Chicken salad with arugula, goat cheese, and apple slices.
Once, many years ago, my mother decided to plant some arugula in the garden. What she didn’t know at the time is that arugula will reseed itself, and if left untended, will take over any arable surface within range.
My mom is more of a “visionary” when it comes to gardens, which explains why, when I took over the garden beds, they were completely covered with arugula, anything else being choked out years before.
In the fall, after the first rains, the first baby leaves of arugula start making an appearance. The apples are ripening and the walnuts falling from the trees around the same time, so it just makes sense to pull them all together in a salad!
This is a simple fall salad. The creaminess of the goat cheese pairs beautifully with the peppery arugula, chicken, apples, and walnuts.
Chicken Apple Arugula Goat Cheese Salad Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for dressing
- 1 large shallot, peeled and sliced
- 1 1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
- Salt
- 1 tart green apple, thinly sliced and roughly chopped
- Baby arugula leaves – enough for a salad for four
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup goat cheese – broken up into little pieces
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Method
1 Sauté shallots: Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a stick-free frying pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the shallot slices and lightly sauté them until translucent. Remove shallots from pan and set aside.
2 Sauté chicken pieces: Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and when the oil is hot, add the chicken breast pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle some salt on the chicken while you are cooking it. Remove from pan and chill.
3 Assemble salad: When chicken has cooled, toss together in a serving bowl the shallots, chicken, sliced green apple, arugula, toasted walnuts and goat cheese.
4 Dress with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
