Strawberry Salad with Grilled Chicken and Peas

From My Carolina Kitchen

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ cups trimmed fresh snow peas or sugar snap peas (about 5 oz)

¾ cup frozen baby English peas

1 package baby arugula (4 oz)

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 cup seeded and chopped English cucumber

4 ounces gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled

Basil vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Preheat the grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grates. Season chicken with salt & freshly ground black pepper and cook 8 minutes approximately on each side, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat and allow to cool. When ready to serve the salad, cut chicken in small chunks.

Arrange snow peas in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Plunge peas into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain. Cut peas in half horizontally.

Place frozen baby English peas in a colander and pour boiling water over the peas to blanch. When peas turn bright green, plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain when ready to assemble salad.

Toss together arugula and next 4 ingredients, add drained snow peas and drained English peas, and the chunks of chicken. Toss again with the sweet basil vinaigrette. Serve on a large platter or individual plates.

Sweet Basil Vinaigrette

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 shallots, chopped

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup canola oil, or half canola and half extra-virgin olive oil

Process first 8 ingredients in a blender until smooth. With blender running, add canola oil in a slow, steady stream, processing until smooth.

Adapted from Southern Living – serves 6