Italian Chicken Salad in lettuce cups

All the credit on this one goes to my girl Giada De Laurentiis.  I love Italian food, but much of what I was used to from my youth was heavy and wintery.  This?  Is not heavy or wintery at all.  If I remember right, she made this for a baby shower, which would explain the gigantic portions used in the recipe.  I can personally attest that it is easily scaled back to small family sized portions.  Or hey, just make the full recipe and invite a bunch of people over.  Like me. 

PS – Giada, if you ever read this, I have an adorable son who’s just the right age for your daughter.  Just sayin’.

as written, serves 12

• 10 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (from about 3 purchased roasted whole chickens)
• 2 cups roasted red and yellow bell peppers, drained, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups paper-thin slices red onion
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/2 cup drained capers
• 1 1/2 cups (about) Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 24 butter lettuce leaves (from about 3 large heads)
• 1 (4-ounce) piece Parmesan, shaved with vegetable peeler

Directions

Toss the chicken, bell peppers, onion, parsley, almonds, and capers in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Season the chicken salad with salt and pepper, to taste.

Arrange 1 large lettuce cup and 1 small lettuce cup on each plate, overlapping slightly. Spoon the chicken salad into the lettuce cups. Drizzle more vinaigrette over the salads. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.

Do-Ahead Tip: The chicken salad can be prepared 4 hours ahead and refrigerated. Just before serving, spoon the salad into the lettuce cups.

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup olive oil

Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually add the oil and blend until emulsified.

Yield: 1 3/4 cups

Some notes – I serve this on bread to make it a little heartier for dinner.  You might want  to toast your bread ahead of time, since the dressing is fairly juicy.  If your bread it toasted, it just soaks up everything nicely rather than falling apart.    Second, I always forget about the Parmesan, but when I do remember, it adds a lovely finishing touch.  Thirdly, if you have a chicken or some boneless skinless breasts you’ve cooked up, they work great too.  Purchasing roasted chickens certainly makes things easier and faster, but not cheaper.  I’m a big fan of cheaper (when it doesn’t sacrifice quality), and usually make this with boneless breasts I just cook in the oven with some salt and pepper.  Finally, I was cooking up a storm tonight and had already dirtied nearly every dish in the house, so I didn’t really want to drag the blender out as well, so since I was just making a small batch of the dressing, I just dumped all the ingredients into a canning jar and shook it for all it was worth.  Guess what?  Turned out great and didn’t take up as much room in the dishwasher.

Trust me on this one, guys.  I have been making this recipe for years now, and as a connoisseur of chicken salads, this is one of the absolute best.  Delicious flavor, fast, and healthy.  What more could you want?

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