Grilled chicken salad with lemon tahini dressing

We braved the sweltering back yard long enough to pick salad greens before both they and we wilted. A quick wash and trip through the salad spinner followed by a trip to the chill chest worked wonders for reviving the lettuce. A quick batch of Harney's raspberry herbal ice tea helped pick us up a bit, enough to contemplate how to make a dent in a very large bowl of fresh greens. I had a grilled chicken breast on hand, so this seemed like a logical solution.

Grilled chicken salad with lemon tahini dressing

Ingredients
1 chicken breast
4 to 5 cups fresh salad greens
1/4 cup thin slices of cucumber
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced
Lemon tahini dressing
Quick garlic croutons

Method
Lightly brush chicken breast with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill about 10 minutes until done, depending on thickness. Let rest until cool enough to slice into thin slices.

Place 2 tablespoons of dressing in a large bowl. Add salad greens and toss to coat, adding more greens or dressing as needed. Transfer to serving plates. Top salad with sliced chicken, cucumber, tomatoes and croutons. Drizzle with more salad dressing as desired.

Quick garlic croutons: Cut 3 slices of a sturdy bread like sourdough into 1-inch cubes. (I practically cheated by using the remnant of last week's cheddar herb bread from Asa Red Wheat Bakery -- so good.) Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, some dried thyme and a bit of powdered garlic. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 until brown and crispy.

Lemon tahini dressing

From “The Complete Kitchen Garden” by Ellen Ecker Ogden

½ cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup olive oil

½ cup tahini

2 tablespoons honey

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, honey, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor. This makes at least 1½ cup, so you'll have leftovers.

Rating: This dressing is tasty, with a nice sharp tang from the fresh lemon juice. But it's a bit gloppy. If you're looking for a drizzleable dressing, I'd suggest starting with a quarter cup of tahini instead and adding more if needed.  As is, it's more the kind of dressing that binds things together, which sometimes you want, but probably not when just tossing with loose greens. It worked well with the chicken, however.