Since discovering that the bambino will actually eat spinach (well, baby spinach, anyway), I’ve been looking for ways for us to have it at least once a week. This Spinach, Chicken and Tomato Layered Salad caught my eye as I was looking through my Betty Crocker’s Italian Cooking cookbook, and while I knew the bambino wouldn’t eat the tomatoes, I figured the spinach and chicken would be fine.

And I was right. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it–The recipe includes a dressing, which I thought might be a little over-powering given the amount of herbs in it, but it all worked together beautifully–And this is coming from someone who generally won’t eat raw tomatoes, unless they’re in a Caprese Salad!

This weekend’s Ciabatta was perfect for sopping up excess dressing, which I ended up really liking the more I ate of it. And there was enough salad left over (it makes a LOT, which is somewhat hard to see from the pictures) that I used the rest of the ciabatta to make sandwiches for Jay and I the next day.

Yield: 4-6

Spinach, Chicken and Tomato Layered Salad

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Prep Time 2 hours

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 chicken broth
• 6 oz. baby spinach leaves
• 4 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1/4 C grated Parmesan

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 C extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 2 tsp. dried mint
• 2 tsp. dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Instructions

Heat the 3 Tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet. Season the chicken with the onion powder, and add to the pan. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes, turning frequently.

Add the chicken broth to the skillet, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the pan, and refrigerate the chicken for at least 2 hours, but no more than 24.

Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and either shaking or whisking until well-combined.

Cut the chicken into strips. Lay about a third of the spinach on a large platter. Top with a third of the tomato slices and a third of the chicken. Drizzle with a third of the dressing. Repeat the salad layers twice, drizzling each layer with the dressing. Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.

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