Mediterranean Grilled Chicken with Chopped Spinach Salad
Serves: 2-4
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 tsp avocado oil or similar
1 bottle Produce & Provide Mediterranean Dressing
1 cup pasta, such as penne or orecchiette, if subbing gluten free, I love Jovial pasta.
½ cup no fuss pickled red onion, see below
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
½ cup favorite olives- I recommend castelvetrano or kalamata
1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
½ cup pepperoncini peppers, roughly chopped
1 cup feta, crumbled
½ cup crunchy chickpeas, such as Saffron Road sea salt flavored
1 bunch spinach, washed and stemmed
To prepare the chicken, lay one of the chicken breasts on a cutting board. Using your chefs knife, slice horizontally through the middle of the breast, leaving a half inch intact at the far end. You should be able to open your chicken breast up as if it was a book. Repeat with the other chicken breast.
Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the avocado oil to the pan, and when it starts to shimmer, spread the chicken breasts flat in the pan, cooking in batches if necessary. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes before flipping over and cooking for another 3 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
Shake the Mediterranean dressing well, then add a half cup to the chicken, allowing it to marinade while you prepare the salad.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions. Allow the pasta to cool.
Toss the cooled down pasta, pickled red onion, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini peppers, feta, crunchy chickpeas and spinach together in a bowl. Shake the Mediterranean dressing well, then drizzle the desired amount on top of the salad, add a pinch of salt and pepper and toss to combine.
Place the chicken on a plate, top with the salad and serve immediately.
Quick Pickled Onion:
1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 lemon, juiced
Sea salt to taste
Mix the thinly sliced red onion with the lemon juice and a teaspoon of salt in a bowl and reserve. The onions will start to pickle, give them 15 minutes for the acid and salt to work their magic.