Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

 

I'm really happy to be able to share this easy chicken pasta salad recipe with you today. It is a bit different than regular pasta salads as you can see.

Not only is there plenty of tender grilled chicken, but also crisp fresh veggies, salad leaves and bow tie pasta, but it also boasts a delicious creamy, cheesy homemade ranch dressing!

You can use bottled dressing if you wish, but really, this dressing is so easy to make and tastes fabulous! 

 

 

I am a real lover of homemade from scratch salad dressings. My mother never bought bottled salad dressings when we were growing up. She always made her dressings from scratch.

Our favorite that she made was a simple vinaigrette dressing that she would start early in the afternoon on Sunday's.  We always had a salad on Sunday.

 

She would begin by putting a bit of white vinegar into the bottom of the salad bowl. She never used fancy vinegars, it was always either white or cider.   She would dice a bit of onion into the vinegar and season it and then leave it to sit for several hours.

This almost pickled the onion. We really loved it.

 

When she was just about ready to put the rest of the salad together, she would add some salad oil and then pop the remaining ingredients on top, usually ice berg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, maybe a bit of radish, nothing fancy.

These would get tossed in the oil, vinegar and marinated onions.  It was sooooo good.  We all loved it and still do to this day. It truly is the simple things which bring us the most pleasure.

 

Things like this creamy bow tie chicken pasta salad.  I adapted the recipe from one I found in a book entitled Seriously Good Salads, by Nicky Corbishley.  I have almost every recipe in the book flagged.

Yes they are that delicious sounding.  I actually bought the book last Winter and have been waiting for the summer months to arrive so that I could begin to truly appreciate  all the delicious recipes on its pages.

 

Not only is this delicious recipe a way to stretch one chicken breast to serve two people, but it makes wonderful use of all the fresh salad leaves and vegetables we have available to us at the moment.

It did call for arugula, which I didn't happen to have in the house today, but I did have a nice assortment of baby salad greens. I also didn't have just plain pea shoots, but did have a mix of spicy shoots.  Both worked beautifully!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GRILLED CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

It might look like a long list of ingredients, but there are three components to the salad. Marinated grilled chicken, a creamy dressing, and the salad ingredients themselves.

For the marinated grilled chicken:

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 TBS chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 TBS chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 TBS olive oil 

I have made good use of the fresh herbs in my window boxes here. If you wish you can use dried herbs, but do remember that dried herbs are much more concentrated than fresh and you will only need to use half as much.

 

For the Parmesan Ranch Dressing:

• 1/4 cup (60g) mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp English mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 cup (40g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 TBS chopped fresh dill
• 1 TBS chopped fresh chives
• salt and black pepper to taste

Again you can use dried herbs if that is all you have and the dressing will still be delicious. But if using dry cut the amounts in half. 

You can also use low fat mayo and sour cream without any problem.

 

You will also need:

• 5 ounces (145g) dried bow tie pasta
• 1/2 cup (10g) packed pea shoots
• 1/2 cup (13g) packed fresh arugula or other salad greens
• 1/4 English cucumber, chopped into chunks
• 5 grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

Bow tie pasta is also called Farfalle. My shoots were a bit leggy, so I picked the leafy parts off and discarded most of the stems.

 

This is a very simple make. Just whisk the marinade ingredients together and marinate the chicken, for at least half an hour. Obviously longer is better as more flavor will penetrate the chicken.  I don't recommend marinating it for any longer than 8 hours.

The dressing is likewise a simple whisking together.  If you use fresh herbs do bear in mind that the dressing will only keep at best for 2 days.  

Cook your pasta to al dente according to the package directions and then drain and run cold water through it to cool it down.  Drain it well again.

Once you have all the components assembled just toss the pasta together with the onion, cucumber, tomatoes and salad greens/shoots in a shallow salad bowl.

Slice the grilled chicken and place it on top of the salad to serve along with a container of the dressing.

Divide the chicken and the salad between two people, and pass the dressing so that you can  both drizzle as much as you like over your salads.

I kept the amount of dressing the same.  I like lots of dressing with my chicken.  Boy oh boy, was it ever delicious! 

This salad is a whole meal in and of itself, but if you are wanting something to serve on the side, I recommend crisp bread sticks or crusty bread.

It makes a generous lunch or a light supper for two people.  Every bite brings you the deliciousness of the grilled chicken, crunchy fresh vegetables, sweet tomatoes, crisp zingy onion and that dressing.  Well all I can say is WOW! 

 

If you are fond of dinner salads you might also enjoy these:

Almost Fried Chicken Chopped Salad - This salad proves you can make a salad out of just about anything you have in the house. A fabulous mix of textures and flavours with a tasty dressing drizzled over top.  

Bacon and Egg Salad - Another whole meal salad, this salad is light and delicious with a fabulous rich creamy dressing, and yes, you CAN have your bacon and eat it too!

Steak, Mushroom & Blue Cheese - The flavour trinity of fabulous steak tastiness . . . a good piece of meat, some meaty mushrooms and blue cheese. What's not to like!

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Quick, simple and tasty. An herb marinated and grilled chicken breast sits atop a lovely mix of fresh ingredients and comes with a rich homemade cheesy ranch dressing. Sized for two but easily can be doubled.

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 TBS chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 TBS chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 TBS olive oil

For the Parmesan Ranch Dressing:

• 1/4 cup (60g) mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp English mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 cup (40g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 TBS chopped fresh dill
• 1 TBS chopped fresh chives
• salt and black pepper to taste

You will also need:

• 5 ounces (145g) dried bow tie pasta
• 1/2 cup (10g) packed pea shoots
• 1/2 cup (13g) packed fresh arugula or other salad greens
• 1/4 English cucumber, chopped into chunks
• 5 grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade. Add the chicken breast, turning to coat it well. Cover and set aside to marinate for at least half an hour. If you are going to be longer, cover it and refrigerate it.
2. Whisk all of the ingredients for the dressing together in a bowl, combining them well. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
3. Cook the pasta to al dente in a saucepan of lightly salted water according to the package directions. Drain well, rinse under cold running water and drain again.
4. Heat a cast iron grill pan over high heat, or heat an electric grill to high. Brush with oil and then add the chicken. Cook the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes per side, just until lightly browned and no longer pink inside.
5. Once cooked transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest while you put together the rest of the salad.
6. Toss the pasta, pea shoots, arugula, cucumber, tomatoes and onion together in a bowl. Slice the chicken into strips and place on top of the salad.
7. Serve immediately with the dressing for spooning or drizzling over top.

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