Spinach Salad With Chicken, Orange and Sesame. (Photo by Tom McCorkle/For The Washington Post; food styling by Gina Nistico/For The Washington Post)
There’s a viral post circulating on social media in which a woman declares that, by the ago of 30, people should have a favorite apple. I have a few, two of which are Honeycrisp and Braeburn. (Also, consider this the start of my petition to rename Red Delicious, because delicious they are not.) I believe you should have a favorite orange, too.
Navels are the most common type you’ll find in your average grocery store.
Valencias are excellent for juicing because the juice they produce won’t turn bitter as with other varieties. Blood oranges are prized for their deeply colored flesh. However, my favorite oranges are Cara Caras: They are seedless, taste sweeter and less acidic than other varieties, and boast a beautiful coral interior. I urge you to give them a try if you’ve never had them before - and right now, while they’re at their peak during winter - either as a snack or to add color, texture and flavor to this spinach salad with chicken.
Tender, mild and slightly earthy baby spinach forms the base for this salad.
Freshly cooked, leftover or rotisserie chicken is added for protein, but canned beans, tofu, shrimp, diced pork tenderloin or whatever else you have on hand works, too. Cara Cara orange segments add juicy pops of fruit, chopped roasted almonds add crunch, and a toasted sesame vinaigrette brings it all together.
The first time I made this salad, I added only the supremes (the culinary term for the orange segments without any pith or membrane attached). But staring down at my cutting board, I realized I had made a mistake. There sat the fruit’s peel - with its zest full of concentrated citrus goodness - destined for a trip to the garbage can. I corrected my error the second time around by zesting the orange with a Microplane before deftly cutting out the segments.
The zest, alongside whatever juice you can squeeze out of the remaining fruit, gets mixed with toasted sesame oil, honey and sherry vinegar for a nutty and sweet vinaigrette.
However, the revelation for me in this salad was store-bought parmesan crisps. My original idea was to include some sort of homemade cheesy crouton, but in my desire to make recipes as streamlined as possible, I remembered the bags of these treats that are available at grocery stores. (You can also make them at home by baking piles of finely grated cheese on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone liner in a moderately hot oven until lightly golden and crisp around the edges.)
Parmesan crisps make a great stand-in for croutons in salads. (Photo by Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Gina Nistico for The Washington Post)
I love cheese in all its forms, but the crispy variety holds a special place in my heart and stomach. These crunchy, salty, savory bites remind me of the corner pieces of lasagna or a breadcrumb-topped casserole of macaroni and cheese. Cheese crisps are hardly new - you might know them as frico or chicharrón de queso - but they certainly are delicious. Now the store-bought bags of parmesan crisps are a new personal favorite snack and ingredient. (No, I’m not getting paid by Big Parma.) Grab some on your next grocery run to eat by the fistful, or to add to this savory, salty, nutty and fruity spinach salad.
Spinach Salad With Chicken, Orange and Sesame
This wintry salad features baby spinach, chicken, orange, almonds, parmesan crisps and a toasted sesame dressing. The combination is nutty, savory and sweet. Although any oranges will do, the Cara Cara variety is seedless and tastes sweeter and less acidic than other varieties. While this recipe calls for chicken, you can add any protein of your choosing.
1-2 servings (makes about 4 1/2 cups)
Total time: 15 minutes.
Storage note:This salad is best enjoyed immediately.
INGREDIENTS
1 Cara Cara orange
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
2 1/2 cups (2 1/2 ounces) loosely packed baby spinach
1 heaping cup (5 ounces) diced cooked chicken breast (from 1 medium boneless, skinless breast)
1/4 cup chopped lightly salted roasted almonds
Fine salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup store-bought parmesan crisps
DIRECTIONS
Using a rasp grater, such as Microplane, finely zest the orange into a small bowl.
Cut the top and bottom off the zested orange. Stand it on a cutting board and, following the curve of the fruit, cut away the skin and white pith. Then, working over the small bowl with the zest to catch the juices, cut each orange section out of its pith and place in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice from the remains of the fruit into the small bowl with the zest.
To the bowl with the zest, add the oil, honey and vinegar, and whisk until emulsified. (Measuring the oil first helps the honey easily pour from the spoon.)
To the bowl with the orange segments, add the spinach, chicken, almonds and dressing, and gently toss until evenly combined. Taste, and season with salt and pepper, as desired. Transfer the salad to bowls or plates, and top with the parmesan crisps.
Substitutions: Honey >> maple syrup or agave. Sherry vinegar >> citrus juice or another type of vinegar. Spinach >> another tender green. Cooked chicken breast >> cooked dark meat chicken, seafood, tofu or beans. Cara Cara orange >> grapefruit, pomelo or other type of orange. Almonds >> other nuts or seeds. Parmesan crisps >> freshly grated parmesan cheese. If you don’t want to buy parmesan crisps >> make your own.
Nutritional information per serving (2 1/4 cups, based on 2) | 459 Calories: 23g Carbohydrates, 72mg Cholesterol, 30g Fat, 5g Fiber, 32g Protein, 5g Saturated Fat, 594mg Sodium, 17g Sugar
This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.
