This delicious salad is ready in under 30 minutes!
In the latest series of cleaning out the freezer, I targeted blackberries for use for a salad dressing. I saw a recipe posted by Purely Elizabeth over on Instagram and was inspired by how simple it was! Just fresh berries + balsamic vinegar + olive oil.
I found all these greens and the cucumbers at the local farmer’s market in Courthouse (go if you’re nearby! Similar vendors at the Sunday one in Dupont). Pedro and I picked out weekend – baby curly kale, pea shoots and butter lettuce! All looked so pretty and I just couldn’t resist trying them all. Hooray for new things!
I diced up the greens for lunch, after a brief period of admiration, then whipped up the dressing – I did about equal parts of oil, vinegar, and berries, pureed it all and added a little salt and pepper.
Mint on top.
I wanted to add some protein to the salad and we had some leftover chicken so I decided to pan fry it in a little coconut oil and coconut flour. We were out of eggs so I skipped the dipping step and just dipped the chicken in a coconut flour // salt // pepper combo. I think almond flour or bread crumbs would work well too! I threw this in a nonstick pan for a few minutes until browned, flipped and cooked through until finished (temperature, about 165 degrees – used my thermometer!). This was super fast since the breasts were small. Toasted walnuts on the side. No picture here but you can se the finished produck!
Next I just layered this all up and drizzled on more dressing. Fresh, light and paleo friendly 😊
I’d definitely save leftovers for a work lunch – just keep the dressing separate until you’re ready to eat!
- 4-6 cups mixed greens
- 1 small cucumber, diced
- 1 small handful blueberries or blackberries
- Nuts (optional)
- Fresh mint, roughly torn
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup blackberries (defrosted if frozen)
- Dash of salt
- Dash of fresh ground pepper
- 4-5 thin chicken breasts or chicken tenders
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- Salt to taste
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
- Coconut oil, or other neutral oil for cooking
- Roughly chop the greens into bite size pieces and add to a large salad bowl with mint and cucumber.
- Combine all the dressing ingredients and puree until smooth in a blender or Ninja. Set aside.
- Heat a pan to medium heat for pan frying the chicken. When pan is warm, add a bit of coconut oil (I didn't need much because I used a non-stick).
- Combine the coconut flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or dish and stir to combine a bit. Dip the chicken into the mixture, then place in the pan to cook. Sear on each side about 5 minutes (depending on thickness of chicken) or until temperature reaches about 165 degrees F.
- Toss the greens with the dressing, then top with the berries and nuts if using and more dressing.
Bon appetit!
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