Lunch Week 20: Roasted Chicken and Potato Salad

So every Sunday, I head over to the kitchen to whip up a big batch of food for lunch next week. Yes, I brown bag. And I almost always do it, unless I become too busy to even buy cold cuts from the deli. I do it for several reasons being health, finance, and laziness. Now, you may think that spending hours on a day off to prep and cook five meals at once is hardly lazy. But let me remind you, I hate it when the time comes to decide what to eat for lunch every day. I work in Midtown so the choices are endless. My problem, the more choices, the harder it is for me. So it's much easier for me to have my lunch ready and already decided.

So my lunch for the week: Roasted Chicken and Potato Salad

This recipe was derived from the use of what's already in the kitchen. I had some potatoes that were already sprouting so I needed to use them soon. I also recently bought a large amount of chicken from Costco so that meat was readily available. And various vegetables hung around in the crisper of my fridge aching to be used. So I did what was best for me, my wallet, and those ingredients. I used them all!

I started with the chicken. I'm usually a chicken thigh fan. I find the meat much more tasty and juicy. Unfortunately, all I could find that day in bulk was chicken breast. And so, I marinated the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, dry mustard, red wine vinegar, and oil. I didn't have time to marinade them overnight so I massaged the meat a bit instead.

Then into a pre-heated oven at 375oF for about 30-45 minutes until the instant read thermometer read 180oF when stabbed into one of the breasts.

While the chicken cooks, I started the potatoes. I took my almost spoiled potatoes and cut off the parts where roots started to grow. Then I diced them into smaller bite sized pieces and threw them into a pot with cold water. When all of the potatoes are chopped up, I added copious amounts of salt to the water and set the pot on the stove with the burner on high. I covered and waited until the water boiled. Once at a rapid boil, I uncovered the pot and tested the potatoes for tenderness. You can see if your spuds are ready when you stick a metal fork into one of the pieces. When it goes through easily without a lot of force, it's ready. Drain the potatoes immediately and place in a glass bowl. Add red wine vinegar and salt immediately while the potatoes are still hot and steaming. Then I added ground black pepper, dijon mustard, mayo, hot pepper spread, and coarse ground garlic mustard. The heat really helps the potatoes absorb all those flavors that I added. I tasted them for quality control and they were a little sour. So I added some sugar just to balance it out.

When the chicken is ready, let it rest until the juices are absorbed back into the meat and when its cool enough to handle. Then chop up the chicken in smaller bite pieces pieces similar to the potato pieces. Add to the potato salad mixture and combine thoroughly.

As the chicken and potatoes cool off, I chopped up the rest of the salad vegetables. I used a cucumber (peeled, seeded, then diced);

A red onion; 3 differently colored bell peppers (red, orange, yellow);

Celery; and a carrot. I chose to shred the carrot instead of chopping for ease of eating. I mixed those thoroughly together.

Lastly, all the ingredients are combined. The chicken and potato are already in one bowl. Add the salted cashews, then the vegetables in 2 separate turns. I mixed it after each time. The last part is really lining the plastic containers with spring mix then adding the salad mixture on top. The result is something quite strange and yet really satisfying. Lots of textures and flavors are going on there. You get a lot of crunch from the fresh veggies and cashews. But the chicken in softer and the potatoes even more so. The freshness of the vegetables stand up to the tang of the dressing from the potatoes. Yet sneakingly, the hot pepper spread doesn't go unnoticed. This dish is really satisfying with its meatiness and balanced with all the vegetables and carbs from the potatoes. It may not look pretty but it tasted good.