Chicken and Bulgur Salad with Avocado

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2–6 ounce boneless chicken breasts, with skin
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• ½ cup fresh orange juice
• ½ cup fresh shredded basil leaves
• 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 large scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 avocados cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 medium fennel bulb, (3/4 pound), cored and thinly sliced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In heatproof bowl, cover the bulgur with the boiling water.  Cover the bowl with a plate and let stand until the water has absorbed and the bulgur is tender, about 30 minutes.

On a rimmed baking sheet, coat the chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of the grape seed oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden, and temperature reaches 165 degrees.  Discard the skin.  Slice the chicken ¼ inch thick.

In a small bowl, whisk the orange juice with the basil, lemon juice, scallions and remaining ¼ cup of grape seed oil; season with vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, toss the bulgur, chicken, avocados, fennel and tomatoes with the vinaigrette; season with salt and pepper.  Mound the salad onto plates and serve.

If bulgur or couscous or rice or potatoes are too heavy for this dish … use a bed of lettuce.  The vinaigrette works nicely over arugula or romaine.