Behold, a Spring Chicken Salad That You’ll Actually Crave
If you’re going low carb, brighten up your spring meal rotation with this seasonal chicken and veggie salad. Besides being full of fresh green produce and tender chicken, you can sneak the versatile salad dressing slash sauce into other dishes throughout the week for a flavor boost or freeze it for later. To make sure it meets Whole30 requirements, sub out the English peas for snap peas. Because it’s so yummy, you’ll probably want to add it to your recipe index forever.
Sauce verte (green sauce) is classically French and is essentially herbs and olive oil blitzed together. Make it your own by switching up the herbs and seasonings. Drizzle it over just about anything from grilled meats to roasted vegetables to poached eggs to roasted potatoes. For those not on the Whole30 (or for when you’re reintroducing foods around day 35), try mixing it with a little more olive oil and use it as a dipping sauce for a crusty baguette.
Spring Chicken Salad With Sauce Verte
Note: This recipe calls for cooked chicken. As a shortcut, we recommend purchasing a cooked rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store or butcher and using it for multiple meals.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 1 cup chopped basil
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
- 3 anchovy fillets
- 2 tablespoons capers
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for roasting your vegetables
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 1 pound new potatoes (such as red potatoes or fingerlings), scrubbed and cut into approximately 1-inch pieces
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1/2 cup freshly shelled English peas (or frozen and thawed if fresh are unavailable) OR snap peas (to make it Whole30 compliant)
- 4 ounces baby arugula
- toasted pine nuts, to garnish (optional)
Instructions:
1. Make the sauce verte. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the herbs, garlic, anchovies, capers, and lemon juice to make a coarse paste. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with the food processor running until everything is well blended and you have a thick sauce. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Set aside 2/3 cup and save the rest for another use.
2. Preheat your oven to 425°F and arrange two racks in the bottom half of the oven. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes in olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast on the bottom rack for 25-35 minutes or until fork-tender, stirring about halfway through.
3. Wash your asparagus and remove the woody stems by gently bending the ends of the stalks until they break naturally. Trim into 1 1/2″ pieces, place on a separate rimmed baking sheet and toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast them in the oven alongside the potatoes for 7-12 minutes until fork-tender. Your roasting time will depend on the thickness of your asparagus.
4. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, asparagus, chicken, shelled peas, and arugula. Add the sauce verte and toss with the other ingredients until everything is evenly coated. Divide between plates and top with toasted pine nuts and another crack of ground pepper.
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(Recipe and photos by Jessica Smith Wall / Brit+ Co)
