Grilled Chicken Upside Down Salad

A few weeks ago, my friend Sandra created the most delicious salad for me on my birthday. We had a little college reunion at my friend, Zenia’s home and shared a nice homemade lunch. Zenia served roasted kabocha squash, Sandra created this upside down grilled chicken salad and our other friend, Wanda brought macarons and her newborn baby girl. We ate, laughed and admired the newness of a sweet little baby. I’m thankful for these precious friendships that have been a part of my life for over 18 years. 

Sandra came up with this salad and I was hooked because I loved all the different ingredients she put together. It reminds me of a Mediterranean salad which I love and my favorite part is that I can eat it without any salad dressing. The feta cheese and pickled beets add a ton of flavor so those are key ingredients. If you haven’t tried pickled beets, go get some because they really make this salad. I like to think of it as the equivalent of American kimchee. It’s great as a side for other dishes and after eating this salad, I buy two jars of it every time I go to Costco. Yup, I’m hooked on these beets. 

Grilled Chicken Upside Down Salad 

Ingredients:

• lettuce, spinach or mixed greens
• chopped tomatoes
• sliced avocodos
• hummus
• grilled chicken
• sliced mushrooms
• diced red onion
• feta cheese
• diced pickled beets
• balsamic glaze or dressing

The salad is pretty simple. Spoon some hummus on a plate. I usually use regular hummus but this time around, I went a little crazy and used pesto hummus. I grill the seasoned chicken on the George Foreman grill. You can cut into the chicken breast if it’s too thick to ensure it gets cooked all the way through.

Then just add the greens and the rest of the veggies, and the feta cheese. Top the salad with the diced pickled beets. You can sprinkle some balsamic glaze or dressing on top if you need more added flavor.

It’s such a pretty salad right? When a meal is healthy, it has to be delicious and in this case, it fits both categories. It’s much easier to cut into the chicken too since it’s on the bottom of the plate. The hummus adds a nice touch and complements the rest of the ingredients. 

Try it and lmk what you think. Thank you, Sandra for my new favorite salad! 

Yuni