Winter Chicken Salad w/ Blood Oranges & Almonds



On the quest for some healthy salads this week, I came across Mindy Fox's recipe for a chicken salad w/ blood oranges in Food & Wine.

This was light lunch fare, and made me feel good to know I was eating something with almost negative calories.

Did I ever mention that for as much as I love blood oranges, I hate peeling them?
They require a sharp paring knife to remove all the thick skin, then you pull the membranes off of them and try to expose that beautiful ruby red flesh without damaging them.



If you don't feel like using blood oranges, by all means use a naval orange.

I felt that the dressing was lacking something, so I added a tsp of grainy mustard, and that did the trick.

This makes a large quantity, so feel free to cut the recipe in half, as I did.
The leftover broth made a delicious chicken soup for the next day!



Winter Chicken Salad w/ Blood Oranges & Almonds:

2 whole chicken breasts, bone in with skin (4 halves)
5 celery ribs (3 will be for the broth, 2 for the salad)
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp salt
3 garlic cloves, smashed
3 blood oranges, cut into pieces (save the peels for the stock)
1 cup of shaved Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup of chopped Marcona almonds (delicious oily Spanish variety of almonds)
1 bunch of fresh baby arugula

Dressing:

3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup of olive oil
3 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp grainy mustard
salt & pepper

Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.

In a large pot, add the 3 celery stalks, smashed garlic cloves, peppercorns, and the peel of the oranges with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and add the chicken breasts. Cook for exactly 16 minutes, then remove from the heat and let the chicken rest in the water for 30 minutes.

Believe it or not, this really worked, and the breasts were cooked perfectly.

Remove chicken from the stock and let cool. Save the broth for soup. Remove skin and shred the meat with your hands.

In a large bowl, mix the cooled chicken with the blood orange sections, sliced celery and some of the dressing.

Mound on a platter of arugula and sprinkle with chopped almonds and shaved cheese.



Enjoy!

Comments

What a beautiful salad Stacey. I totally agree. Blood oranges are a pain to work with. But when the salad turns out this gorgeous, perhaps it's worth it.
Sam
Amy said…
You made such a great salad. I love the large slices of parmesan. Such a refreshing meal. Thanks.
Anonymous said…
You did a beautiful job on the blood oranges, but I wanted to pass along this tip. Last winter, I started doing a lot of salads w/citrus inspired by a recipe in Andrew Carmellini's wonderful URBAN ITALIAN. Here's Andrew - How to segment the oranges: with the peel still on, slice the ends off an orange. Set it on one end and, with a small, sharp knife, slice off the peel and the white pith together. Holding the peeled orange in your hand, cut along the inside of each white segmenting line. Remove the “supremes” (the meat, the best part) to a bowl, leaving all the membranes attached to the “skeleton.” Squeeze all the juice out of this skeleton into the bowl with the supremes, then discard the skeleton. - Love that hit of vitamin C!
Stacey Snacks said…
Anonymous:
I have watched a great video on "supreming citrus fruits". It looks easier than it is.
I tried it last night with a plain orange, and getting in between the membranes was no pleasure.
I guess practice makes perfect, but it has never been fun for me!
Pam said…
I haven't had blood oranges for a long time. This salad looks wonderful. It's full of great flavors, textures, and colors. YUM.
The JR said…
Very pretty. Looks tasty too!
Claudia said…
Staring at gorgeous blood oranges. Serendipity.I don't mind if my oranges segments are messy - just thinking how packed with flavor this will be!
The Food Hunter said…
I love this salad it looks so delcious. I need to get my hands on some blood oranges.
kat said…
There are some really good flavors going on there & I so crave citrus this time of year
I love blood oranges!!! They are my favorite!! Giada has a good and easy method for cutting the segments out of citrus!! Try it! Also I love the way you used the orange peel to poach the chicken and give it extra flavor!! I'll definitely try that!
last summer I had to supreme two cases of oranges - I am now good at it...LOL - this salad looks awesome.
Kathy Walker said…
Beautiful salad! I have never worked with blood oranges....I may venture forth! I like using the orange peel to enhance the flavor of the chicken.
I love everything about this salad, and don't get me started on marcona almonds!( my hidden guilty pleasure)I have 2 blood oranges waitng to be used, but first I'm making your cauliflower pasta tonight, oh and I made your choc chip cake on Sunday. Thanks Stacey Snacks!!
Anonymous said…
Two cases! Poor doggybloggy. Were you on an ashram? Jail?
Shelby said…
This salad sounds yummy! I love blood oranges but I can rarely come across them.
I've been battling a head cold for days now with no appetite, but this salad is making me hungry. Always love citrus in salads. Might have to get myself back in the kitchen and assemble this one.