Chicken Panzanella Salad
This recipe has summer written all over it, thanks to a pretty medley of cherry tomatoes. Never mind the marinated chicken tenders nestled on top of the salad with its vinaigrette and tomato juice-soaked ciabatta bread and darling bocconcini, pearl-sized balls of fresh mozzarella.
Servings
Produce
Arugula
2 1 oz
Basil
.25 0.13 oz
Cherry Tomato
12 6 oz
Bell peppers (Organic)
5 2.5 oz
Red Onion (Organic)
1/2 0.25 Whole
Protein & more
Chicken Tenders
1 0.5 lb
Ciabatta roll
4 2 Whole
Bocconcini (in water)
8 4 oz
Pantry items
Olive oil
1 0.5 teaspoon
Sea salt
1 0.5 teaspoon
Spice mix
Italian marinade
Olive oil
3 1.5 oz
Red wine vinegar
1 0.5 oz
Garlic
1 0.5 Clove
White sugar
2 1 teaspoon
Basil, dried
1 0.5 teaspoon
Sea salt
0.25 0.13 teaspoon
Panzanella Dressing
Red wine vinegar
1 0.5 oz
Olive oil
3 1.5 oz
Garlic
1 0.5 Clove
Prep ahead (optional)
a. Trim sweet pepper stem & seeds; ¼” dice or thinly slice. b. Stack basil leaves, roll up lengthwise & slice ribbons. c. Very thinly slice red onion. d. Slice cherry tomatoes in half.
Instructions
1
Prep:
a. Preheat oven to 300°.
b. In medium bowl, add chicken tenders and Italian marinade (blue dot). Set aside.
c. In large bowl, add cherry tomatoes (slice in half) and ½ tsp salt. Set aside.
d. Cut ciabatta into 1” cubes. Add to baking pan in one layer, leaving room to add chicken tenders. (Finishing the chicken tenders in the oven will save some active cooking time. If that isn’t a concern you can also cook tenders from start to finish in the sauté pan, just be sure to turn occasionally for even browning.) Place pan in oven to dry and lightly toast bread, about 20 minutes.
2
Cook chicken tenders:
a. In large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add 2 tsp olive oil.
b. Add chicken tenders. Watch for splatters! Season chicken with ½ tsp salt.
c. Sear chicken on all sides. Continue cooking in sauté pan, about 7-10 minutes, or add to baking pan in oven to finish. If adding to oven, cook chicken until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
3
Assemble panzanella salad:
a. To bowl with tomatoes, add sweet peppers (trim stem & seeds, ¼” dice or thinly slice), red onion (very thinly slice), arugula (leave whole), bocconcini, and ciabatta cubes.
b. Add panzanella dressing and toss to combine.
4
Serve:
a. Divide panzanella salad among plates.
b. Top with chicken tenders and garnish with basil (stack leaves, roll up lengthwise & slice ribbons).
Chef's notes
If you think your kids will view the bread in the salad as soggy, cut it into slices, dress with olive oil and toast in the oven to make yummy croutons.
All spice mixes and dressings made by Inner Chef from scratch with organic ingredients, local when possible.
This week’s local ingredients across all Inner Chef meal-kits come from:
Gundermann Acres,
Wharton County, TX
Wharton County, TX
Fagan Family Farm
Lone Star Herbs,
League City, TX
League City, TX
G&S Groves,
Mission, TX
Mission, TX
The Farm Patch,
Pleasanton, TX
Pleasanton, TX
Kitchen Pride,
Gonzales, TX
Gonzales, TX
Fruitful Hill Farm,
Bastrop, TX
Bastrop, TX
J&B Farms,
Hondo, TX
Hondo, TX
Martinez Farms,
Pleasanton, TX
Pleasanton, TX
J&D Farms
Village Farms,
Marfa, TX
Marfa, TX