My friend Anne sent me the idea for the salad, and one night when I didn’t really feel like cooking, I threw it together and voila! A really delicious dinner salad. Cook an extra chicken from the night before and use the left over meat to make the salad for a quick, low fuss option.
Anne’s Roasted Potato and Green Bean Balsamic Chicken Salad
2 1/2 cups roasted chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 lb green beans, trimmed
12 small new potatoes, quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 green onions, chopped finely
small bunch of fresh herbs; safe, rosemary, parsley chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
lemon
Steam the potatoes in the microwave or in a double boiler until just tender crisp. Transfer to a sheet covered with a piece of paper towel and dry them well. They must be dry for the oil to stick so they get crispy in teh next step.
Pre heat your oven to about 400 F. Place a roasting pan in the oven for a few minutes and allow it to get hot. Meanwhile, toss the cooled and dried potatoes with a bit of olive oil.
Toss the oiled potatoes onto the hot roasting pan and place it in the oven. Let the potatoes cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are golden all over. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, steam the green beans until tender crisp. Remove from heat and dry on a piece of paper towel.
In a large bowl, toss the cooked chicken, cooled potatoes, green onion, garlic, and green beans. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Spoon over the chicken mixture and toss to coat. You may not need all of it, just season it how you prefer. Zest a lemon right over top of the mixture, then cut the lemon in 1/2 and squeeze the juice from one half over the salad. Toss.
Serves 4.