There is a happy place one finds when dinner is on the table without much fuss or prep and everyone is digging in, chatting about their day. No one is whining about not liking the dinner option, no one is grumbling about spending too much time in the kitchen ... While this can happen with a wide variety of dishes, it is definitely a thing with this recipe.
You can start the marinating for the chicken in the morning, and that will help streamline dinner assembly. This grain salad is also great without the chicken, if you want to make this a meatless option.
Farro Salad with Lemon-Oregano Chicken
Serves 4 -6
Ingredients
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
¾ teaspoon pepper
1 ¾ teaspoons table salt, plus salt for cooking farro
6 (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup thinly sliced pepperoncini, plus 4 tablespoon brine, divided
2 cups whole farro
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 yellow pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
3 plum tomatos, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Directions
Marinate chicken:
In a large ziplock bag, combine 1 tablespoon oil, oregano, lemon zest, pepper, 2 T pepperoncini brine and salt. Remove 2 tsp of mixture; set aside. Add chicken breasts to ziplock bag, seal and squish around to coat each piece of chicken. Set aside and marinate at least 1 hour or as long as 6 hours.
Cook farro:
Warm 1 T olive oil over medium heat, and add farro. Toast the grain until it starts to smell nutty, stirring occasionally, 5 - 8 minutes. The grains will start to smell really nutty, and will begin to brown a little. Add 1/2 tsp of salt (to taste), a few grinds of fresh pepper. Stir again to distribute seasonings, and slowly stir in 4 1/2 cups water. Bring to boil, turn down heat and let simmer 15 - 20 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat, cover and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
Set aside until ready to assemble the salad.
Cook chicken:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook until chicken is golden brown and registering 160 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to carving board.
Assemble the salad:
Whisk remaining pepperoncini brine, lemon juice, remaining ¼ cup oil, and remaining 2 teaspoons oregano mixture together in large bowl. Add peppers, tomato, farro, and pepperoncini to the bowl and toss to combine. Slice chicken ½ inch thick and serve with farro salad.
Enjoy!
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