Grilled Chicken Salad with Rustic Guacamole, Romaine and Queso Anejo

By bakers_delight85

Homemade garlic dressing helps this salad stand out from a plain 'ole salad with chicken on top. Grilled onion adds complexity to the homemade guacamole, and it all comes together when served with the grilled chicken.

Ingredients

• For the Dressing:
• 1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil, plus a little more for the onion
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• Fresh hot green chiles to taste (I like 2 serranos or 1 large jalapeno), stemmed and halved
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 3/4 cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Salt
• 4 (about 1 1/4 pounds total) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 medium romaine hearts, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide ribbons (about 8 cups)
• 1/3 About 1/3 cup Mexican queso anejo or other garnishing cheese such as Romano or Parmesan

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium. Add the garlic and chilies and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is soft and lightly browned, usually 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour the oil, garlic and chile into a blender jar or food processor. Add the lime juice, cilantro, black pepper and 1 scant tsp. salt. Process until smooth.

Place the chicken breasts in a bowl and pour one-third of the garlic dressing over them, spreading it evenly over all sides. Heat half the burners or a gas grill over medium-high. Lightly brush or spray the onion slices with oil; sprinkle with salt. Lay the chicken and onion directly over the heat of the grill. Sear the chicken on both sides, then move it away from the direct heat to finish cooking, usually about 5 minutes.

Cook the onion until it is well browned, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Chop the onion into small pieces and scoop into a bowl. Set the chicken aside to cool. (All of the grilling can be done in a grill pan on a stove over medium heat.)

Pit the avocados and scoop the flesh in with the onion. Add another one-third of the garlic dressing, then coarsely mash everything together with an old fashioned potato masher, large fork or the back of a large spoon. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 tsp.

Scoop the sliced romaine into a large bowl. Drizzle on the remaining garlic dressing and toss to combine. Divide among four dinner plates. Scoop a portion of guacamole into the center of each plate. Sprinkle each plate with queso anejo (or its substitute), and you're ready to serve.