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Fancy "Taco" Salad
This is what I call my fancy taco salad. Not fancy to make! Just fancy to eat. It's got most of the elements of a classic taco salad but cooler. You've got crispy on the outside, soft on the inside polenta croutons, which I think we should collectively be using more often because damn they are good. Then we've got grilled lime chicken which has the tartness and juiciness that's exactly what I expect to find when I bite into a tangy lime chicken (not like most I've tried though). And it's got a cilantro chimichurri dressing which screams fancy taco to me. Plus a few other key elements of a great salad like grilled peppers, pickled onions and dates for a punch of sweetness. So if you're going to make a salad this summer, let it be this one. I've made it weekly all summer and it's the perfect balance to the other 6 nights a week of hearty eating (not that I'm complaining!).
3/4 cup olive oil
2 chipotle pepper in adobo
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
500 g pre-cooked polenta log
1 head cilantro
1/2 jalapeno
4 limes
4 shallots
7 cloves garlic
2 red peppers
1 large head romaine
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
4 dates
4 chicken breasts
Chicken Marinade
4 chicken breasts
3 limes + zest
6 cloves garlic minced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pinch salt
Chimichurri Dressing
1 head cilantro
1 clove garlic minced
1 lime
1/2 jalapeno
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Polenta croutons
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
500 g pre-cooked polenta
Quick Pickled Shallots
4 shallots
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 pinch salt
Pre Recipe Prep
Marinate your chicken
To a shallow dish add chicken and all marinade ingredients. Set aside while you prep everything else - up to 2 hours max.
Make your dressing
Add 1 head cilantro - very bottoms of stems removed (you can keep most of the stems on just trip the bottom bits off), 1 clove minced garlic, juice of 1 lime, 1/2 finely diced jalapeno (remove seeds for no heat), 1 tsp red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil to an immersion blender and blend until incorporated but not completely smooth.
If you don't have an immersion blender, chop cilantro as finely as you can and add to a small bowl with remaining dressing ingredients.
This dressing is thick, not like a regular salad dressing, so don't add too much oil. 1/4 cup should do it but you may need a bit more if your head of cilantro is larger.
Pickle your shallots
Thinly slice your shallots. Add to a small bowl with remaining red wine vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Prep your veggies
Now is your time to prep your veg. Clean and rip your romaine into bit size pieces. Cut your cherry tomatoes to your liking (I like to halve them). Dice your dates into the size of raisins. Cut each pepper into 4 large chunks.
Cook the polenta croutons
Dice polenta into half inch cubes. Add 1/4 cup oil to a large frying pan over medium heat with a pinch of salt and cook, flipping until golden brown and firm on each side (10-15 minutes).
Cook chicken and peppers
To a medium heat, oiled grill, add chicken and peppers. Cook until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165F (about 5 minutes per side but this depends on thickness of meat and temp of grill), and until peppers are charred. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes before slicing chicken and peppers into strips.
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