Jerk Chicken Breast Salad w/Yogurt Spiced Rum Dressing

Here's another summertime salad, no need to heat up the kitchen on this one....the chicken is cooked on the grill.  The chicken does have a bit of spice to it, but the mango and the yogurt dressing help cool it down.  And I always keep a batch of the spicy pecans on hand for other salads or simply to snack on.  They are the best.

NOTE:  Plan ahead.  The chicken should marinade about 24 hours.  Also, outside of the dressing amount, amounts are not given for the rest of the salad.  For two entree salads, I used 1/2 (5 oz) bag of Spring Mix and half a head of romaine and about 6-8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  I sliced maybe a quarter of a small red onion, and sliced one whole mango.  I halved the dressing amount and still have half of that left, along with half of the marinade, so I'll be making this salad again sometime within the next few weeks.

JERK CHICKEN BREAST SALAD with YOGURT SPICED RUM DRESSING

Dressing:
3/4 cup apple cider
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 cup spiced rum
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp Dijon

For Jerk Chicken Salad:
Jerk chicken breast, grilled (recipe below)
Mixed greens
Red onions, thinly sliced
Fresh mango, cut in strips
Spicy pecans (recipe below)

To make dressing:  Whisk all ingredients together.

To make Jerk Chicken Salad:  Toss greens with dressing and top with onions, mango strips, and spicy pecans.  Slice chicken breast and place on top and drizzle with small amount of dressing.

GRILLED JERK CHICKEN (this is a quarter of the original recipe and would make enough for four entree salads)

1 green onion
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 small onion, chopped
1 fresh habanero chile pepper, stemmed and seeded (more or less to your spice-comfort level.....for us, I would use 1/2 of one pepper)
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
3/4 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp black pepper
scant 1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon

12 oz to 1# skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Make marinade:  Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Place the chicken in a ziplock bag along with the marinade.  Seal and marinade for 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.  

Let chicken stand at room temp for 1 hour before cooking.  Grill chicken until cooked through.

SWEET AND SPICY CANDIED PECANS  (makes 3 cups)

6 Tbsp corn syrup
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp hot sauce
3 cups pecan halves

Combine corn syrup with the next 5 ingredients; mix well in a large bowl.  Add pecans and stir gently to coat.  Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray.  Spread on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 2 1/2 minutes (I baked for 5 minutes), then, using a fork, stir to with mixture and bake again until pecans are golden and coating is bubbly, about 2-3 minutes more (5-10 minutes for me).  Transfer to a piece of foil and quickly separate pecans with a fork.  Cool them and store in an air tight container at room temperature.  (I store mine in the freezer and they keep just about forever.)