chicken breasts are cubed and sauteed in a sweet fig marinade accented with garlic and extra virgin olive oil, paired with crispy prosciutto and a parmesan and avocado-riddled salad.
OK you guys. Dinner idea(s) are here. At least, I hope they will be plural soon enough. Admittedly today is just one dinner idea, but it’s a goodie!!! It’s a combination of ingredients I tend to gravitate towards weekly, if not daily, as I often eat jam-packed salads with chicken as my main protein. Nonetheless, the way I did this particular chicken and this particular salad– it’s particularly lit.
I eat a lot of salads. However, when you are extremely sick with Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis, or perhaps another sort of gut-related issue like SIBO, you may be adverse to salads. I get it. When I was really sick, raw vegetables were especially hard to digest– and this is also why, when you follow the SCD diet in stages, you tend to start with peeled, and soft-cooked veggies before transitioning to the raw and possibly-unpeeled (!) kind. That’s the exact journey I did while on the SCD diet, and thus for a period of time, there wasn’t nary a raw vegetable in sight!
Now that I am a pretty intermediate (?) SCD’er, (if I do say so myself, it’s been three years, going on four) I eat salads-a-plenty without issue. Albeit if I go too crazy on the spinach or kale (lmao, who do I even think I am???!!) I may get some brief/light stomach cramps before having a bowel movement or else be plagued with a day of never-ending bowel movements (ikyk). These days I tend to keep my distance from kale after a particularly painful instance when I may or may not have gone overboard on homemade kale chips– they were delicious but my stomach was not happy. Nonetheless for salads, I’m safe with a rotating mix of greens, leafy or otherwise, from spinach to romaine to red crisp lettuce. This particular recipe calls for a mix of a few of my favourite beds of lettuce.
The lettuce we’re going for here is a combination of crunchy and crispy and soft, with romaine, spinach, and cabbage coming together, alongside the parmesan and avocado, which are of course the stars of the salad and hence the salad is named after the iconic duo.
But let’s talk about the figgy chicken. I mean this is probably the *real* star– softened, soaked dried figs are blended up and mixed with extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic to create a surprisingly delicious marinade that has the sweetness and flavour of the figs behind it. The chicken also has a few go-to spices mixed into it to further enhance the flavour, namely, paprika, but a little bit of salt and pepper too!
Ohhhh lest we forget, prosciutto is also a must for this recipe. It just really helps round out the overall *wow* factor of the salad– I mean, prosciutto, parmesan and avocado are an unbelievable trio in their own right, so add that all to a salad and you can guarantee yourself a bomb salad that even the pickiest of salad eaters will enjoy. It’s too difficult not too, when every bite has a little of that crunchy and salty prosciutto or parmesan to go with it.
I’m done describing the many flavours that occupy this salad, instead, I’d love for you to just try it yourself! The full recipe and instructions are below. I’d love to see your creation, if you do try making this recipe, drop me a comment below or on my Instagram @grainfreee.
A few related recipes if you’re looking for some more savoury, meal-centric ideas:
- EASY HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN THIGHS WITH GREEN ONIONS
- SLOW COOKED AND TENDER FLANK STEAK
- EASY CHEESY SHEET PAN CAULIFLOWER
- LEMON-GARLIC PAN-FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
- WHISKY BBQ CHICKEN N RIBS
figgy pan-fried chicken and prosciutto with parmesan-avocado salad: ingredients
figgy pan-fried chicken
- 1 cup dried figs (they should be soft, soaked in boiling hot water and cover over night)
- 1/4 cup fig water (you can use some water the figs were soaked in or fresh water)
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 4-5 pieces of prosciutto
- 4 chicken breasts (approx 1.5 lbs)
parmesan-avocado salad
- 2 cups romaine
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup chopped red cabbage
- 1/2 cup chopped green cabbage
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 avocado
figgy pan-fried chicken and prosciutto with parmesan-avocado salad: how to
figgy pan-fried chicken
- In a small bowl, mix together the spices.
- Clean and chop your chicken breasts into cubes, and toss the chicken in the spices, in a medium-large bowl.
- Make your fig marinade. Drain the soft, soaked figs and place in a food processor with the water and honey, blending until smooth.
- Remove blade from food processor and mix in the chopped garlic, extra virgin olive oil.
- Pour the marinade all over the spiced chicken breasts, coating well. Cover the bowl and allow to marinade in the fridge overnight.
- When you’re ready to cook the chicken, start by frying your pieces of prosciutto in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Prosciutto only needs to be fried for a few minutes, until they crisp up as desired.
- Set the prosciutto aside for the salads, and place the marinaded chicken breasts in a hot cast iron pan, over medium heat.
- Allow the chicken to cook for ten minutes and then flip, frying in the cast iron for another 10 minutes or so, until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Turn off the heat once done, and cover, allowing the chicken to remain warm as you chop up your salad.
parmesan-avocado salad
- Start by chopping all your salad ingredients. Avocado can be chopped into chunks, while parmesan can be grated.
- Prepare your salad either in one bowl, in which case, do not divide the ingredients, or you can prepare it as I did, in two large, shallow bowls for a dinner-for-two. You will have left over chicken if serving just two people (depending how much said people can eat of course), however, I don’t like salad leftovers, so the salad is here for one night only! If preparing in two separate bowls, divide all ingredients in half for each bowl as you go.
- Place the romaine lettuce in the bowl, add your spinach and layer on both your cabbages.
- Use a corner of the salad bowl to place your figgy chicken atop the bed of lettuce, another corner for your fried prosciutto, your parmesan and your avocado chunks.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
figgy pan-fried chicken and prosciutto with parmesan-avocado salad
Ingredients
figgy pan-fried chicken and prosciutto
- 1 cup dried figs they should be soft, soaked in boiling hot water and cover over night.
- 1/4 cup fig water you can use some water the figs were soaked in or fresh water
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced/finely chopped
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 4-5 pieces of prosciutto
- 4 chicken breasts approx 1.5 lbs
parmesan-avocado salad
- 2 cups romaine
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup chopped red cabbage
- 1/2 cup chopped green cabbage
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 avocado
Instructions
figgy pan-fried chicken and prosciutto
- In a small bowl, mix together the spices.
- Clean and chop your chicken breasts into cubes, and toss the chicken in the spices, in a medium-large bowl.
- Make your fig marinade. Drain the soft, soaked figs and place in a food processor with the water and honey, blending until smooth.
- Remove blade from food processor and mix in the chopped garlic, extra virgin olive oil.
- Pour the marinade all over the spiced chicken breasts, coating well. Cover the bowl and allow to marinade in the fridge overnight.
- When you're ready to cook the chicken, start by frying your pieces of prosciutto in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Prosciutto only needs to be fried for a few minutes, until they crisp up as desired.
- Set the prosciutto aside for the salads, and place the marinaded chicken breasts in a hot cast iron pan, over medium heat.
- Allow the chicken to cook for ten minutes and flip, frying in the cast iron for another 10 minutes or so, until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Turn off the heat and allow to simmer.
parmesan-avocado salad
- Start by chopping all your salad ingredients. Avocado can be chopped into chunks, while parmesan can be grated.
- Prepare your salad either in one bowl, in which case, do not divide the ingredients, or you can prepare it as I did, in two large, shallow bowls for a dinner-for-two. You will have left over chicken if serving just two people (depending how much said people can eat of course), however, I don't like salad leftovers, so the salad is here for one night only! If preparing in two separate bowls, divide all ingredients in half for each bowl as you go.
- Place the romaine lettuce in the bowl, add your spinach and layer on both your cabbages. Use a corner of the salad bowl to place your figgy chicken atop the bed of lettuce, another corner for your fried prosciutto, your parmesan and your avocado chunks.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.