Best Recipe for Summer Layered Salad with Grilled Chicken and Tomato Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 4 ripe medium tomatoes
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt
- 3 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 thick slices sourdough bread
- 2 large ears corn
- 1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into long 1/2-inch-thick slabs
- 1 head romaine, shredded
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Special equipment: A straight-sided 3-quart tall glass bowl or four 16-ounce wide-mouth glass jars with lids
- Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat. Roughly chop 2 of the tomatoes, and put into a blender, along with the lemon juice, mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, cayenne and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth.
- Toss the chicken with 3 tablespoons of the tomato dressing and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
- Lay the bread, corn and zucchini out on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush everything all over with 2 tablespoons of the tomato dressing, and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Keep the baking sheet near your grill to transfer the grilled ingredients to when they're ready.
- Grill the chicken until it is nicely marked on the outside and registers 160 degrees F in the thickest part on a meat thermometer, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Remove and let cool (it will finish cooking as it cools). Grill the zucchini until grill marks appear and it's slightly tender, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Grill the corn, turning as needed, until charred on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Grill the bread until nicely charred, about 2 minutes per side.
- Keeping all the individual ingredients separate, shave the corn kernels off the cobs, and cut the chicken, bread and zucchini into bite-size pieces.
- Using a straight-sided 3-quart tall glass bowl for 1 large salad or four 16-ounce wide-mouth glass jars with lids for 4 individual salads, make a first layer with half the romaine, then add the following in separate layers: half the basil, the chicken, the zucchini, the feta, the corn, the remaining romaine, the remaining basil, and the bread. Cut the 2 remaining tomatoes into thin wedges, and arrange on top. Sprinkle with more basil leaves for garnish. The salad can be put together, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 hours before serving.
- If making 1 salad, just before serving, transfer it to a large bowl, toss with the remaining dressing and season with salt and pepper. If making 4 salads, add dressing to each jar, season with salt and pepper, cover with the lid and shake to coat.
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