The Boston Salad

Last night I figured out what to do with the resto the pesto. :)

Inspired by the salad I had at Sonsie, I decided to recreate it in a way, putting my own spin on it based on the ingredients I had on hand.


What follows in my take on the Sonsie salad. If for some odd reason you want to try this at home, don't take my measurements and use of ingredients as gospel -- this a kind of DIY salad.

Sonsie Salad

Serves 2

1 lb. (400g) skinned, boneless chicken breast
1/2 punnet grape tomatoes, halved
cooked spinach, either from fresh or frozen
20g goat cheese, sliced
pesto sauce
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 tablespoon butter salt and pepper to taste

Cut the chicken breast into three or four long and skinny pieces. Reserve some of the pesto sauce (about 1/4 cup) in a separate bowl, and use the rest to marinade the chicken, tossing well and adding a bit of salt. Set the chicken aside for two or three hours.

Mix together the bread crumbs and parmesan until fully incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put the butter and the olive oil (about a tablespoon) from the marinade in a hot pan and wait until the butter sizzles. Take out the chicken from the marinade, and coat it on both sides with the bread crumb mixture. Fry it on a medium high heat for about three to four minutes on each side, until nicely golden.

Meanwhile, dress the cooked spinach with the juice of one lime and some sea salt. Arrange it on a serving platter. Place the halved tomatoes on top of the spinach and sprinkle with a bit more sea salt and extra virgin olive oil. Place the chicken on top of the tomatoes, and scatter goat cheese slices all around. The steam from the spinach should soften the goat cheese further. Drizzle the reserved pesto sauce over the goat cheese and tomatoes and chicken. And serve!

The salad turned out to be delicious! I loved how you could taste the pesto in the chicken through its breadcrumb coating, and the goat cheese tasted fantastic along with the spinach and tomatoes.

So, I was able to come up with something on my own -- there's hope for me yet! (p.s. a GREAT way to use up pesto sauce; thank you for your suggestions as well, will keep in mind for the future!)