Bruschetta Chicken Salad

This salad is mostly inspired by my Dad’s recipes. At most family dinners, especially in the summer time when the tomatoes are fresh from the garden, he will make a delicious bruschetta with herbs and tomatoes on a garlic toast- it is one of my favourite things to eat. He also makes a delicious balsamic dressing that I love to replicate and put on all my salads. So, I decided to combine those two recipes and create a meal salad.

Lettuce is topped with freshly baked or grilled chicken breast- thinly sliced. Everything is mixed with the balsamic dressing and then the entire salad is mixed in with homemade bruschetta and garlic croutons. Drizzle with my favourite, you guessed it, balsamic syrup.

Follow these easy steps and you will have a meal sized salad worth gossiping about!

Bruschetta Chicken Salad

Yield: 2-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
2 chicken breasts 
2 tomatoes, small dice
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tbsp chopped basil
1 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
Handful of arugula
Croutons- store bought or home made

Balsamic dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, make balsamic dressing by mixing all ingredients together.
2. In a separate small bowl, place chicken breast inside and top with about half the dressing until chicken is covered. Reserve the rest of the dressing.
3. Marinate the chicken in the fridge for a minimum of an hour.
4. Meanwhile, make bruschetta. In a bowl combine, tomatoes, fresh herbs, onion and tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix, set aside and let flavours marinate.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Remove chicken from fridge and using tongs, remove from bowl and sauté in a large oven safe pan until one side is nice and brown. Turn chicken over for about a min. Top with some of the marinade and place pan with chicken in oven for about 15 minutes or until juices run clear.
7. Place lettuce and arugula in large bowl and dress with the remaining balsamic dressing that we set aside, NOT the one on the chicken.
8. Cut up the cooked chicken into thin slices and place on top of the lettuce, top chicken with bruschetta and croutons. Drizzle with balsamic drizzle (optional). Enjoy!