Greatest Salad Ever, Warm Chicken, Bacon, Tomato and Balsamic
This salad is AWESOME! I probably eat this salad at least once a week, and have for a few years. It's probably the backbone, or foundation of my entire outlook on this way of eating. It's fresh, warm, comforting, delicious, a little sweet, a little dangerous, it has no FrankenFoods, it's a combination of cooked and raw ingredients, plus ... it has BACON!
This particular salad is more or less the "home version" of a salad that I learned to make working at a San Francisco restaurant called "Postrio" in 1992. I loved it, then ... and I love it now!
If I had to be truly honest about how I make this ... the end result isn't as attractive as the photo. In the photo, I cooked the whole chicken breast, then sliced it. I cheated ... for a pretty photo. In reality, I just cut raw chicken into chunks and saute it with olive oil and/or bacon fat. The recipe will explain it. I hope you enjoy this salad HALF as much as I have through the years!
This particular salad is more or less the "home version" of a salad that I learned to make working at a San Francisco restaurant called "Postrio" in 1992. I loved it, then ... and I love it now!
If I had to be truly honest about how I make this ... the end result isn't as attractive as the photo. In the photo, I cooked the whole chicken breast, then sliced it. I cheated ... for a pretty photo. In reality, I just cut raw chicken into chunks and saute it with olive oil and/or bacon fat. The recipe will explain it. I hope you enjoy this salad HALF as much as I have through the years!
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 933.43kcal
Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed baby greens washed
- 1 lb fresh mozzarella cubed
- 1 lb fresh tomatoes cubed
- 16 leaves fresh basil hand torn
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 each boneless chicken breasts cubed (or equivalent thigh meat - skin optional)
- 2 each garlic clove minced
- 8 slices raw bacon chopped (for bits)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl, add greens, mozzarella, tomatoes and large pieces of hand torn basil leaves, keeping the tomatoes on the side of the bowl, in a nice pile.
- Season the tomatoes with a little salt and pepper (the salt will pull the tomato juice from the tomatoes, which will mix with the salad, later).
- In a cup, place the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Set the vinaigrette aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cut chicken with the chopped garlic. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper.
- In a sauté pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until the bacon is crispy.
- Remove the bacon from the bacon grease and set aside, while leaving the grease in the hot pan.
- Add the seasoned chicken to the hot bacon fat and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
- At the last minute, at the bacon back into the chicken, simply to warm it up.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the top of the salad, in the salad bowl.
- Pour the hot chicken, bacon and bacon fat over the tomatoes, in the salad bowl.
- Quickly toss the salad, serve and eat! Should slightly wilt and have a great sweet bacon taste!
Nutrition
Serving: 4g | Calories: 933.43kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.6775g | Protein: 59.72g | Fat: 69.7775g | Fiber: 2.255g