Moroccan Chicken Salad with Oranges and Almonds

I want to apologize for the recent rush of unfinished posts. Due to an unplanned hospital emergency last week, I was not able to stop blogger from doing it's job when I did not do mine. I have all intentions of finishing what I started but for now, those posts will remained tucked away in my draft file.
If all goes as planned in a few days, my dad and I, will be back in our respective homes and life will be back to normal.
Here is the post that was to be published instead.
See you in a few days.
Sue

If you love Mediterranean flavors, this salad is for you.
The America's Test Kitchen's newest cookbook is all about make ahead meals and because I have a subscription for their on-line sites, they sent me a preview of a few recipes.
I love just about everything that ATK publishes and proud to be a part of their recipe testing program.

I changed two things and added one.
I subbed out the apricots for Mandarin oranges (apricots are not faved in this house), and I used a bagged baby romaine instead of a mix of Romaine and watercress.

I always have Kalamata olives, so I threw in a handful or more.
Either way, it was delicious but light and extremely flavorful.

If you are looking for a low carb meal that is satisfying, I would put this on the menu.
A perfect take-along lunch for work, which can be grazed on all week. The sturdy lettuces will stand a test of time and the chicken only gets better as it soaks up the dressing.

Moroccan Chicken Salad with Apricots and Almonds

* 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
* Salt and pepper
* 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 teaspoon garam masala
* 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
* Pinch smoked paprika
* 1/4 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
* 1 shallot, sliced thin
* 3/4 cup dried apricots, chopped coarse
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
* 2 romaine lettuce hearts (12 ounces), cut into 1-inch pieces
* 4 ounces (4 cups) watercress
* 1/2 cup whole almonds, toasted and chopped coarse

TO PREP

1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown chicken well on first side, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip chicken, add 1/2 cup water, and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to carving board, let cool slightly, then slice 1/2 inch thick on bias. Let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, microwave 1 tablespoon oil, garam masala, coriander, and paprika in medium bowl until oil is hot and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk 3 tablespoons lemon juice, honey, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper into spice mixture. Whisking constantly, drizzle in remaining oil.
3. In large bowl, combine cooled chicken, ­chickpeas, shallot, apricots, parsley, and half of dressing and toss to coat; cover. Whisk remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice into remaining dressing; cover.
4. Toss romaine, watercress, and almonds together in separate bowl; cover.

TO STORE

5. Refrigerate chicken mixture, dressing, and ­lettuce mixture separately for up to 2 days.

TO FINISH AND SERVE

6. Remove chicken mixture, dressing, and lettuce mixture from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Whisk dressing to recombine, drizzle 2 tablespoons dressing over chicken mixture, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss lettuce mixture with remaining dressing and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer lettuce mixture to serving platter and top with chicken mixture. Serve.

Save Some Dressing

To flavor our fresh chicken salad, we made a bold dressing of lemon juice, honey, and warm spices. We used half the dressing to marinate the chicken overnight, ­infusing it with flavor, and stored the remaining dressing and the lettuce separately. We brightened the remaining dressing with a squeeze of lemon juice before adding it to the salad on day two.