Chicken and Avocado With Hot Honey Sauce Vinaigrette Recipe

I always get asked about my favorite salad. Although mine changes with my mood, this is my daughter’s favorite and the one that she never got tired of when she was eating salads every day. There’s something about the walnuts and feta with the hint of spice and sweet in the dressing that makes it the perfect combination. It is inspired by a fun little bistro in Santa Rosa, California, called Franchetti’s. You feel like family when you’re there, and we have spent many hours at Franchetti’s celebrating birthdays, graduations, successes and friendships. Always supporting the community, they gave away meals to many displaced families during the fires of 2017.  — Darlene Schrijver

Chicken and Avocado with Hot Honey Sauce Vinaigrette

Serves 4 as a meal or 6 to 8 as a side

Ingredients

• ½ cup coarsely chopped, toasted walnuts
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
• ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons plus 1½  teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• Flaky sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce (bite-size pieces)
• 4 cups thinly sliced lacinato kale, ribs removed
• 2 cups cubed rotisserie chicken breast, skin removed (1-inch pieces)*
• 2 cups cubed avocado (½-inch pieces)
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ¼ cup very coarsely chopped fresh dill (½-inch pieces)

*Rotisserie chickens can be extremely salty. I try to find the no-salt or low-sodium ones when I can. If the only ones available are too salty, substitute homemade grilled chicken breast. Always taste the chicken before adding salt to the salad or dressing. People often ask for a substitute for feta — experiment with a fresh goat cheese or plain Boursin.

Courtesy Simon & Schuster

Directions

Toast the nuts. This step improves the flavor and texture of nuts, even if you purchase roasted nuts. Heating them draws the natural oils to the surface, intensifying the rich nutty essence and creating a deeper color, and the nuts are crunchier. Heat a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Once heated, add a single layer of nuts. Stir frequently with a spatula until the nuts turn golden brown and aromatic, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove the nuts from the pan and transfer to a small bowl to stop the cooking. Let cool for a few minutes before using. Store extras in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or 3 months in the freezer.

In a large salad bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, mustard and Tabasco and season with salt and pepper. Whisk until emulsified, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

In the salad bowl with the dressing, combine the romaine lettuce, kale, chicken, avocado, feta, dill and walnuts. Toss until all the ingredients are evenly combined and coated with dressing and serve.

Excerpted from The Salad Lab. Copyright © 2024, Darlene Schrijver. Photography Copyright © 2023 by Erin Kunkel. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC. All rights reserved.