“Chill Out”

Chicken Salad with Fennel and Oranges & Pasta with Charred Scallion Pesto

Featured Cocktail: The Pink Grapefruit

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

Chicken Salad:

1 rotisserie chicken 

1 bulb fennel

4 seedless oranges or blood oranges when in season  

1 package or about 8 cups of wild arugula or arugula  

2 endive

1 small red onion or a sweet Vidalia onion when in season 

2 T fresh oregano or 2 t dried

1 small bunch flat parsley

2 T citrus vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

About ¼ cup, 4T, EVOO

Salt and pepper or red chili flakes

Pasta with Charred Scallion Pesto:

2 bunches scallions, cleaned and trimmed of roots 

Olive oil non-aerosol cooking

Salt and pepper

1 lemon, zest and halve

¼ cup pine nuts or pistachio nuts 

1 cup packed parsley

1 cup basil

½ cup mint leaves

1 large clove garlic

¾ cup, 2 handfuls, grated pecorino cheese

1/3-1/2 cup EVOO

1 pound pasta – I use gigli, a short cut of pasta that looks like lilies or red onion spaghetti  

Bring a large pot of water to boil for pasta.  Salt the water once boiling.

Directions:

Chicken Salad:

Remove the chicken breasts and slice with skin.  Remove the remaining meat, discard skin and bones and slice or pull meat.

 Quarter and core the fennel and thinly slice by hand or with mandolin.  Reserve a handful of fronds and chop. 

 Cut the ends and skin off 3 oranges and slice into wheels.  Cut the remaining orange in half. 

 Arrange arugula on a large patter and slice endive and add to arugula. 

 Thinly slice halved onion and chop oregano and parsley.  Arrange the onions, herbs, oranges and fennel on the salad and dress with juice of 1 orange, vinegar, EVOO and salt and black or red pepper, arrange chicken over salad and serve.

Pasta with Charred Scallion Pesto:

Heat a grill pan or a cast iron skillet over medium-high to high heat, spray onions and char 3-4 minutes all over, season with salt and pepper.  Char the halved, zested lemon, reserving zest for pesto. Cool the scallions to handle and slice half of them on bias, coarsely chop the rest and add to food processor with the zest and juice of the charred lemon.  Toast a handful of nuts on a small pan while the onions and lemon cook or cool.  Add the nuts, green herbs and garlic to food processor and pulse to fine chop and combine, add cheese and pulse it into the mix.  Turn processor on and stream in EVOO until thick sauce forms, transfer to a bowl.   

Cook pasta 1 minute less than package directions.  Add about 3/4 cup of pasta water to the pesto,

Drain pasta and toss with sauce and sliced scallions, adjust salt and pepper.  Serve room temperature or cold.

The Pink Grapefruit:

Tito’s Vodka, Pink Grapefruit, St Germain, Sparkling Rosé, served over ice in collins glass