Grilled Chicken with Summer Salad and Basil Vinaigrette
The heat of summer has officially rolled in, and when it’s this hot outside, the last thing I want is a hot, heavy meal to match. Enter: Grilled Chicken with Summer Salad and Basil Vinaigrette. Light, fresh, and just the thing for when you want dinner on the table without turning your kitchen into a sauna.
And you already know how I feel about corn. I love corn in pretty much any form, but fresh corn in summer — especially grilled corn — might be my favorite way to eat it. Remember this Creamy Corn Salad I made a while back? It would be absolutely perfect alongside chicken, fish or even a steak this summer as well, if you’re in the mood for double corn duty (no judgment here).
Life around here has slowed down in the best possible way lately. We’ve been spending most of our free time with family and friends, and pouring the rest of it into the garden — mostly in a valiant effort to save it from the summer heat, the critters, and the bugs that all seem bent on destroying everything we’ve grown.
This has been a big year of changes for our little garden space. We tore down the old chicken coop and run, and Mr. Wonderful rebuilt almost every single one of our raised beds.
In that newly empty chicken space, he added a bunch of smaller beds too, so we’ve got even more room to grow this season.
We also finally jumped on the cattle panel arch bandwagon, and honestly, we adore it.
Because subtlety has never really been our style, we wrapped the whole thing in solar twinkle lights — it’s absolutely charming after dark, and the lightning bugs have clearly decided the arch belongs to them, gathering underneath it every night like it’s their personal clubhouse.
On the home front, Bear was thrilled to have his cousin Stoney come stay for a week while Stoney’s parents were off on vacation — plenty of chaos and good company to go around.
Between all of that, the garden has gotten a little jungle-like the deeper we get into summer.
But enough rambling, back to the recipe!
Send your husband out to the grill with the chicken and corn, and by the time he wanders back inside, you’ll have just enough time to whiz up the basil vinaigrette and chop the rest of the salad ingredients. Dinner, practically done for you.
Want it even lighter? Try this with grilled shrimp instead — it’s every bit as delicious.
I hope you find ways to cool down this summer, and that you love this one as much as we did!
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 1. t. garlic powder
- 4 ears of fresh corn on the cob
- English Cucumber, about 1 cup diced
- 2 T. red onion, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeds and inners removed (add to taste for heat)
- ½ c. fresh basil cut into chiffonade
- 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
- 1½ c. orzo or farro cooked
- 1 avocado, chopped
- DRESSING INGREDIENTS:
- ½ c. olive oil
- ¼ c. honey
- 1 tangerine, juiced
- ½ c. fresh basil
- ½ t. dried mustard
- ½ t. salt
- ¼ t pepper
- Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper (to taste) and garlic powder
- Grill chicken and corn on grill until desired doneness (we like our corn slightly charred). Chicken should reach 165º.
- Cut corn off cob into bowl. Let chicken rest on platter
- Add the feta, cucumbers, red onion, jalapeno and chiffonade basil into bowl with corn;sprinkle with salt and pepper, and mix all together well.
- In blender, blend all ingredients but olive oil then slowly drizzle in oil to emulsify
- Drizzle about ½ of dressing over vegetables in bowl and mix.
- Pour vegetable salad over chicken on platter. Drizzle more dressing over top. Garnish with extra chiffonade basil and serve
