Italian cooking is dynamic; new dishes are invented every day, and this chicken and vegetable salad is a fine example; were you to set it in front of my father-in-law he'd probably go hungry. My mother-in-law would instead probably enjoy it. To serve 4-6 you'll need:
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 2 sprigs marjoram
- A bunch of basil
- 1 tablespoon pickled capers, rinsed
- 4 small green tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts (substitute walnut meats if need be)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound (450 g) chicken breast, butterflied, boiled and thinly sliced
- 1 pound (450 g) green salads of the kinds you most prefer
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmigiano
- 1/2 cup croutons
- 2 small sweet peppers, briefly simmered in a skillet and cut into rounds, discarding ribs and seeds.
Preparation:
Begin by putting the eggs in a pot with cold water to cover; bring the water to a boil and cook them for 6 minutes. Cool them under cold running water, peel away the shells, and put the eggs in the blender, together with the basil, and marjoram. Add 1/4 cup olive oil, a pinch of salt, a healthy grinding of pepper, the grated cheese, and blend the mixture until it is creamy.
Toast the pine nuts in a nonstick pan until golden, and turn them out onto a paper towel to cool. Cut the green tomatoes into thin wedges, and add them to the sauce, together with the pine nuts and the capers; mix well.
In the meantime, bring pasta water to a boil, salt it, and cook the bucatini, and prepare the salad by slivering the chicken breast and combining it with the other ingredients. Dress it with the sauce, and serve it with crusty bread. The wine? A white, perhaps a Soave.
Yield: 4-6 servings chicken and vegetable salad.
Toast the pine nuts in a nonstick pan until golden, and turn them out onto a paper towel to cool. Cut the green tomatoes into thin wedges, and add them to the sauce, together with the pine nuts and the capers; mix well.
In the meantime, bring pasta water to a boil, salt it, and cook the bucatini, and prepare the salad by slivering the chicken breast and combining it with the other ingredients. Dress it with the sauce, and serve it with crusty bread. The wine? A white, perhaps a Soave.
Yield: 4-6 servings chicken and vegetable salad.
