• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Eat Like No One Else logo

  • 🏠 Home
  • ℹ️ About
    • How to Eat Like No One Else
  • πŸŽ„ Christmas
    • Christmas Breakfast
    • Christmas Cookies
    • Christmas Food Guides
    • Shopping for Christmas Dinner
  • 🎁 Shop for Gifts
  • 🍽️ Recipes
  • ✍️ Sign Up for Virtual Events
  • 🚫 Reduce Food Waste
  • πŸ”¨ Work With Us
  • πŸ“ Privacy Policy
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
menu icon
go to homepage
  • ℹ️ About Us
  • 🍽️ Recipes
  • πŸŽ™οΈ Podcast
  • 🚫 Reduce Food Waste
  • πŸ›’ Best Grocery Stores
  • 🍎 Apples Reviews
  • πŸ”¨ Work With Us
  • πŸ“ Privacy Policy
    • Instagram
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • ℹ️ About Us
    • 🍽️ Recipes
    • πŸŽ™οΈ Podcast
    • 🚫 Reduce Food Waste
    • πŸ›’ Best Grocery Stores
    • 🍎 Apples Reviews
    • πŸ”¨ Work With Us
    • πŸ“ Privacy Policy
    • Instagram
  • Γ—

    Home Β» Recipes Β» Salads & Dressings Β» White Chicken Salad with Giada's Roasted Root Vegetable Vinaigrette

    White Chicken Salad with Giada's Roasted Root Vegetable Vinaigrette

    Published: Jan 21, 2013 Β· Modified: Jan 30, 2020 by Eric Samuelson

    Soup or salad? A question I often received as a kid that I despised when dinning out. Only rarely did I want the soup being offered so I had to go with a salad. Salads I was never impressed with either. Reason being I hated salad dressing. I thought they were all yucky. I would pick some of the lettuce, a few croutons, and pass the rest of the salad to my dad. For years I have never wanted anything to do with salads. I prefer my green veggies cooked in the form of green beans, broccoli, and the like. That is until I realized my salad problem. I hate mayo. Just despise the stuff. Most of the salad dressings I tried were mayo based. As it turns out for years I should have been turning down the fatty, mayo based dressings for those oil/vinegar combos we like to call vinaigrette.

    Today I have for you a simple recipe for a chicken breast salad with a vinaigrette, no mayo needed or wanted here. Now this isn't your everyday let's just shake up some oil and vinegar and call it a day. This is a roasted root vegetable vinaigrette that I recently saw on an episode of Giada at Home. It is meant to be made after roasting parsnips, carrots, and shallots along with a whole chicken. What I did was just roast up the veggies and saute some white meat chicken for the salad.

    I started by cutting the chicken into as equal sized cubes. You can do this with sharp kitchen shears. I used some boneless skinless chicken breasts I got a the grocery store on sale for $1.69/pound. Then add a little sunflower oil to my favorite large saute pan. Season the chicken with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. I started the chicken on medium heat to cook through and then crank the heat up a bit to brown. Set the chicken aside to cook.

    While all of that was going on, I had 1 Parnsip, 1 carrot, and Β½ a shallot roasting in a 400 degree oven on a sheet pan. I added a bit of oil and kosher salt before roasting. I cut them in bite size pieces so they would be done quickly about 20 minutes (flipping half way through). I let the veggie cool before starting the vinaigrette.

    I then placed the root vegetables and all of the rest of the vinaigrette ingredients into my food processor. This includes (taken from Food Network's website):
    β…“ cup extra-virgin olive oil
    ΒΌ cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
    2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
    1 teaspoon maple syrup (Grade B if you can get it)
    ΒΎ teaspoon kosher salt
    ΒΌ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    The vinaigrette came out pretty thick. So I added a little more oil and a bit of water to get it to my desire consistency. It's still going to be thick for a vinaigrette, so don't go too crazy with the water. I just keep tasting as I was going.

    Choosing the Lettuce
    Giada served her vinaigrette over a combination of radicchio, romaine, and Belgian endive. A nice vary combo in color, texture, and flavor. I opted for romaine with baby spinach and Boston lettuce. Do whatever you like. See what looks good in the store (better if from your garden). I highly recommend picking a mixture of something to go with. A mix is always better textually and flavorly (that is now a word in my dictionary) than jut a single type of green. But I don't recommend buying a bag mix. Those cost you more money per pound and aren't as fresh.

    Final Comments on the Vinaigrette
    Overall I was pleased with the vinaigrette. It is very flavorful and rich. The texture and sweet you get from the root vegetables is nicely complimented with the acidic from the apple cider vinegar and the apple juice concentrate. The maple syrup while not overpowering is just there to add another touch of sweetness. It's a good salad dressing indeed that was really nice on the chicken. And it's not bad for you at all. Next time I am asked soup or salad, I won't be so hesitant to go with the salad, especially if I bring my own vinaigrette with me!

    « Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off – Season 2 Farm to Table
    Blood Orange Sherbet Recipe - Alton Brown Inspired »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Nice to Meet You,

    Hi! I'm Eric : Father of 4, living just south of Ann Arbor, MI. I'm a reformed picky eater finding a new way to not conform. Eating what's in season is my jam (I also make it!)

    ☘️ Instant Pot Corned Beef Recipe

    Categories

    Top Posts & Pages

    Episode 100 - How to Cook Sausage in a Hotel Room
    Episode 099 - Best Fish to Buy at ALDI
    Vacuum Packed Corned Beef Shelf Life
    Episode 096 - Why Is It "Corned" Beef?

    Recent Posts

    • Episode 100 - How to Cook Sausage in a Hotel Room
    • Episode 099 - Best Fish to Buy at ALDI
    • Vacuum Packed Corned Beef Shelf Life
    • Episode 096 - Why Is It "Corned" Beef?
    • ALDI Corned Beef Price & Meal Plan

    Reduce Food Waste in Your House

    Copyright © 2023 Eat Like No One Else on the Foodie Pro Theme