Chicken, Artichoke and Olive Salad

In yesterday’s post Pieces of Portugal – Part 16 – Faro I mentioned it was a good opportunity for another “intermission” since we moved on to the Northern part of Portugal, into Porto. So I will give you some of my cooking instead today. I hope you are not too disappointed. 🙂

Spring in Colorado is all over the place. One minute it is cold, then it is warm, then it snows, and back to sunshine and shorts, and then rain; all in one week. With weather like is, it makes it very difficult to plan meals, yet somehow I manage, and we always eat well. 🙂

On one of our very warm days, I made another delicious Mediterranean salad. This one was loaded with chicken, olives, artichoke hearts and much more.

Chicken, Artichoke and Olive Salad

Mixed baby greens

1 cup mixed olives, sliced in 1/2

1 tomato, diced or sliced

1/4 red onion, sliced very thin

2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced thin

1/4 cup sliced beets, optional

feta cheese, optional

pepita seeds, optional

lemon herb vinaigrette

Larry’s salads always get cheese, since he is a big cheese eater. I vary his cheeses depending on what kind of salad I am making. Since this is a Mediterranean salad, and feta cheese is very Mediterranean, feta cheese is what he got on his salad this time.

Assemble the salad, adding the sliced chicken on top and add the dressing. I added beets and pepita seeds to mine.

Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil (my olive oil is some we brought back from Portugal this time)

2-3 TBSP lemon juice

1 TBSP capers

2 tsp fresh herbs – I used oregano, thyme and tarragon

fresh ground black pepper

Mix everything together well, and let rest a bit before using. Delicious!

This is a simple, easy-peasy vinaigrette that went very well with this light salad. It is very Mediterranean. A lot of the Mediterranean dressings are very simple like this. They are very light and refreshing, especially when the weather gets warm.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.