I don’t love salads in the winter time. Out of season produce just isn’t appealing and neither is the idea that it was shipped from thousands of miles away to get to my home. My husband, on the other hand, pretty much requests “big salads” as a dinner each and every week. When I saw this recipe, which met his request without being filled with bland, watery cucumbers and spongy pink tomatoes I figured I’d break my self-imposed ban on salads.
I just love dried apricots. And I love chick peas and almonds. This salad would be great without the addition of the chicken, too. We had it with chicken and that made it all the more filling. If you skip the chicken, just double the chick peas.
If you look at my picture you’ll see that instead of almonds as dictated by the recipe, my salad is sporting pecans. I had a lovely batch of almonds toasting in the toaster oven. I turned off the oven, sat down to nurse the baby, and the residual heat burned the nuts to a crisp. The pecans were tasty but I am sure almonds would be better, so that’s what is reflected below in the recipe.
The end result was fantastic. The leftovers were great, too. I kept the lettuce separate from the rest of the toppings and just combined when it was time to serve. Nice, healthy, tasty, and a break from the usual salad rut!
Moroccan Chicken Salad with Chickpeas and Apricots (adapted from The Make Ahead Cook; seen on Annie’s Eats)
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- ½-¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp. garam masala
- ½ tsp. ground coriander
- Pinch smoked paprika
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1½ cups (1 15 oz. can) cooked chickpeas, rinsed
- 1 shallot, sliced thinly
- ¾ cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
- 2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
- 2 hearts of romaine lettuce, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup whole toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tbsp. of the olive oil until shimmering.
- Add the chicken to the pan cook until brown, about 5-6 minutes.
- Flip chicken over, add the water to the pan, and cover with a lid.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Slice into ½-inch thick slices on a bias. Set aside and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, combine 1 tablespoon of the olive oil with the garam masala, coriander, and paprika in a liquid measuring cup. Microwave for about 30 seconds until hot and fragrant. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice, the honey, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Whisking constantly, stream in the remaining oil.
- In a large bowl, combine cooled chicken, chickpeas, shallot, apricots, parsley and half of the dressing, toss.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into the dressing and whisk well.
- In a separate bowl, combine the romaine and almonds. Toss to mix well.
- When ready to serve, drizzle some of the dressing over the greens and toss to coat.
- Top with the chicken and chickpea mixture.
