I love a warm salad for a quick, healthy mid week dinner. There’s something about having something proteiny and warm that makes it feel substantial enough for a dinner. Yet all those leaves keep it light. And best of all they tend to work all year round so well worth adding to your repertoire!
Quick Chicken & Parmesan Salad
Ingredients
- 450 g chicken thigh fillets (1lb)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 bag rocket (arugula) arugula or salad leaves, washed & dried
- 2 handfuls parmesan cheese shavings
Instructions
- Heat your frying pan on a very high heat. Trim any fat from the chicken and slice into super fine strips. Drizzle with a little oil and season.
- Cook chicken in the hot pan for about 1 minute. Then stir and keep cooking till browned on all sides.
- Meanwhile, combine lemon juice and 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a bowl. Season.
- When the chicken is cooked transfer to the lemon dressing.
- Toss in rocket leaves. Serve with parmesan shaved over.
Variations
vegetarian – replace chicken and parmesan with grilled halloumi or fried eggs. You could also replace chicken with field mushrooms, eggplant slices or chickpeas. Cook in a little oil until soft.
vegan – skip the chicken and cheese. Warm some cooked lentils, chickpeas or quinoa in a pan and toss in the dressing with the leaves. Add some roasted almonds for a little extra protein and crunch.
dairy-free / paleo – replace the parmesan with brazil nut parmesan. or some roasted sliced almonds. Or cook some bacon in the pan before cooking the chicken. And serve the crunchy bacon on top of the salad.
little person friendly – reduce the amount of rocket (arugula) or replace with less bitter tasting leaves such as butter lettuce or baby spinach.
different protein – lovely with steak or lamb fillets instead of the chicken. Also good with chorizo.
different leaves – any salad leaf will work well here. In the winter I’d go for red radicchio leaves or witlof (belgian endive).
more substantial (carb lovers) – toss in some pasta, cooked quinoa, rice or couscous. Or try torn sourdough and double the dressing. You could also just serve with crusty bread, steamed or roast potatoes.
more substantial (low carb) – extra chicken, Macadamias, roast almonds.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – more salt. more lemon. more parmesan
too dry – overcooked chicken. Next time stop cooking earlier, For now a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or mayo will help. Also finely slicing the overcooked chicken will make it easier to eat.
sticking to the pan – next time a non stick pan or well seasoned pan will help. For now allow the pan to cool so the chicken releases.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
chicken – freeze or cook (either pan fry or gently simmer for 15-20 minutes). Frozen chicken will last for months. Cooked chicken will last for up to a week.
lemon – will keep in the fridge for weeks.
rocket (arugula) or salad leaves – the best option is to use in another recipe. Rocket can be used to make pesto which will keep for a few weeks (just use it instead of basil). The alternative is to wilt down the leaves in a pan with a little oil. Keep wilted leaves in a covered container in the fridge for a few weeks. Warm and serve the wilted leaves as a side.
parmesan shavings – keep wrapped in baking or parchment or waxed paper inside a plastic bag or sealed container. Will keep for months.
Prepare Ahead
No best when freshly made. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week. Don’t freeze.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Made this for dinner tonight, and really enjoyed it. I love how simple it is (except for trimming fat off chicken thighs). I used rice vinegar in place of the lemon juice to please my husband, and romaine lettuce, since that’s what I had and arugula does not keep long enough to be good this far along in my cooking stint. This will definitely go into my summer recipe rotation. I’m just sorry it took me so long to try it.
Jealous of your Summer recipe rotation Susan! Glad you enjoyed
Vegetarian version, with flat mushrooms instead of chicken, and bulked out with an avocado and some commercial roast capsicum. Good.
ooh yum Mark! What brand are your roast capsicum? – I need to find a good source.
I’m not that keen on the current jar (Benino). The Marco Polo ones I got from IGA were pretty good. I have a jar from Supabarn (“the market grocer”) that I haven’t tried yet.
Thanks Mark – will keep an eye out for Marco Polo
This one came in handy for today’s lunch – still had steak in the fridge to use 🙂 … yum!
Excellent Sandra!
The Quick Chicken and Parmesan Salad was delicious! Three of the 5 of us ate it, and me and my husband liked it the best. I “just knew” my husband and 17 year old would not like it and I would be eating their leftovers, but my husband really liked the combination and was very excited and surprised at how yummy it was. -When I asked my 17-year-old son, he said, “It was weird. It was alright.” That’s better than what I thought he might say! Haha! (I think it was the arugula. I am usually the only one who eats it.)
So, thank you for influencing me to serve arugula to my family! I will try the variations of leaves next time, and I bet my son will like it better. This one is a keeper for sure, as I looked at all the variations and I have lentils ready to be cooked and eaten.
I notice the recipe is by Sarah B. I am curious about who that person is. -A student of yours? Just wondering.
Also, is “rocket” the Australian word? I like the word, and I may start calling it that! Haha!
Glad you asked about Sarah B – she was my old assistant years ago. I had her copy across some recipes from my blog and I’m not sure how to change the credit for the post.
Yes rocket is Australian – we take it from the French ‘roquette’. You Americans use the Italian ‘arugula’.
If you’re ever wondering about names of things, there’s a ‘dictionary’ here on the side (link in the footer).
Glad you enjoyed it Cynthia 🙂
This was quick and easy to make, very tasty!
Yay Meika!
I’m late to the party on commenting on the recipes. But I have been making them and following along with the challenge! This was easy and lovely! I like how the warm chicken sort of softens the greens – mmmm
Not too late Jamie!
Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Now this was a success with everyone in the family enjoying it! I loved mixing the dressing in the bowl before putting the chicken and lettuce in. It felt very gourmet. I added avocado and dried cranberries.
Nice addition with the avocado and cranberries Rachel!
Rachel, I thought the same! Gourmet!
I will add some avocado in a future preparation of this salad…sounds good!
Made this with a collection of fresh picked greens from the garden. I didn’t have parmesan so I added a sharp Tennessee whiskey cheese I found at my local market. Another fantastic meal for day 2!
ooh that whiskey cheese sounds amazing Meredith!
This easy main-dish salad recipe is great as is but even better because you can add whatever leftovers you happen to have on hand (mandarin orange slices OR berries OR bean salad OR cooked mushrooms and onions)and make a whole new meal another time.
Exactly Debbie!
As you promise…..quick, easy and delicious. Great last night with chicken warm off the grill or the leftovers cold for lunch today but used kale for greens.
ooh nice addition with the kale Julie!
I love the fact your recipes are so simple, and made this today for my third recipe of the week. I actually used a base of sliced brussels sprouts, mixed with a bit of your mayonnaise. Yummo
ooh yum Gillian! Brussels sprouts are always a good idea 🙂
Another dinner winner. Loving this meal challenge!
So glad you’re enjoying Helen!
I made this meal for dinner last night and it was so simple and so delicious. I am going to mentally file this one away for entertaining – quick enough I won’t spend the whole evening in the kitchen instead of socializing with our guests and so tasty I want to share it with others! I roasted some cauli, bell pepper, and onion and served the veg on the side. For lunch today, I might mix the leftover veg right in with the leftover greens and chicken. Can’t wait for lunch!
You know you can save recipes to your personal favourites page don’t you Katherine?
So glad you enjoyed!
I do, thank you! It’s on my favourites page 🙂 I love the feature of being able to add recipes to that page, thanks for setting up your website so we can do that! I have many I’ve book marked to make in the future and many I’ve made and can’t wait to make again (like this one!).
Glad you’re finding the favourite helpful!
You’re going to love the new feature I’m working on so you can also save meal plans to your favourites and edit them and edit the shopping lists – so excited!
My daughter made us this one, mixing both turkey and mushrooms. She added mint from our balcony. So delicious!
ooh love that your daughter cooked Murphy! Brilliant 🙂
Dinner was Chicken and Parm Salad with sliced, sauteed mushrooms subbed for the meat – vegetarian here! I added the parm as soon as the mushrooms were done so the cheese melted slightly. So good! Served with a glass of chardonnay and a slice of zero carb bread turned into garlic toast.
Yum Linda!
The mushrooms would be lovely with goats cheese too.
Made this for my dinner tonight; was very good. I bought a chunk of parmesan at the beginning of the lock-down in March and finally used it!
Cooked this today!
Excellent Kris!
We just enjoyed this SMP meal. My version of the salad turned out quite differently from this one. But that’s what I like about these recipes, it is easy and just as delicious to make modifications and substitutions. Here’s what I did: because of the quarantine and limiting trips to the store, I only has frozen chicken breasts. I poached ithem for about 20 minutes in spices and a little lemon. I tore them into strips, piled them on a bed of artisan lettuce, and added chunks of apple & pecans. A little more lemon, lite vinegarette, and leftover parsley from yesterday topped it off. I am so inspired by your recipes & even when mine turn out so different, I am trying to stay with the spirit of preparing them simply & healthy. Thank you so much!
This is what I LOVE Patti – when people take my idea and then make it totally their own. Your salad sounds beautiful!
Today’s meal, simple yet delicious. I’ve made this meal a number of times and we never grow tired of it. One of our favorites because it’s delicious and can be on the table in 5 min. Can’t beat that!
Yes you can’t beat that Sandy! Have you made the one with steak as well?
I made this last night for my first meal challenge meal. I was concerned that it would not be enough food and that it would be a little boring, but it was absolutely delicious! Will definitely be making this again.
Is an Australian tablespoon the same measurement as an American one? You often say 4 tablespoons instead of a quarter (1/4) cup, which are the same volume in American measurements. I thought maybe 4 Australian tablespoons aren’t the same as an Australian quarter cup…?
I think an American Tbsp is about 15 ml.
Great question Mrs Mack!
Traditionally an Australian tablespoon is meant to be 4 teaspoons (20mL) and an American one 3 teaspoons (15mL).
But these days most measuring spoon sets sold in Australia are 15mL anyway. So to answer your question, I use 15mL tablespoons. The only reason I often say 4 tablespoons is that I tend to measure with spoons because they’re easier to find in my kitchen than the cups. And it also makes it easier if someone wants to halve or double a recipe. By all means use a 1/4cup if you prefer 🙂
Jx
That makes sense. Thanks for answering my question!
Love this one to. Added some sugarsnaps and strawberries from yesterday’s desert. Jummy!!
Wow Anki!
Would never have thought to add strawberries… nice one
Jx