Antipasto Chicken Salad

Grilled Fennel-Garlic Chicken Legs combine with bocconcini, soppressata, and plenty of peppers in this antipasto salad.

Antipasto Chicken Salad
Photo: © Con Poulos
Active Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
1 hr
Yield:
6

To get the most from a marinade — like the fennel-garlic one used for the chicken here — slash the skin and meat so the flavors can seep in. Serve the chicken salad at your next dinner party and wow all of your guests (who will likely keep asking for more).

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Ingredients

Fennel-Garlic Chicken Legs

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground fennel seeds

  • 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled

  • 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

  • Kosher salt

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

  • 4 whole chicken legs (12 to 14 ounces each)

Salad

  • 3/4 pound spicy oil-marinated bocconcini, halved, plus 1/4 cup of the marinade

  • 1/2 pound roasted red peppers, cut into thin strips (1 cup)

  • 1/4 cup peperoncini, thinly sliced, plus 1/4 cup of the pickling liquid from the jar

  • 1/4 pound sliced soppressata, cut into thin strips

  • 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Make the Fennel-Garlic Chicken Legs

  1. In a mortar, pound the garlic, fennel seeds, oregano, and crushed red pepper with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt until a coarse paste forms. Add the 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil.

  2. Make four 2-inch slashes on the skin of each chicken leg, cutting to the bone; make 2 slashes on the underside of each leg. Rub the paste into the slashes, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

  3. Light a grill. Brush the chicken with oil and season with salt. Grill over moderate heat, turning, until lightly charred and cooked through, 25 minutes.

  4. Let the chicken cool enough to handle. Discard the skin and coarsely shred the chicken. You should have about 4 cups of shredded meat.

Make the salad

  1. In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken with the bocconcini, roasted peppers, peperoncini, soppressata, and parsley.

  2. In a small bowl, whisk the bocconcini marinade with the pickled pepper liquid and season with salt and pepper. Add the dressing to the salad and toss well.

Suggested Pairing

A vibrant, lime-scented Vermentino.

Originally appeared: June 2010

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