Broiled Chicken with Citrus & Fennel Salad

I think we can all agree that chicken cutlets are about the dullest food out there, but chicken cutlets were in my fridge and so chicken cutlets I attempted to enliven.  Hoping to drive away the frozen rain that's been falling all evening, I opted for the brightest, sunniest alternative I could  think of: this bright and crunchy fennel, radish and citrus salad heaped over marinated and broiled chicken cutlets.

The original Daniel Boulud recipe, which I found via Food & Wine, paired the salad with broiled red snapper and I very much would have preferred snapper for my dinner, but once I got home I knew there was no chance I'd be heading back out to the fish store.  So the cutlets had to do.  I marinated the chicken for about 40 minutes in a quick marinade I whisked together of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons), lemon juice (juice of one lemon), salt, pepper and a small bunch of chopped mint leaves.   (Note: chicken cutlets are thin and start turning into chicken ceviche when marinated in citrus for much more than 40 minutes.  Gross.)

While the chicken marinated, I made the salad, cursing briefly when I realized that I forgot to get a jalapeño at the grocery store.  I'm such a huge fan of all the flavors in this salad that I have no complaints - crunchy fennel and radish plus yummy grapefruit and naval orange segments are all enough to please me, in any form.  It certainly brightened the night a bit, even though part of me wished it was a giant bowl of rigatoni in meat sauce, or some other equally carb-heavy comfort food.

As for the chicken, it was...fine.  It was chicken.  The salad was delish and did its best to make chicken cutlets more exciting, but I would strongly encourage you to try this with the red snapper instead!

Broiled Chicken with Citrus and Fennel Salad
(adapted from Food & Wine, October 2006)

• 4 small radishes, thinly sliced
• 1/2 small fennel bulb—halved, cored and shaved paper-thin
• 1/2 small red or yellow bell pepper, finely diced
  
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced (I wish I had remembered this!!)
  
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon snipped chives
• 1 tablespoon finely shredded mint leaves
• 1 grapefruit
• 1 navel orange
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more  for brushing
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Four chicken cutlets, marinated for 30+ minutes in olive oil, lemon juice and mint

Preheat the broiler. In a large bowl, toss the radishes, fennel, bell pepper, jalapeño, cilantro, chives and mint. Using a sharp knife, peel the grapefruit and orange, removing all of the bitter white pith. Working over the bowl, cut between the membranes and release the sections into the bowl. Squeeze the membranes over the bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the lemon juice to the bowl and season the salad with salt and pepper.

Set the chicken on a baking sheet. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 4 minutes on each side. Using a spatula, transfer to plates. Top with the salad and serve.

 

 

Comments

[Mandy]

Some of my Peruvian friends swore to me that chicken ceviche is actually delicious, but I was unwilling. Guinea pig? Sure. Chicken ceviche? No gracias.