The vinaigrette for tonight's meal serves two purposes - first as a marinade for chicken and then as the dressing to flavor the finished salad. Smarts: Butterhead lettuce is very tender with thin leaves, so you can leave the leaves intact and just arrange the salads on top of the whole leaves. Cooking methods: This recipe includes instructions for using the grill or stovetop. Select your preferred method.
Make vinaigrette - Whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, and honey. Add olive oil while whisking. Season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Marinate chicken - Combine chicken with vinaigrette (portion for chicken) and tenderize with a fork. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to a day. (Can be done up to 1 day ahead)
Corn - If using fresh corn, remove husks. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade) and season on both sides with some salt and pepper.
Heat grill to 425F / 218C degrees, keeping one part over direct heat and one part over indirect heat.
Brush grates with cooking oil and place chicken over direct heat. If using fresh corn, place it over direct heat as well. Sear chicken and corn until lightly charred on all sides.
Move chicken and corn to indirect heat and close the lid. Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165F / 74C degrees) and corn is tender.
Transfer chicken to a plate and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
If you grilled the corn, let it cool slightly and then slice kernels off cobs. If using frozen corn, defrost in the microwave.
Assemble salads by spreading lettuce out on serving plates (if the leaves are large, you can gently tear them into smaller pieces). Top with corn, radishes, green onions, avocados, pistachios, and goat cheese. Top salads with chicken and then drizzle with vinaigrette (portion for salad). Enjoy!
Prep
Make vinaigrette - Whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, and honey. Add olive oil while whisking. Season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Marinate chicken - Combine chicken with vinaigrette (portion for chicken) and tenderize with a fork. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to a day. (Can be done up to 1 day ahead)
Corn - If using fresh corn, slice kernels off cobs. If using frozen corn, defrost. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade) and season on both sides with some salt and pepper.
Heat a skillet with cooking oil over medium-high heat. Add corn kernels with some salt and saute until corn is warmed through and browning in spots, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
Return the pan to heat and add some additional cooking oil. Add chicken and sear on both sides. Reduce heat to medium and cover chicken with a lid or foil. Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, 165F / 74C degrees, 5 to 7 minutes more.
Transfer chicken to a plate and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
Assemble salads by spreading lettuce out on serving plates (if the leaves are large, you can gently tear them into smaller pieces). Top with corn, radishes, green onions, avocados, pistachios, and goat cheese. Top salads with chicken and then drizzle with vinaigrette (portion for salad). Enjoy!
This is a 5 star salad and the dressing is amazing!!! We made salads worry chicken on the side for the kids and let them select their toppings from what was prepped. We will definitely make this again, so many great textures! We subbed peanuts for pistachios since that's what we had on hand. Wish I could submit a picture on here.
Really enjoyed this combination. Oopsed on the marinade and didn't save any for the dressing. Subbed sunflower seeds for the pistachios. Hubby really liked it.
This was a miss for us. I was so excited to make it, but some thing about the flavors and textures, combined with the vinaigrette, didn’t quite work together in our families opinion.
A winning CookSmarts salad! Flavors were excellent and it was filling without feeling heavy. Made exactly as is except used romaine instead of butter lettuce.