Rotisserie Chicken Salad

A Pre-Roasted Chicken Becomes a Perfect Summer Supper

• Servings: 4.

This recipe comes to me from my friend Karin Giger in New Orleans.  She's a gifted home cook and brilliant hostess, but living where she does, she also knows about making wonderful meals without adding heat to the kitchen.  This recipe uses a pre-roasted chicken, preferably one bought from a butcher who knows how to make a great rotisserie bird.

Ingredients

• 1 whole store-bought rotisserie chicken (about 3 pounds) or a chicken that you have roasted and let cool to room temperature
• 3 to 4 cups mixed greens that have been washed and dried (mesclun, pieces of Romaine lettuce, arugula, or similar)
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced red and yellow peppers
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1/2 cup feta cheese cut into a small 1/2-inch dice
• 1/4 cup red onion cut into a small dice, about 3/8-inch
• 1/4 cup of your favorite vinaigrette

Directions

1. In a 250º F oven, toast the pecan halves in a sheet pan until fragrant, crisped and slightly golden. Be careful that you don't burn them. Let cool.
2. With the chicken at room temperature, use your hands to pull it apart into large bite-sized shreds. Do not cut or dice the pieces. The goal is to have them rough. The chicken is also more appealing if it is not chilled but instead at room termperature with its natural fat slightly glistening.
3. Discard the bones, any skin you've removed, and any gristle from pulling the chicken apart.
4. In a large bowl combine the shredded chicken pieces with the sliced peppers, cranberries, pecan pieces, feta cheese and onion. Gently combine.
5. In a separate salad bowl, place the washed greens and toss with a small amount of your favorite vinaigrette. The greens should be slicked with the oil, not wet.
6. Place the chicken combination on top of the dressed greens.
7. Serve immediately.

Tip:  Feta cheese, made from sheep's milk, is often available from Greece, France and Bulgaria.  Here's how to choose based on texture and taste:  Greek is usually the saltiest and most firm.  French usually has the mildest flavor and is creamiest.  And Bulgarian is somewhere in between the two.