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Salad of Chicken & Melon

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Submitted by crazychef99

Chicken and cantaloupe salad with black grapes, asparagus, capers, and Parmesan in a white wine-lemon dressing. A light, elegant main course salad with wine-poached chicken.

YIELD

6 servings

PREP

15 min

COOK

15 min

READY

30 min

Wine-poached chicken shredded and tossed with sweet cantaloupe, black grapes, and crisp asparagus sounds fancy, but it comes together in about 30 minutes.

The chicken breasts poach gently in broth, white wine, and garlic until tender, then get shredded fine so the meat weaves through every forkful. That poaching liquid keeps the chicken incredibly moist compared to grilling or baking, and the wine-garlic flavor carries right into the finished salad.

Capers are the surprise ingredient here. Their salty, briny pop cuts through the sweetness of the melon and grapes, and the lemon-white wine dressing ties all those contrasting flavors into something that actually makes sense together. A shower of coarsely grated Parmesan on top adds a savory, nutty finish.

Chef Tips

  • Poach the chicken at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil. Boiling toughens the breast meat and dries it out even in liquid.
  • Cook the asparagus until just tender with a slight snap. Mushy asparagus disappears into the salad.
  • Halve the grapes so they release a little juice into the dressing. Whole grapes roll off the fork and don’t contribute flavor.
  • Shake the dressing in a jar right before tossing. It separates quickly and you want it emulsified when it hits the salad.

Variations

  • Use honeydew instead of cantaloupe for a milder, less musky melon flavor.
  • Swap capers for chopped green olives for a Mediterranean direction.
  • Add toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds for crunch.

Ingredients

3 3
EACH EACH CHICKEN BREAST
whole, boneless
1 1
EACH EACH CANTALOUPE *
½ 226.8
POUND G GRAPES, SEEDLESS
black
½ 226.8
POUND G ASPARAGUS
1 237
CUP ML CHICKEN BROTH
½ 118
CUP ML WHITE WINE
dry *
1 1
CLOVES EACH GARLIC
crushed
3 45
TABLESPOONS ML CAPERS
3 45
TABLESPOONS ML PARMESAN CHEESE
coarsely grated
dressing
¼ 59
CUP ML LEMON JUICE
¼ 59
CUP ML VEGETABLE OIL
¼ 59
CUP ML WHITE WINE
dry *
1 1
CLOVES EACH GARLIC
crushed

Directions

Cut cantaloupe into chunks.

Halve and seed grapes. Trim asparagus, boil, steam or microwave until just tender.

Cut asparagus into 2 inch lengths.

Combine broth, wine and garlic in a pan, add chicken; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes on each side, or until tender.

Drain chicken, cool, and shred finely. Combine chicken, melon, grapes, asparagus and capers with dressing.

Serve with parmesan cheese.

Dressing: Combine all ingredients in a jar, shake well.

* not incl. in nutrient facts Arrow up button

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Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 187g (6.6 oz)
Amount per Serving
Calories 218 50% from fat
 % Daily Value *
Total Fat 12g 19%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 40mg 13%
Sodium 248mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 4g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Sugars g
Protein 33g
Vitamin A 7% Vitamin C 16%
Calcium 6% Iron 9%
* based on a 2,000 calorie diet How is this calculated?
Trans-fat Free
 
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