This is one delicious Raspberry and Lemon Salad that is made better with my crispy chicken croutons. This salad has some of my favorite ingredients: feta, almonds, crispy chicken and raspberries and lemon.
The salad dressing is easy to make and uses just a handful of delicious ingredients. You’ll notice I use more vinegar than olive oil because I like the tang I get with that balance. Feel free to adjust the amounts to suit your preference but this works for me.
In this salad, I used a spring mix of greens but you could use your favorite lettuces and still get great results. Romaine, endive, red lettuce and bibb would all work beautifully.
I love me some feta cheese! If you do too, be sure to check out my Blackberry Chicken Salad for Two or my Compressed Watermelon, Feta & Arugula Salad with Jalapeno Dressing. They are both amazing! Not a fan? No worries, add your favorite cheese. Blue cheese would be fabulous in this but I’d have a hard time thinking of a cheese that wouldn’t work.
My crispy chicken croutons are the star in the dish. Cut into two-bite chunks and shallow fried in lemon olive oil, they are light and crunchy and perfect as a topper on this salad. Just be sure to salt them when they come out of the oil so you have perfectly seasoned chicken in every bite. While I’ve used some specialty lemon olive oil here, feel free to use plain olive oil It works just fine.
This salad is a great main meal. But, I also make this salad minus the chicken as a side dish to many other things like chicken, pork and seafood.
To get started on this recipe, make your salad dressing by mixing 1 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vinegar with a large pinch of salt and 20 grinds of fresh black pepper and the oregano. Taste and adjust seasoning. Put to the side.
Next, set up a breading station by putting the beaten egg and water in a shallow bowl. In a second bowl, add the Wondra flour (or all-purpose flour), and in a third bowl or on a flat plate, add the panko breadcrumbs. Season all three bowls with a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Toss to combine everything in each bowl. NOTE: I’m a big fan of Wondra flour. It is finely milled (almost like talcum powder) so it doesn’t clump. While it is great for making gravy, I’ve grown fond of using it in my breading station since it only leaves a thin coating on the protein. Try it.
Prepare your chicken croutons, by add the chicken pieces into the flour first. Shake off excess.
Then dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture and let the excess drip off.
Roll in the panko, pressing so the breadcrumbs adhere to the chicken. Place on a rack over a baking sheet or plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes to let them set.
The dish does call for flavored olive oil and balsamic vinegar and they make such a difference. You can purchase them right at Patricia and Paul’s website. However, don’t feel obligated to purchase them and you can easily substitute plain olive oil for the lemon flavored oil (you can even add some lemon just or zest for more lemony flavor). For the specialty vinegar, there are lots of great raspberry flavored vinegars out there, so do try one but, regular balsamic vinegar works in this recipe too. Remember, balsamic vinegar is sweeter so there is a definite flavor boost here so stick with that if you can.
If you like this salad, be sure to try some of my other favorites:
Apricot Chicken Salad with Dill
Red Apple and Chicken Salad with Nut Clusters
Shrimp, Summer Corn and Tomato Salad
Raspberry and Lemon Salad with Crispy Chicken Croutons
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Spring Greens
- 6 Oz. Fresh Raspberries
- 3 Tbsp. Crumbled Feta Cheese
- 1/2 Small Shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp. Sliced almonds
- 4 Chicken tenders, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 Cup Panko
- 1 Egg, beat with a tablespoon of water
- 1/4 Cup Wondra Flour
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 Tsp. Oregano
- 3 Tbsp. Patricia and Paul’s Lemon flavored Olive Oil, or plain olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. Patricia and Paul’s Raspberry Flavored Balsamic Vinegar, raspberry vinegar or plain balsamic vinegar
- Zest of a half a lemon
Instructions
- Make your salad dressing by mixing 1 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vinegar with a large pinch of salt and 20 grinds of fresh black pepper and the oregano. Taste and adjust seasoning. Put to the side.
- Set up a breading station by putting the beaten egg and water in a shallow bowl. In a second bowl, add the Wondra flour and in a third bowl or on a flat plate, add the panko breadcrumbs. Season all three bowls with a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Toss to combine everything in each bowl.
- Prepare your chicken croutons, by add the chicken pieces into the flour first. Shake off excess. Then dip in the egg mixture and let the excess drip off. Roll in the panko, pressing so the breadcrumbs adhere to the chicken. Place on a rack over a baking sheet or plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes to let them set.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the lettuce, 3/4 of the raspberries, the shallots, the feta and all but a teaspoon of the almonds. Toss to incorporate. Put to the side to dress right before serving.
- Heat a large skillet and add two tablespoons of the lemon olive oil. When it is real hot, but not smoking, add the chicken pieces. They should sizzle right away. If they don’t, the oil is not hot enough. Cook until golden brown. Turn and get golden on the other side (total time about 4-5 minutes). Remove them to a paper towel lined plate and immediately sprinkle with salt.
- Re-whisk your dressing and add it to the salad and toss to coat. Taste. If it needs more salt or pepper, add now. Toss again. Top with the remaining raspberries and almonds and your crispy chicken croutons. Zest some lemon over the top and serve. Enjoy.
