This warm chicken with green beans and chard is essentially a salad of grilled chicken with summer vegetables including beans, tomatoes, and Swiss chard, all drizzled with a lovely lemon vinaigrette. Healthy as can be. Yet still superbly satisfying.
This warm chicken with green beans and chard is a simple weeknight summer recipe. No fussiness. No pretense. Just honest ingredients prepared in a manner that doesn’t obfuscate the loveliness inherent in summer.–Nigel Slater
In this recipe
☞ Contents
Warm Chicken with Green Beans and Chard
Ingredients
For the lemon vinaigrette
- 1 small shallot finely chopped
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small bunch of mint leaves finely chopped
For the chicken salad
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- A little oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 sprig rosemary finely chopped
- 12 stalks rainbow Swiss chard
- 7 ounces green beans preferably slender ones, ends trimmed
- 6 smallish tomatoes halved or quartered, depending on their size
- A few nasturtium blossoms or leaves (optional)
Directions
Make the lemon vinaigrette
- In a screw-top jar, combine the shallot, a good pinch of salt, the lemon juice, olive oil, and mint. Screw on the lid and shake the jar to mix.
Make the chicken salad
- Preheat a grill, grill pan, or skillet over medium-high heat. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Brush the chicken with the oil, season with the salt and black pepper, and scatter with the rosemary. Grill or sear the chicken, turning as needed, until cooked through, about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate, cover loosely with foil or an overturned bowl or plate, and let it rest.
- Slice the chard stalks into about 1-inch lengths and remove and reserve the leaves. Boil the chard stalks and beans in boiling water until tender, 2 or 3 minutes. Dip the chard leaves into the boiling water until tender, about 30 seconds. Drain everything and rinse briefly under cool running water. Pat the vegetables dry.
- Pour the dressing into a bowl and top with the drained green beans, chard leaves and stalks, tomatoes, and nasturtiums, if desired. Divide the salad between 2 plates or serving bowls. Cut the chicken into thick slices—about 4 per chicken breast—and place on the salad. Immediately devour.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I LOVED this chicken and Swiss chard recipe. It being a work night and always trying to prepare dinner minimally fast, I decided to just go ahead and boil both beans and chard together and truthfully I did not notice a difference in color change or taste. What I loved about this recipe is the fact that it actually does not need a side dish to go with it, even though I had cooked some dirty rice which went very well.
The dressing was amazing, and next time I will double it as we all loved it so. The kids also really enjoyed it, which surprised me.
I want to try to repeat this recipe but instead of chicken breast do it with salmon. Something tells me the fattiness of the salmon will add another level to this recipe.
Nigel Slater writes beautifully and his words entice me to try a recipe that, from a less talented writer, might otherwise seem boring. This recipe is great for a quick, healthy lunch or light dinner. Very fresh flavors.
As expected, this warm chicken with green beans and chard turned out to be a great summer meal. The flavors melded beautifully and the vinaigrette is one that would work perfectly for a salad or perhaps on a piece of grilled fish.
Preferring my beans a little more tender, I actually boiled the beans and the stalks for 5 to 6 minutes.
The end result is a very attractive dish that’s quite colorful and visually appealing.
I love Swiss chard and am always looking for new recipes for it. This recipe was great in that you used the entire bunch of Swiss chard, stems and all. Although my grocery store didn’t have rainbow chard, just the red chard was equally delicious and made a beautiful presentation with the tomatoes and green beans.
I had to look up what the optional ingredient nasturtiums were and was surprised to see they are very similar to watercress. I cooked the green beans and stems in the same saucepan of boiling water and the stems did not dye the beans which was good; they just dyed the water.
The only adjustments I recommend to the recipe are to maybe think about marinating the chicken for a couple of hours with the olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper mixture. The chicken could have used extra depth of flavor, and I think that would help that aspect. Also, I would add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to the dressing; I think that extra spiciness would be a nice touch as well.
Overall, this was a wonderfully tasting and healthy recipe! I like this dish for a spring or summer dish because of the low-carb aspect as well; there was a nice portion-size on each plate but mainly vegetables so it was just filling enough!
This warm chicken with green beans and chard recipe is delicious and easy to follow. The ingredients are fairly readily available in most markets and it is a healthy and light dinner/lunch option.
I grilled my chicken and began cooking the vegetables while the chicken was resting. I think this simple step will yield a fresher salad.
Originally published July 25, 2011
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
We’ve just started cooking with chard—and are really liking it! Even our 12-year-old gobbled down the Rustic Swiss Chard and Fontina Tart. Can’t wait to give our recipe a try!
Terrific to hear! It’s so versatile. And so lovely, especially with a touch of sweetness. You’ve probably already tried just sautéing it in a little olive oil with some garlic if you please, and then tossing in some raisins or currants that you’ve plumped in a little warm Madeira? Ooooh so good.
We haven’t tried the EVOO, garlic, raisin, Madeira combo – but you can bet we’ll be trying it real soon. Thanks!