Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta

Every once in a while I hit upon a recipe that is amazing.  Most of my recipes come about by trial and error and Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta is one such recipe.  It is a combination of two recipes with a few extra ingredients thrown in.

Clients hire me as a personal chef for many reasons such as special diets, a fear/dislike of grocery shopping and cooking, and busy work and personal schedules and they would like to eat healthy, home cooked meals and not drive thru or restaurant food.  The main advantage of having EAT! in your kitchen for a few hours is that you get fresh, home made meals, snacks, salads, and whatever else you would like that are personalized to your tastes.  There is no set menu like at a restaurant so your dining options are limitless.

I cook for today's EAT! client on a weekly basis.  A typical menu includes a variety of entrees and sides for dinners for the week, ingredients for making sandwiches for daily lunches and a salad of some sort.  This week my client will be enjoying my latest creation of Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta.  Grilled chicken is tossed with a chimichurri dressing along with kirby cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, scallions, chickpeas, fresh dill and feta cheese.  The salad will stay fresh for a few days in the refrigerator.

Toss up a batch of Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta and be your own personal chef.  Unless you want EAT! to do it for you  ;) 

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta

serves 4

for chimichurri dressing -
1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves
1/2 jalapeno
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

for the salad --
olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut in bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 (10 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 kirby cucumber, seeded and chopped
4 scallions, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 lemon

In a food processor, combine the parsley, cilantro, oregano, vinegar, garlic, jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Pulse to combine.  Drizzle in olive oil and process until dressing is slightly creamy but still coarse.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.  ** Note -- This recipe makes more dressing than needed for the salad.  Store remaining dressing in a covered dish in the refrigerator for about a week.  Serve it on grilled steak, chicken, fish, or pork chops.

Heat a grill pan to medium high heat.  Add a small drizzle of olive oil and the chicken.  Cook for 5 - 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Toss with about 3 - 4 tablespoons of the dressing.  Add fresh dill, chickpeas, cucumber, scallions, tomatoes, and feta cheese.  Squeeze lemon over salad and toss to combine.  Add more dressing if you would like.  The salad can be served immediately or chilled.