rotisserie chicken Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Chicken Nicoise Salad

The latest kick I’ve been on is making composed salads. Just what is a composed salad you might ask? Here’s the definition, “A salad in which the components are elaborately put together or arranged, then drizzled with a vinaigrette rather than tossed”.

A composed salad is a balance of different colors, flavors and textures and when it’s arranged on a platter it’s very appealing to the eye, and the more color the better!

I repeat, it must be placed on a platter, no bowls allowed and no tossing!

It doesn’t matter what ingredients you use, the possibilities are endless! We all know of the famous Tuna Nicoise salad, well I swapped out chicken for the tuna and used other ingredients that I had on hand.

This salad was inspired from a rotisserie chicken I got from Whole Foods and some vegetables I cooked up before they went bad, which in my case were beets, red potatoes, green beans and some peppers. I added in hard boiled eggs, sliced tomatoes, artichoke hearts and olives, placed it all on a bed of arugula and drizzled it with a fresh lemon and olive oil dressing. This is a very substantial salad, maybe a little bread on the side and that’s it!

No exact recipe here just let your imagination go wild, use what’s in season and what you have on hand, it’s hearty, healthy and oh so delicious!

NOT YOUR MAMA’S CHICKEN SOUP!!!

Sometimes I just don’t have the time to slow cook a chicken for some great homemade soup. But yet when it’s cold outside that’s exactly what I want! We just had 6″ of snow drop on us with more to follow this weekend.
Yaay some may say…not me! The older I get the less I like winter, but I guess I better grin and bare it because it’s only the beginning!So with that being said, here’s my quickie roasted chicken noodle soup.

Warm and comforting just like you simmered it for hours, but in reality, it only it took 20 min’s.

The key ingredient is this roasted chicken, that I threw in the oven along with something else I was making the other day, you know, like 2 meals in one! Seasoned with lots of thyme, salt and pepper and olive oil. Actually, it’s the seasonings that makes the soup tastes so good. Now if you don’t have the time to roast some chicken, buy a rotisserie chicken at your favorite grocery store, it works just as well.

Then I simply just shred all the chicken up and stick it in my fridge until I’m ready to make the soup.

Take out your favorite soup pot and add a little olive oil in there. Next sauté 3 cloves of garlic, 3 or 4 diced carrots, 3 or 4 stalks of celery and 1 large onion, sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper.

Add in some great boxed, organic, low sodium chicken broth like the one from Trader Joes, or Costco( or any of your favorites) and a sprinkling of fresh parsley. I used. almost 2 quarts.

In addition to that I always throw in a couple of Parmesan rinds that I always keep on hand in my freezer, it takes the broth to another level, then just toss in your shredded chicken.

I always cook my egg noodles or pasta on the side and add them into the bowl as needed, otherwise they tend to blow up from sitting in the hot broth too long.

And of course, you must top it off your steaming hot bowl of soup with some freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Another quick meal for this busy time of year!!

Buon Appetito!