Summer has kicked in with a vengeance! Boy is it Hot!….. with a capital H! We’ve been experiencing some triple digit days these past couple of weeks. Believe me, 108 degrees is no picnic! This kind of heat makes me think of long, tall drinks, big bowls of ice cream, and cool refreshing salads.
This salad is a play on my friend Cyndi’s winter fruit salad. I thought why not do the same thing for the summer except using fresh berries? I had some leftover shredded rotisserie chicken so I added it in for some healthy protein. The salad made a great lunch served with some of No. 1’s homemade french bread and a cool glass of crisp white wine. Mm… mm… mm…..
SUMMER BERRY AND CHICKEN SALAD WITH LEMON POPPY SEED DRESSING
Dressing:
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp. finely chopped onion
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp. poppy seeds
- Combine lemon juice, sugar, onion, mustard and salt in the container of a food processor or blender; process until smooth.
- With the machine running, add oil in a slow, steady stream and process until thick and smooth.
- Add the poppy seeds and pulse a few times to mix.
Salad:
- 1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup quartered strawberries
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ cup pineapple tidbits (or pineapple chunks cut in half)
- ½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)
- Place the lettuce, chicken, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and nuts in a large salad bowl.
- Pour the poppy seed dressing over the salad.
- Toss to coat evenly.
Pinky's Pantry 