Mediterranean Kale Salad With Pan Seared Chicken Breast

About

This delicious low carb salad is the ultimate Mediterranean Kale Salad. Tender baby kale leaves are studded with sliced cherry tomatoes, diced, crispy cucumbers, and slices of Greek seasoned pan-seared chicken breast. Take this Keto dish over the top by adding cubes of feta cheese that are combined with extra virgin olive oil, sliced kalamata olives, freshly chopped parsley, and rosemary.

How can I prep this salad ahead of time?

This salad may have quite a few steps, but here are a few tips to prep this ahead of time. The chicken can be placed into a zip-top bag and marinated up to one day before cooking it. The cherry tomatoes and cucumbers can be cut ready to go as well as the feta cheese and kalamata olive mixture. Once you are prepared to serve the salad, arrange the greens onto the plates and add the toppings and cook the chicken right before serving (unless you want your chicken cold!). If you want your chicken cold, cook it ahead of time, slice it, and refrigerate it, so it is ready to serve.

What other types of meat can I use for this salad?

This marinate would work amazingly well with shrimp, beef, and pork. So feel free to get creative or use whatever you have on hand instead. Tofu or tempeh would be great for vegetarians and vegans.

Serving suggestions

Serve this wonderful Mediterranean Kale salad with this high fiber, very filling bread rolls recipe

Ingredients

2 ½ breast bone and skin r chicken breast boneless skinless raw
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoon oregano, dried
½ teaspoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon dill weed, dried
½ teaspoon parsley, dried
1 teaspoon rosemary, dried
3 teaspoon coarse kosher salt by morton
18 cup baby kale
4 ounce feta cheese
20 olives pitted kalamata olives by mezzetta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cup tomato raw (includes cherry, grape, roma)
1 large – 8 1/4" long cucumber
½ tablespoon parsley
½ tablespoon rosemary, fresh
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup lemon juice
2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt by morton
1 clove garlic, fresh
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Combine all the marinade ingredients into a zip-top bag. This includes the olive oil, oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, dill, parsley, rosemary and 3 teaspoons of kosher salt. Close the bag and massage it around to combine it. Then add the chicken breasts. Massage the marinade onto the chicken for several minutes. This will help to tenderize the meat and allow it to absorb the marinade. You can marinate the chicken for up to one day ahead.
Next, prepare the toppings for the salad. Slice the tomatoes in half and dice the cucumber. Place it into an airtight container and refrigerate.
Dice the feta cheese into ½” pieces and place it into an airtight container along with sliced kalamata olives, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ½ tablespoons each of chopped fresh parsley and fresh rosemary. Refrigerate this mixture until ready to serve the salad.
Then make the salad dressing by combining ½ cup olive oil, ½ cup lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt, one grated garlic clove, and whisk it all together until emulsified (lightened in color with no oil separation).
Once you are ready to serve the salad, preheat a large nonstick, heat proof skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is very hot, add 2 tablespoon olive oil and place the chicken breasts down into the pan smooth side down. Allow them to sear for several minutes without lifting them to allow color to develop. Once the sear has developed, flip the chicken and place the pan into the oven at 350 F. Allow the chicken to bake until the internal temperature has reached 165 F, about 5-7 minutes. Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes and slice it thinly.
To make the salad, top each plate with 3 cups of baby kale, stud the salad with some of the cucumbers, tomatoes and sliced chicken breast. Add a side of the feta cheese mixture and then drizzle the entire salad with the lemon dressing. Serve immediately.