Chicken Frico Market Salad
With avocado, a lemony vinaigrette & lots of pistachios
With avocado, a lemony vinaigrette & lots of pistachios
I really said “we’ve got the $30 LA restaurant salad at home” with this one. If you’ve never made frico (cheese crisps) before, prepare to have your life changed: you grate some cheese, shape into a circle and after about 4 minutes in the oven, you’ve got a crispy for topping salads, pastas and sandwiches: I like to crumble mine a bit but you can also shape them into a little roll a minute or so after they come out of the oven if you’d like them to look extra cute. This takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, with 20 minutes of roasting time for the chicken. Serves two.
Ingredients:
For the frico:
1/2 cup pecorino or parmesan, finely grated
A few twists of freshly ground black pepper
For the chicken:
1.5 lb Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
5 Tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp garlic granules or two garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
1/2 tsp dried dill
Lots of Freshly ground black pepper
A few dashes of ground ginger (the spice, not fresh)
A few dashes of your favorite hot sauce, I like Louisiana, Crystal & Siete’s Jalapeno sauce
For the lemon dressing:
6 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp champagne vinegar (this is also a great chance to experiment with any infused vinegar you might have instead: meyer lemon, honey, other citrust, etc)
The juice of half a meyer lemon (or a regular one if you can’t find these)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp minced (jarred) ginger or ginger juice
Pinch of sumac
Pinch of cinnamon
A few pinches of flaky salt, start small and taste as you go
* You only need about half the dressing for the salad. The rest will be left over for a future salad :)
For the salad:
Head of [or 4oz clamshell of] little gems, baby spring mix, or butter lettuce
1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios, roughly chopped
Flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest of half a lemon
Handful of fresh dill, torn
Avocado, thinly sliced
For serving
Juice of half a lemon
Favorite hot sauce
Olive oil for the avocado
Flaky salt
Directions:
To a medium-sized bowl, add the chicken thighs, 5 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp garlic granules or 2 smashed and chopped garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp dried dill, some freshly ground black pepper, a few dashes of ground ginger (the spice), and a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce. Give everything a good mix, making sure that all sides of the chicken are coated. Let this sit at room temp for 30 minutes (or refrigerate for two hours, then pull it out 30 minutes before roasting).
In the meantime, make the frico: preheat the oven to 400°F and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat sheet. In a small bowl, toss the pecorino with several twists of black pepper.
Create a few small frico rounds with a Tbsp of the cheese and pepper mixture, patting each mound down to flatten. Bake until golden, 4-5 minutes. Let cool until crisp (10 min) then remove from the sheet pan and set aside.
Lower the oven temp to 300°F for the chicken. While you wait for it to cool down, make your salad dressing in a mason jar or small bowl with a lid: combine 6 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp champagne vinegar, the juice of half a lemon, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1/2 Tbsp honey, 1/2 tsp minced (jarred) ginger or ginger juice, a pinch of sumac, a pinch of cinnamon and a few pinches of flaky salt (start small and taste as you go). See if you’d like a little more honey. Whisk to combine, then cover and place in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
On the same pan you made the frico on, add each piece of chicken in a single layer, topping with any remaining marinade plus another drizzle of olive oil over the top of all the chicken. Sprinkle each piece with a little kosher salt. Add the oven for 20 minutes, flipping once halfway. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Thinly slice or shred the chicken, then squeeze the remaining half of the lemon juice over top, add back to the pan and toss to coat. Add a pinch of flaky salt and set aside.
Slice and dress your avocado with a drizzle of olive oil and some flaky salt.
In a large serving bowl, combine your salad dressing and toss with your lettuce and dill. Sprinkle the sliced/shredded chicken throughout, topping with pistachios, lemon zest, the avocado, frico bits, and some freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!
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