Nicoise salad is a French mixed salad traditionally consisting of tomatoes, olives, potatoes and tuna arranged neatly on a platter. I’m not a big fan of canned tuna, so I took this French-inspired classic and made it my own with grilled chicken. I don’t think Julia Child would approve, but I thought it was a creative spin and a delicious summer meal!
Nicoise-Inspired Salad with Grilled Chicken
The following serves 2:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 small head of romaine lettuce, chopped
- 4-5 red potatoes, quartered
- Kalamata olives, handful per person
- Sliced tomatoes, 1 small per person or a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes
- Chopped peperoncini, spoonful per person
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pesto, optional
Preheat grill to medium-high.
Toss quartered potatoes with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill until char marks start to show, make sure to flip and grill on all sides. After you flip the potatoes once, add the chicken to the grill and continue to grill (chicken is done when the juices run clear). Remove potatoes from grill and set aside. Remove chicken from grill, tent with foil and let rest. I had a little pesto leftover from the other night, so I put a spoonful on top of each chicken breast and then tented with foil to rest.
Toss the lettuce with a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
To serve, arrange each component on a plate or platter. Pictured above from left to right is: chicken, lettuce, potatoes, olives, tomatoes and peperoncini.
