Easy Eats: Rotisserie Chicken Panzanella
Adding chunks of juicy chicken to this classic Italian tomato and bread salad turns it into a complete one-dish dinner.
- prepare
- 4 servings
- Easy
Panzanella is a bright and fresh Italian tomato and bread salad that tastes of high summer. The key here is to have really good tomatoes, as their flavour will make or break this dish. Nice olive oil will also make a difference. Be very generous with the fresh basil also - use much more than you might normally.
This panzanella is perfect for weeknights, especially if you make the dressing ahead of time. The bread is quickly grilled, rather than baked and the salad is finished with chunks of rotisserie chicken - that you can grab on the way home from work – to make it a complete meal. I’ve included asparagus here while its in season.
You could also add some feta or fresh mozzarella at the end if desired.
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken
- 4 thick slices sourdough (ideally 1-2 days old)
- 1 bunch thin asparagus
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
- 1 clove garlic, dinced
- 300g vine tomatoes, quartered
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ telegraph cucumber, sliced
- 1-2 large handfuls fresh basil
- Salt and cracked black pepper, to season
Instructions
- Remove the meat from the chicken and cut into bite-sized chunks, discarding excess skin and bones. You’ll need about 3-4 cups for this recipe
- Place the bread under the grill and toast well on both sides. Leave to cool completely and then cut or break into bite-sized chunks.
- Trim the woody ends from the asparagus. Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Drain after 1 minute and run under cold water to halt cooking. Drain and set aside until needed.
- Make the dressing: put the olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, mustard and garlic in a jar. Seal with a lid and shake to mix well. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Combine the tomatoes, cucumber and red onion in a large bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss well. Leave this to sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the asparagus, chicken and toasted bread. Toss well to evenly coat. Mix through the fresh basil. Leave this to marinate for 5-10 minutes before spooning onto a platter or individual plates. Finish with a good grind of cracked pepper.
