Oh man. This is good. Seriously top ten.
Go with the freshest chicken and greens you can. The rest is magic.
Simple suppers, moosewood style, is probably where cooking started for us a few years back. So, there’s a special place in my heart for that really simple, really tasty, quick fix. This takes a little time to poach the chicken, but the hands-on time is less than 10 minutes, so toss that chicken in a pot, grab a glass, and kick back.
Herewith, a Simple Poached Chicken and Spring Green Salad. I’m using arugula and baby pak choi that we thinned out of the garden earlier this week. Any spring greens will do. The super secret: toss in freshly toasted almonds and cumin seeds. Un. Believable!
For the poaching: In a deep pot, add 1 small chicken (2.5-3 pounds), a few peppercorns, and a few bay leaves. Cover with water. Bring to a gentle boil and then let it simmer for 40 minutes.
Or, one Dr Who. You know, just poach it.
Let it cool, if you can in the broth. (Oh, and save the broth for something else). Then, remove to a cutting board, and shred off some of the poached chicken.
For the salad: Toast a small handful whole almonds and about a tsp or two of cumin seeds. Use a dry pan and medium heat. You have time to rinse & spin your greens, but watch the heat! The almonds and cumin’ll burn fast. As soon as you smell their lovely aromas, pull them off heat.
Serve the greens with some of the shredded chicken, top with the toasted almonds and cumin. And, drizzle over a simple lemon and olive oil dressing. SO delightful! I was going to add some thinly sliced spring onion, but in hindsight, I’m glad I forgot since the sharp onion flavor might have thrown off the balance.
Within Season 
Posted on May 4, 2011
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