CLINTON KELLY'S BUTTER LETTUCE WITH APPLE, WALNUTS, POMEGRANATE SEEDS AND CHICKEN

CLINTON KELLY'S BUTTER LETTUCE WITH APPLE, WALNUTS, POMEGRANATE SEEDS AND CHICKEN image

Categories Salad Leafy Green Nut Side Apple

Yield 4-6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

For the Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
11/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
For the Salad:
2 heads butter lettuce
1/2 cup candied walnuts*
1 Honeycrisp or Fuji apple (quartered and cored and then thinly sliced)
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
2 cups poached chicken breast, diced
1/4 crumbled blue cheese

Steps:

For the Vinaigrette: Place all ingredients in a mini food processor to combine and then keep in a mason jar or any container with a tight fitting lid so that you can shake it before serving. Tip on extracting pomegranate seeds: Cut pomegranate into quarters, and hold each quarter over a large bowl of cold water while you extract the seeds from it into the bowl with your thumb and fingers. Seeds will sink to the bottom. Use a fine sieve to skim the white pith and any other unwanted debris off of the surface of the water, and then pour the seeds and the water through a fine colander. For the Salad: Tear the lettuce into a large bowl, along with the chicken, apples and walnuts. Season with salt and pepper, and toss with the vinaigrette, only using as needed. Do not overdress the salad. Garnish with the blue cheese crumbles and the pomegranate seeds. *To Make Candied Walnuts: 11/2 cups raw walnut halves 1/2 cup brown sugar, loose Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix walnuts and brown sugar together in a large saucepan and set on the stove over medium to medium-high heat. As the brown sugar melts, us a wooden spoon to move the mixture around in the saucepan, making sure that all of the nuts get coated and none of the sugar stays in one place long enough to burn. Cook for about 5 minutes at the most, until all of the sugar has melted and all of the nuts are coated (or immediately if you smell them burning). Then, remove from heat and quickly spread the nuts out on the lined baking sheet to prevent them from drying in clumps. Allow nuts to cool for about a minute before eating or storing in an air-tight container.