Chicken Marengo and Spinach Citrus Salad

Yum, I have such a delicious meal to share with you all today!  One of my favorite shows on Food Network is The Next Food Network Star.  (Whoo, the new season starts on June 6th!  Who’s excited??)  Last season, Melissa d’Arabian won the competition and got her own show, which I rather enjoy.  Melissa’s signature cooking technique that helped her win was her 4-step chicken. 

Last Sunday, I was watching Food Network re-runs last and saw her make this chicken Marengo and spinach citrus salad.  I’d never heard of Chicken Marengo before, but her easy cooking technique and the deliciousness of the food convinced me that I needed to try this recipe…and I’m sure glad I did.

The chicken Marengo reminded me of a lot of chicken cacciatore.  It’s filled with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and yellow bell pepper, and it is yummy!  Plus, with Melissa’s easy 4-step cooking method, I was surprised to see that it came together in about 30 minutes and all I had to do was spend about 10 minutes on the salad.  Speaking of the salad, let’s talk about it because it too was fabulous!  I wouldn’t think that spinach and citrus would be a good combination…but what-da-ya-know, it is!  The spinach is mild, the orange segments are tart, the dressing is light and refreshing, and the pecans…oh my, the pecans…they are seasoned with rosemary and cayenne, and they MAKE the salad!

I’m so glad that I made this recipe and I plan to make it again.  Jeremy and I just ate the chicken Marengo and the salad (trying to stay low carb for P90X), but this could easily be paired with some white or brown rice for a complete meal.  A few modifications, per my style, I skipped the flouring of the chicken and I used 1 cup of chicken broth as a substitute for the white wine and beef broth.  With the salad, I used baby spinach and next time I’d probably use 4 cups instead of 3 because there was a lot of dressing for only 3 cups.  As for the dressing, I only had olive oil so I used that and only used 3 tablespoons.

Mmmm, just thinking about this recipe makes me want it again.  We had extra veggies/sauce and I ate that later in the week for lunch over a turkey burger patty.  SO good!  I’m going to have to look into some more recipes from Melissa d’Arabian because she’s totally won me over with this recipe.  It has my highest recommendation! 

Enjoy!

   

Ingredients, minus the chicken.

Prepped veggies.

Spinach salad ingredients.

What a great dinner!

4 Step Chicken Marengo by Food Network

Ingredients

• 3 large chicken cutlets, sliced into thin paillards (slice while partially frozen)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (skipped this)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (used olive oil)
• 1 medium sweet onion, sliced
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and julienned
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup white wine (used chicken broth)
• 1/2 cup beef broth (used chicken broth)
• 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, to taste, and lightly dredge in flour.
2. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the chicken. Brown on both sides, until nicely golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.
3. In the same pan, add more oil, if needed, along with the onion, mushrooms and peppers and sauté until softened and fragrant, but not limp, about 5 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and cook a few minutes to cook out the raw flavor.
6. Turn up the heat, and add the wine/wine to deglaze the pan and let it reduce for 2 or 3 minutes.
7. Add the beef broth and tomatoes.
8. Once the mixture begins to bubble, add the browned paillards and any juices from the chicken and reduce the heat to a simmer.
9. Cook until the chicken is warmed through, about 3 minutes.
10. Turn the heat off and stir in the butter.
11. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

Spinach and Citrus Salad with Sweet and Spicy Pecans

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh spinach, washed and dried, cut into chiffonade
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 orange, supremed and halved
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Citrus Dressing, recipe follows

Directions

1. Put the spinach and green onions in large salad bowl and sprinkle with the halved citrus supremes.
2. In a small saute pan over medium heat, add the butter and sugar and stir until the butter is melted.
3. Add the pecans and toss until the pecans begin to brown.
4. Stir in the rosemary and cayenne and stir just a few seconds to release the aroma.
5. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Sprinkle the pecans on the salad while still warm.
7. Drizzle the dressing over salad and serve.

Citrus Dressing

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons orange or grapefruit juice (or a combination)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil (used olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (omitted this tbs)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk until emulsified.