Chicken And Fruit Platter With Orange-Ginger Dressing
The Orange-Ginger Dressing is a splendid sauce. Count on it to turn nearly any fruit into a luxury. Serve this refreshing salad for lunch or a light dinner accompanied with peasant bread or your favorite kind of muffin.
For the chicken
2 teaspoons canola oil
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
For the dressing
½ cup plain yogurt
¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tablespoon finely minced crystallized ginger (see Tip)
1 teaspoon sugar
To complete the recipe
1 cup thinly sliced celery
4 leaves leaf lettuce
½ cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cut into 8 wedges
¼ honeydew melon, peeled, seeded, and cut into 4 wedges
4 small clusters of seedless red grapes
Toasted sliced almonds for garnish
Heat a stovetop grill over high heat or prepare an outdoor grill. Brush the chicken with the oil and grill on both sides until lightly browned and thoroughly cooked.
Transfer the chicken to a plate; cut into 2-inch by ½-inch strips. Refrigerate to cool.
Meanwhile, stir together the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl, making certain the sugar is dissolved.
Remove ¼ cup of the dressing. Add the chicken and celery to the dressing remaining in the bowl; toss until well combined.
To serve, mound the chicken salad atop lettuce leaves on each of 4 plates; surround with the cantaloupe and honeydew wedges and clusters of grapes. Drizzle the melon wedges with the remaining dressing, about 1 tablespoon per serving.
Advance preparation
The dressing will keep for 2 days in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator. The chicken salad can be made and refrigerated early the day it is to be served.
Paulette Mitchell, a culinary instructor, television personality, spokesperson, freelance food writer, and the award-winning author of 13 cookbooks, is known internationally for her quick-to-prepare recipes with gourmet flair. Paulette's most recently published cookbook is "The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet: Creative Cuisine Made Fast and Fresh." She is also the author of "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup" and "The Spirited Vegetarian," which was voted "Best Book in the World on Cooking with Wine" at the 2005 Gourmand World Media Awards. Paulette says that international travel is her favorite source of culinary inspiration. 








