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Grilled Chicken Salad with Apples and Roquefort

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are often derided as dry and bland. But I love pounding them and then grilling them until juicy. Their subtlety makes them perfect for a range of flavors—especially in salads. This is one I eat throughout autumn as a complete meal.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to an even 1/4-inch thickness
Kosher salt
1 Belgian endive, leaves separated and sliced
2 cups frisée lettuce, chopped
1 1/3 cups baby arugula
1 cup diced radicchio
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
1 Gala apple, cored and julienned
1 cup Candied Paprika Pecans (page 29)
Red Wine Citrus Vinaigrette (page 244)
1 3/4 ounces Roquefort or other blue cheese, crumbled (1/3 cup)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat your grill to high. Use a lightly oiled kitchen towel to carefully grease the grill grate.

    Step 2

    In a small bowl, combine the mint, tarragon, thyme, zest, pepper, and oil. Generously season the chicken with salt, then rub the herb oil all over. Grill the chicken, turning once, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest while you make the salad.

    Step 3

    In a large bowl, gently toss the endive, frisée, arugula, radicchio, avocado, apple, and pecans with the vinaigrette until well mixed.

    Step 4

    Divide the salad among serving plates. Slice the chicken and divide among the salad. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken. Serve immediately.

  2. c’est bon

    Step 5

    To get an even 1/4-inch-thick chicken breast, you don’t simply pound away. Put the chicken breast smooth side down on a work surface. Cut a slit lengthwise straight down the center, stopping 1/4 inch from the bottom. At the base of the slit, turn the knife 90 degrees and cut along one side parallel to the bottom of the chicken, but don’t cut through the end. Repeat on the other side. Open the two flaps you’ve just created. Gently pound the chicken until nice and flat.

Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family. Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.
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