I have to be completely honest with you: I really don’t care much for radicchio. It is one of those sneaky vegetables that looks beautiful and inviting with it’s bright purple colors. Then you bite into it and the taste of bitterness of almost overwhelming. However, I kept getting it in my local produce delivery, so I thought I would give it another try. Challenge accepted!
A number one rule of radicchio is that a little bit goes a long way. A leafy veggie from the chicory root family, it is chock full of vitamin K. The bitter flavor comes from intybin, which helps to stimulate appetite and the digestive system. You can tell very easily if it too much has been used in a recipe, particularly if it is a raw recipe. Many people cook it and say the flavor completely changes, so I will have to try it that way one day. For now, I have paired it with tasty crispy chicken, fresh strawberries and sweet honey poppyseed dressing. And it is pretty darn good. I have made radicchio likable, even to me. Challenge complete!
Another great thing about this salad is that the crispy chicken is made with buckwheat flour and pecans, making it an excellent source of fiber, magnesium and manganese without the gluten for those that are intolerant. It is baked, yet has the perfect crispy consistency and flavor. It is also full of great omega-3 essential fatty acids from the addition of flax and hemp seeds. Omega-3’s help the nervous system stay in working order (aka… keeps me sane…Kevin thanks you omega-3.) The typical Standard American Diet is extremely deficient in omega-3’s. Our ratio of omega 6: omega 3 is way off due to processed foods and intake of polyunsaturated oils like canola, soy, etc. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the acronym is S.A.D. do you?
Ok off my podium and back to this deliciousness. Sooooo good…
This is also a great salad to take to work. The chicken isn’t as crispy after it has been refrigerated but the flavor still rocks! I layered it in the jar in this order: dressing, chicken, kale, lettuce, radicchio, strawberries, and slivered almonds. Shake well and enjoy on-the-go!
Crispy chicken without all the gluten topped on a bed of delicious greens and drizzled with honey poppyseed dressing. Mmmmm!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4 -6 servings
Author This Season’s Table
Ingredients
- 2
lb
organic free range chicken breasts
cut into strips - 2
free range eggs - Coconut oil spray
- Flour mix
- 1/4
cup
whole flax seeds - 2
tbsp
hemp seeds - 1/2
cup
pecans - 1
tsp
salt - 1/4
cup
buckwheat flour - Salad Mix
per plate - 1
cup
Kale greens
chopped - 1/2
cup
Radicchio
chopped fine - 1
cup
romaine
chopped - 3
sliced strawberries - 1
tbsp
Sliced almonds - Honey poppyseed dressing
slightly adapted from The Kitchen McCabe - 3/4
cup
white wine vinegar - 1
cup
avocado oil - 1/2
cup
honey - 1
tsp
salt - 1
tsp
onion powder - 3/4
tsp
dry mustard - 2
tbsp
poppy-seeds
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place flax seed, hemp seeds and pecans in food processor and blend until pieces are broken down into smaller pieces. Mix with buckwheat flour and salt. Set aside.
Beat eggs in a bowl. Coat chicken in egg mixture and then flour mixture. Place on baking pan lined with parchment paper or foil. Spray tops of chicken with coconut oil and bake for 15-20 min, until chicken is done. The color of buckwheat flour is dark, so don’t judge the cooking time based on a golden brown color or it could be overcooked / undercooked.
While chicken is cooking, arrange salad mix onto a plate in order of ingredients. The salad ingredient list measurements are set for one plate, so arrange according to how many people you are serving. Top with crispy chicken and honey poppyseed dressing.
