Friday, February 28, 2014

Oven Roasted Chicken Breast with Warm Wilted Spinach and Red Bliss Potato Salad


I made a version of this Wilted Spinach and Potato Salad a few years back for a holiday dinner and it was big hit.  I have not made it since, although I really do not know why, because it is even better than I remembered.  This time I made it a bit more healthy by eliminating the bacon and the drippings, but did not sacrifice any flavor.   

This dinner is particularly desirable, especially for a weeknight, because it is one that you can practically through in the oven and forget, at least for 45 min or so. I placed a rinsed and dried chicken breast in the center of a round shallow baking dish that I have, but any shape baking dish will work perfectly.  I cut two medium red potatoes into 1inch cubes and tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper.  I tumbled them into the baking dish and surround the chicken breast with the potato cubes.  A little oil for the chicken breast as well as salt and pepper and into a 375 degree oven for about 1/2 hour.  After 30 minutes, I tossed the potatoes around to ensure even browning and placed the potatoes and chicken back in the oven for 15 - 30 min. more.  

Meanwhile, I washed and dried some spinach leaves.  I did not use baby spinach because they are a little bit too delicate and would wilt too much under the weight and heat of the potatoes. I cut any of the mature spinach leaves down to about the same size you would find in a Caesar Salad, removed any stems as well and placed the spinach in a large mixing bowl.  In a small sautee pan I cooked about 1/4 cup of chopped sweet onion and 1 minced garlic clove in about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until translucent or about 5 minutes.  Turning off the heat I added 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of honey and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and stirred well to combine.  When the chicken and potatoes were finished cooking, I added the steaming potatoes to the bowl of spinach, drizzled in the warm vinaigrette and tossed it all to coat the spinach and potatoes with the dressing.   A finishing touch of a sprinkling of sea salt, freshly ground pepper and a grate of parmesan cheese and a healthy and simple yet satisfying dinner was served!       

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