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I often add croutons to this salad when I have some on-hand. The recipe is inspired by a salad I had at Tasty n Alder, a delightful restaurant in Portland, Ore. If you use large chicken thighs (around 8 oz or 250 g) you only need one per person. If you decide on smaller ones (around 4 oz or 125 g), serve two each. Bacon is good in this but can be omitted. Chicken can also be replaced with a poached egg.
Servings: 4
Ready Time: 1 hour
Vinaigrette
2/3 cup chopped avocado
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped shallots
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped tarragon
1 tbsp chopped basil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 large chicken thighs or 8 small
Salad
1 small head radicchio
2 head Belgian endive
4 oz (125 g) thick cut bacon, fried until crisp and broken into bite-size pieces
1 cup grated manchego cheese
Method
Use a stick blender or food processor to combine avocado, oil, yogurt, lemon juice, shallots, chives, tarragon, basil, mustard and honey. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide dressing in half. Place chicken thighs on an oiled baking sheet and brush half of dressing over chicken thighs. Marinate thighs for 30 minutes. Reserve remaining dressing for salad. If it is too thick, whisk in 1 tbsp water.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Bake thighs for 20 to 30 minutes or until cooked through and juices run clear.
Tear radicchio into pieces. Slice Belgian endive into strips. Toss together in a bowl. Add bacon and half of manchego. Toss with remaining half of dressing.
Place salad on 4 plates. Top each with chicken and scatter over remaining manchego.
Lucy Waverman