3 to 4green onions or bunch of chives, finely chopped
½cuptoasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds
½ cupshaved or grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
¼ to ½cuptorn or chopped fresh basil
Dressing:
½cupoil (see note)
⅓cupunsweetened rice vinegar
2tablespoonshoney
1tablespoonfresh lemon juice
¼teaspoonsalt
¼ teaspoononion powder
¼teaspoonpaprika
Pinchblack pepper
Instructions
Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside to cool (toss every once in a while so it doesn't stick together).
Whisk or blend all the dressing ingredients together until well-combined.
Assemble the salad by placing the chopped greens in a serving bowl. Top with pasta, chicken, grapes, green onions (or chives), pine nuts (or sunflower seeds), cheese, and fresh basil.
Drizzle dressing over the salad and lightly toss until combined. Serve immediately.
Notes
Chicken: this recipe works great with rotisserie chicken. It's also delicious with a flavorful grilled chicken, like this lemon and garlic grilled chicken. Oil: a variety of different oils work in this dressing. Olive oil lends a more prominent flavor. A neutral-flavored oil can also be used.Cheese: to get cheese shavings (Parm or Asiago), I use my vegetable peeler and slice thin strips from a block of cheese. Variations/Adaptations: cooked, crumbled bacon would be amazing on this salad (will definitely do that from now on). Also, most of the salad ingredients do quite well just being eyeballed. Add more or less of any of them depending on what you have on hand and the overall vibe you're looking for in the salad.