If I told you that this meal is a combination of a recipe from Real Simple and Rachael Ray, you’d probably laugh. Well, it is…and it was delicious. There, I said it. Luke was away on a business trip and this combo was at “my” level of cooking. (In case you didn’t already know, Luke does the cooking and I do the dishes.) Also, it a warm evening and I wanted something fresh tasting for Spring. The only thing missing was a margarita!
I put the chicken on top of the salad, so I didn’t use the pan juices/sauce. But if you’re serving the salad on the side, definitely use the jerk sauce over the chicken. The warm corn, and in my case also the warm chicken, slightly wilted the spinach, which added to the yumminess.
The original Real Simple recipe calls for serving the jerk chicken with sides of white rice and beans and pineapple. We’ve made it before and it’s quite tasty! Also, the Rachael Ray recipe for spinach salad calls for using fresh ears of corn. I like frozen better, not only because it’s easier, but also I like getting it a little brown on the stove.
Jerk Chicken with Spinach, Corn Salad
Ingredients:
Chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup spiced rum or orange juice
- 2 tablespoons jerk sauce (such as Pickapepper sauce)
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad
- 4 generous handfuls baby spinach
- 2 limes
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Chicken
- Pound the chicken to an even thickness. Season it with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from heat and add the vinegar mixture.
- Return the skillet to low heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Divide the chicken and sauce among plates.
Salad
- Add the spinach, onion, and bell pepper in a large salad bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine the zest of 1 lime, the juice of 2 limes and the hot sauce. Whisk in extra-virgin olive oil.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. [A separate, smaller skillet than used for the chicken.] Add the corn and saute until warm and brown.
- Add the corn to the salad and top with the dressing.