Balsamic Chicken Breasts over Spinach Salad with Mushrooms, Bacon & Warm Shallot Dressing
Submitted by happyzhangbo
Balsamic-rosemary chicken cutlets sliced over fresh spinach with crispy bacon, mushrooms, radishes, and a warm shallot-mustard vinaigrette. A low-calorie dinner salad that’s filling enough to be the whole meal.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
12 minCOOK
16 minREADY
28 minThis is the dinner salad that actually satisfies.
Thin chicken cutlets get a quick balsamic-rosemary coating and sear up in minutes, while crispy bacon bits and a warm shallot dressing turn a bowl of spinach into something you genuinely look forward to eating.
Sliced mushrooms, peppery radishes, and scallions add crunch and color.
The warm dressing wilts the spinach just slightly, creating that sweet spot between raw salad and cooked greens.
Kitchen Tips
- Use center-cut bacon to cut down on grease splatter. It renders cleaner than regular cut.
- Whisk the oil into the mustard and vinegar in a slow, steady stream. Rushing it will break the emulsion and leave you with a greasy, separated dressing.
- Cook the chicken cutlets in a single layer. Crowding the pan steams them instead of giving you that golden sear.
- Toss the salad with the warm dressing right before plating so the spinach wilts just enough without going limp.
Ingredients
Directions
Whisk together balsamic, oil, seasoning and rosemary in a large bowl, add chicken, mix until evenly coated. Set aside.
In a skillet, stir in chopped bacon, work in 2 batches.
Brown bacon over medium high heat, then transfer the bits to a paper towel lined plate to drain the excess fat.
Using center cut bacon will cut down on the pan drippings that spatter.
Coarsely chop spinach leaves and place to salad bowl.
Top with mushrooms, radishes, scallions. Season salad with salt and pepper to taste.
Clean the bacon pan with a papper towel and bring back to stove turning heat back to medium low.
Add 1 tablespoon oil for your dressing and shallots and reduce heat to medium.
Sauté shallots for about 4 minutes. Remove oil and shallots from heat.
In a bowl, whisk together mustard and balsamic vinegar.
Stream in 4 tablespoons oil gradually while whisking the dressing to emulsify it.
Add warm shallots and toss with spinach salad to coat evenly.
Add cooked bacon and toss again.
Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.
Cook chicken cutlets, 4 minutes on each side, in a single layer.
Slice breasts on an angle on your cutting board once they are all out of the pan.
Arrange spinach salad on to dinner plates.
Place 2 sliced chicken cutlet pieces on top of the salad.
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