Spring has sprung!

Make this! Make this NOW! It is so very yummy and barely even counts as cooking. The inspiration of this recipe comes from a dish they serve at Bistro Niko, a French Brasserie here in Atlanta. They serve a paillard of chicken that is pounded so thin that it is the size of a dinner plate. It is browned on each side until cooked through and then topped with a salad of endive, arugula, halved cherry tomatoes, and asparagus. My take on it uses a pre-thinned chicken cutlet and incorporates some more veggies. I had been to the farmers market over the weekend and came home with some beautiful, crisp watercress, radishes, and carrots that were a deep orange and tinged with red on the outside. It is such a nice combination of flavors and textures. Crunchy and fresh! Oh Spring, I love you so.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast or cutlet, pounded so that it is even across

olive oil

salt and pepper

watercress or arugula

endive, thinly sliced

asparagus, broken into thirds, bottom third discarded, then blanch the edible pieces

6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved

optional: carrots, radishes (sliced very thinly, I used my mandoline)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 small clove garlic

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

salt and pepper

Method:

heat olive oil and a sliver of butter if you like over med-high heat

season chicken with salt and pepper

brown on both sides until cooked through

while chicken is cooking and resting prepare the salad and dressing

prepare veggies as described in ingredients list

in the bowl of a blender add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and mustard and blend

season with salt and pepper to taste

Toss the salad in some of the dressing (you will have extra dressing so just save it for your next salad) and serve with the cooked chicken.