Greek Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe
Who's Cooking Again?
There are times that God, I'm so bored of having to cook and prepare a whole dinner. Make the table, clean the table, wash all the dishes. There are nights that I just wanna lay on the sofa, with my glass of wine, have a bite and call it a day. Therefore, sometimes I prefer Easy Meals. Something like this Greek Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe where you throw everything into a bowl mix it up a bit, and dear couch here I come...
Nothing Goes Wasted...
The day before yesterday, I bought a whole chicken which was 2,3 kg. Since it was that large I didn't cook the whole thing. So after cutting the chicken into portions, I saved the two chicken fillets for later use. Yesterday night, I was thinking and rethinking of what to cook once again... So I decided to take the one chicken fillet and to make a nice pasta salad with it. Why not?
So I made it, put it in the fridge to cool and watched my favorite TV show (the Voice of course). Took it out after an hour, grabbed a plate for my self (leaving the rest in the fridge for the others) and voila no muss no fuss. I had a nice light meal, yet fulfilling, without making me feel heavy. And it's there ready and waiting in the fridge for any family member who comes home. Plus, if you suffer from late-night cravings, you can keep this salad in the fridge just in case. It will fill your stomach, without giving you a number of calories other little devils, like sweets or chips, do.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Greek But Mainly Mediterranean Flavors
It's not a traditional Greek dish. Actually, it's more like a modern version of a Greek salad. It's packed with Mediterranean flavors. A yummy combination of cherry tomatoes, fusilli pasta, and balsamic vinegar (big thanks to our Italian neighbors for inventing it and make any salad taste amazing). I choose fusilli because even if you slightly overcook it, it still keeps a crispiness which is what a salad needs. As for its flavor, a mature taste of sourness from the balsamic vinegar, a sweetish flavor from the cherry tomatoes, a freshness from the spring onions and an earthy taste from the mushrooms. Can you imagine all of these flavors blend together? No? Then go ahead and try this salad!
And that's what I did with the remaining chicken fillet...
Ingredients
For The Salad:
- 1 large chicken fillet out of a 2.3 kg chicken
- 250 grams fresh white mushrooms
- 250 grams fusilli pasta
- 8-10 large cherry tomatoes
- 1 medium sized spring onion
- a handfull of fresh parsley
- olive oil
- a pinch of sweet paprika
- ground pepper
- dried oregano for serving
For The Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon mild mustard
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 30 grams Greek kefalotyri cheese or Romano cheese
- salt and pepper
Instructions
For The Salad:
- Heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan over high heat.
- Add the mushrooms cut in quarters. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Until they get a nice golden color but remain crispy. Remove from pan and set aside in a large bowl.
- With a sharp knife butterfly the chicken fillet. Season with salt, ground pepper, and the sweet paprika.
- Sear chicken in the same frying pan by adding a drop of olive oil (about 10 minutes over high heat). Remove chicken from the pan and set aside on your cutting board.
- Rinse the cherry tomatoes. Drop them in the same pan and caramelize their skin over medium heat. When they've become slightly tender,(takes about 2-3 minutes) Remove from heat, and add them to the same bowl with the mushrooms.
- Coarsely chop the chicken breast, the parsley and spring onion and add to the bowl.
- In a large cooking pot bring water to a boil. Add a bit of salt and the fusilli (see pack for the exact cooking time). Once ready, transfer pasta to a colander.
- Cool the pasta under cold running water. Add the pasta to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
For The Dressing:
- In a small bowl whisk together the mustard , balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, lemon juice, until you have a thick dressing. Grate in the cheese, season with salt and mix well.
Serve:
- Mix up all the ingredients with the dressing. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
- Add a sprinkle of dried oregano on each serving.
Notes
Yummy ingredients to use this recipe:
- Gourmet Food Gift Set Mediterranean - farm fresh from artisans in Sicily, Italy. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Ancient Grain Pasta, Cherry Tomato Sauce, Trapani Sea Salt
- De Cecco Organic Pasta, Fusilli
- Papa Vince Olive Oil Extra Virgin - First Cold Pressed, Family Harvest Single Sourced from Sicily, Italy, Unblended, Unfiltered, Unrefined, Robust, Rich in Antioxidants
