomatoes, rinsed and dried
• 8  cups  mixed salad greens, rinsed and dried
• 2  teaspoons olive oil, approximately

• Dressing

• 1⁄4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1  teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1  tablespoon sugar substitute or 1  tablespoon granulated sugar (If not on low-carb diet)
• 1  teaspoon  herbes de provence, to taste
• 1⁄2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, to taste
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder, to taste (not garlic salt)
•  salt, to taste
•  fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1⁄2 cup canola oil
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1⁄8 cup  cold water, as needed

Directions

1. Combine the dressing ingredients,except oils and water, using a whisk to blend well.
2. Slowly add oils while whisking fiercely, until all is incorporated.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding a little cold water if the taste is too vinegary.
4. Pour into a microwave-safe deep glass container and set aside.
5. Cook bacon strips in a large skillet a few minutes each side until crisp, remove to paper towel-lined plate to cool.
6. Drain off bacon grease, but don't clean out the pan (you will be using the same pan to cook the chicken in, and that bit of residual bacon essence will help flavor the meat).
7. Set out four large dinner plates and place 2 cups salad greens on each, then sprinkle cherry tomatoes and cheese around the edges of each plate; set aside.
8. Coat chicken pieces heavily with the ground nuts (discard any excess that doesn't stick).
9. Preheat oven to 350 F and have ready an ungreased 9x13" casserole.
10. Heat a little olive oil in the same skillet you cooked the bacon in, over about medium heat (use just enough oil to keep meat from sticking).
11. Brown chicken pieces 3-4 minutes per side, with the lid on- or until both sides have browned evenly, being careful to adjust the heat if needed to keep nuts from burning.
12. Place chicken into ungreased casserole dish and bake about 10 minutes, or until fully cooked (if your breasts are really thin, check early, if they are thicker, you may need another 5 minutes).
13. While the chicken is baking,re-whisk the dressing again and pop it into the microwave to heat for 30 seconds, stir, then heat another 30 secoinds- just until slightly warmed, not hot (NOTE:since microwaves vary, you may need to adjust the time so you don't boil the oil).
14. Drizzle about 1 Tbsp of the warmed dressing over each salad plate; Pour the rest of the dressing into a serving dish to set on the table for each guest add as much or as little extra dressing as they prefer.
15. Crumble bacon and sprinkle evenly over each plate.
16. When chicken is fully cooked, remove to a cutting board and cut each breast into thin strips,trying to keep them together so they still look like a whole chicken breast shape.
17. Using a long spatula, lift each sliced chicken breast and place in the center of each salad.
18. Grind a bit of fresh black pepper and a pinch of salt over each serving.
19. Serve immediately with the extra dressing on the side.