Spiced Citrus Roasted Chicken Salad
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This wonderfully crafted Roasted Chicken Salad has all the right components for texture, flavor and visual appeal. Adding roasted chicken bumps this one up to a full meal, and with a few of my own additions, is my spin off one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes.
Roasted Chicken Salad?
What grabbed my attention first off in the recipe was of course roasting brussels sprouts. LOVE them! I envisioned a combination of grapefruit and oranges over the non existent recommended pomelo at my market, and would roast a few of them as well, for a little caramelization. A handful of pistachios, pomegranate arils, fresh, bright herbs like cilantro and mint, and I was ready for this amazing Fall inspired meal.
The kicker for this Roasted Chicken Salad is a simmer a syrup that that the citrus marinate in, which is made of sugar, cinnamon and star anise. First you supreme the citrus. Supreming is a technique where you remove the thin, white membrane from citrus fruit so it can be served in slices. Skinless grapefruit and oranges soak in this wonderful, exotic spiced syrup and add another, rich texture to this dish.
Crunch appeal comes in the form of pistachios, pops of bright flavor hit you from the pomegranate and the roasted vegetables add a richness with the rotisserie chicken. I hope you enjoy this Cinnamon Star Anise Citrus with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Rotisserie Chicken as much as I did. Just look at this beauty!
Bring the water, sugar, cinnamon and star anise to a simmer. Stir to dissolve the sugar and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add the lemon juice and set aside to cool. When cool, discard cinnamon sticks and star anise.
Peel the citrus fruit and supreme into segments by cutting away all white pith and slice into each segment to release fruit from each membrane. Take half the supremed oranges and add to a bowl with the sliced brussels sprouts and shallots. Cut the remaining fruit into bite size pieces and add to the cooled syrup to marinate for 60 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Toss the brussels sprouts, shallots and orange with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy on the edges.
Shred the chicken breast meat and place in a bowl. Chop the cilantro and mint, rinse the pomegranate arils and add to chicken. Add the roasted vegetables and the marinated fruit. Drizzle with reserved syrup and toss to evenly coat and distribute. Season to taste and serve.
Like I said, this isn’t your average Roasted Chicken Salad!
Subscribe to my Newsletter, follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube for all my latest recipes and videos.
Spiced Citrus Roasted Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 5 star anise stars
- 7 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup grapefruit
- 2Â oranges separated
- 1 lb brussels sprouts cut in half
- 2 shallots sliced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp each salt and fresh black pepper
- 2 rotisserie chicken breasts shredded
- 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
- 1/2 cup roasted pistachios
- 1/4 cup chopped mint and cilantro each
Instructions
- Bring the water, sugar, cinnamon and star anise to a simmer. Stir to dissolve the sugar and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add the lemon juice and set aside to cool. When cool, discard cinnamon sticks and star anise.
- Peel the citrus fruit and supreme into segments by cutting away all white pith and slice into each segment to release fruit from each membrane. Â Take half the supremed oranges and add to a bowl with the sliced brussels sprouts and shallots. Cut the remaining fruit into bite size pieces and add to the cooled syrup to marinate for 60 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 425°F. Toss the brussels sprouts, shallots and orange with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy on the edges.
- Shred the chicken breast meat and place in a bowl. Chop the cilantro and mint, rinse the pomegranate arils and add to chicken. Add the roasted vegetables and the marinated fruit. Drizzle with reserved syrup and toss to evenly coat and distribute. Season to taste and serve.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Perfection, Kevin! I love both roasted Brussels sprouts and oranges. Along with pistachios and pomegranate, that’s the absolutely delicious salad. I would have added some salty cheese like feta or similar. Great job!
That salty cheese idea sounds like a wonderful finishing touch Ben.
I loooove this recipe. I love roasted sprouts and the colours in this just make it look even more delish!
Thank you Kristen, everything works together so well.
I think roasting half of the citrus adds so much, and when mixed with the fresh, is a fantastic contrast. Enjoy!
All of those flavors together sound amazing! I need to make this dish!
Thank you Autumn, let me know what you think. It’s a keeper!
That brown crust on the citrus looks amazing. Great colors so you know this is super healthy! Awesome shots!
Thanks Derek, it’s a definite flavor explosion!
This Salad looks absolutely amazing and delicious. I would love to make this for dinner and this will also so good to take for lunch next day 😀
The flavors are over the top, hope you enjoy! Thanks Shihoko. 🙂
The dish looks fantastic! I love that flavorful syrup with cinnamon and star anise. With the chicken in it, I think my husband will love the dish too!
Thank you Lokness! The syrup is great over mixed fruit and pancakes or waffles, too! 🙂
This looks superb Kevin ! love everything in this dish!
Thank you so much Farida, good to hear from you! We’ve been away on a little 4-day getaway to visit family down in Nashville, Tennessee for a birthday celebration and I’m looking forward to catching up on my Feedly blogroll to read. That Vegan Polenta Carrot Cake Porridge sounds wonderful! 🙂
Hello flavor explosion! With all of the colors and textures in this dish, I was pleasantly surprised at the length of the ingredient list. This is a must try for me!!
So glad you’re back Marissa and I think you would really like the syrup, it’s great on fruit and waffles too!
Hey Kevin! As usual, this dish is beautiful! I am a huge fan of roasted vegetables. I have never heard of supreming – I always thought of it as removing the membranes (which it is), just the fancy name for it! You’ve added to my culinary vocabulary! 🙂
Thanks Dorothy, it’s a fantastic mix of flavors and is so filling! 🙂
There are so many crazy flavors going on in this dish, Kevin! It sounds like it’s right up my alley! We love roasted brussels around our house…and I totally need to make more using star anise. Well done!
It all works and was so refreshing and filling. The leftover syrup is great over fruit or waffles, too. We just got back from a 4 day sprint into Nashville celebrating Dave’s birthday with his twin sister and family. His brother lives there and gave us an on the field experience tickets for the Titans game Sunday. It was crazy cool. Lots of new food ideas, too!