This delightful summer dish will impress your guests before the first bite! Grilled chicken is balanced perfectly with the flavors and textures of pears, pecans, lettuce, goat cheese, and blanched broccolini.
INGREDIENTS (for 4 servings):
- 2 bunches Mann's Broccolini®
- Sweet-Tart Dressing (recipe below)
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinned, cut in half
- 3/4 pound mixed lettuces
- 2 pears, cored and sliced (may substitute red potatoes)
- 3/4 cup pecans, toasted, glazed (may substitute walnuts)
- 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
PREPARATION:
Drop Mann's Broccolini into boiling water. After 3 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water to stop additional cooking.
Remove 1/4 cup dressing from jar and toss with chicken breasts. Marinate 1 or 2 hours, if convenient. Discard marinade when ready to cook. If time is short, you can instead use the 1/4 cup dressing as a basting sauce during cooking.
Grill or broil chicken until done. Slice crosswise. Line 4 plates with lettuces and arrange Broccolini, pear (or potato) and chicken on top. Sprinkle with nuts and goat cheese. Drizzle with dressing.
Sweet-Tart Dressing: Crush 1/2 teaspoon each marjoram, basil, rosemary and ground black pepper in mortar to release flavors. Put seasonings in jar; add 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons sugar. Shake.
*To glaze nuts, combine 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons water in skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it melts and turns golden. Watch carefully as it turns color. Pour syrup over toasted pecans on oiled cookie sheet. Quickly separate nuts for even glaze. When cool, crack off excess candy.