Pesto Grilled Chicken Salad
Juicy grilled pesto chicken on a bed of crisp lettuce with tomatoes, avocado, cucumber and feta cheese drizzled with a delicious pesto salad dressing.  A perfect salad for summer days!
Servings: 4 yield(s)
Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 60 mins
Ingredients
    For the pesto
  • 1 handful pine nuts (toasted)
  • 1 garlic clove (peeled & chopped)
  • 1 large bunch of fresh basil (torn)
  • 1 handful of Parmesan cheese (grated)
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt (freshly ground)
    • For the marinade & salad dressing
  • 5 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp freshly made pesto
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 2 garlic cloves (peeled & finely chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • black pepper (freshly ground)
  • 750 g skinless, boneless chicken thigh fillets
    • For the salad
  • 2 little gem lettuces (leaves, washed and dried)
  • 1 avocado (skin removed & diced)
  • 20 baby plum tomatoes (halved)
  • 1 cucumber (roughly chopped)
  • 100 g olives (drained & pitted)
  • 200 g feta cheese (cubed)
  • 1 lemon (quartered)
Instructions
  1. To make the pesto, put the basil, Parmesan, garlic and pine nuts into a food processor and season well. Whiz together and with the motor still running, pour the oil in until the pesto thickens, season to taste. Set aside.
  2. For the marinade/dressing whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a large jug. Pour out half of the dressing into a large, shallow dish. Refrigerate the remaining marinade to use as a dressing later.
  3. Add the chicken to the marinade in the bowl; marinade the chicken for 30 minutes (or up to two hours in the fridge if time allows). While waiting for the chicken, prepare all of the salad ingredients and mix in a large salad bowl.
  4. Once chicken is ready, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a grill pan over medium-high heat or place under a grill. Grill chicken on both sides until browned and completely cooked through.
  5. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes; slice and arrange over salad. Drizzle salad with the remaining dressing. Serve with lemon wedges, and extra basil pesto to garnish. Enjoy!