food comas

I was set on the idea of making my Almond and Pecan Crusted Chicken and I decided to serve it with some Roasted Sweet Potatoes. I was looking for another good side dish to complement the meal and was looking for something lighter.

I came across a recipe for Almond-Crusted Chicken and Nectarine Salad with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing and was immediately infatuated with the idea of this salad. I had never used buttermilk before and ended up buying a whole carton to just use 1/4 C for the dressing. I now have a week to use up the remaining buttermilk before it goes bad… so basically that means you will be seeing a bunch of recipe posts that utilize buttermilk soon!

This salad is fresh and fast to assemble. I loved the tangy dressing with the sweet fruit, and throwing some warm or chilled crunchy nut-crusted chicken on top was a winning combination.  I ended up using Mandarin oranges but kept the original recipe listed as below… I should probably do it with nectarines or peaches next time… sorry for the confusion regarding the pictures!

Nectarine Salad with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing (adapted from the recipe by Maryellen Driscoll)

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 6 C torn tender lettuce (such as butter lettuce, oakleaf) or arugula or both
• 4 small to medium ripe nectarines (or peaches, tangerines, clementines), halved, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick

For the Dressing:

• 1/4 C buttermilk
• 1 T sour cream
• 1 T white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T thinly sliced fresh chives
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, sour cream, vinegar, and honey. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to blend. Stir in the chives and season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the lettuce, arugula, and the nectarines with about half of the dressing. When ready to eat, place the Almond and Pecan Crusted Chicken on top of the tossed salad. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the chicken and serve.