My hubby has a bit of an obsession with Chinese food. When he was a bachelor, he’d order take out regularly and live off the stuff. Sounds typical, right? Once he did a radio interview, and one of the questions he was asked was what his favorite food was. After he answered with Chinese take out, it seemed like where ever we traveled, churches would have some General Tso Chicken, egg rolls and rice ready for us. Dan never tired of it, but I sure did. I was hoping that my fortune cookie would read that my next meal would be tacos. Chinese food has never been on the top of my list of fav food choices, but this recipe is an exception. It’s a nod to chinese food with it’s fresh subtle asian flavors, but way less MSG and sodium and way more fresh veggies. If you have a palate that adores asian flavors, you’re a step ahead of me and you’ll love this!

4 split chicken breasts, bone in and skin on

Extra virgin olive oil and s&p

1 bunch of asparagus, ends removed and cut into thirds

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced into long strips

4 scallions, sliced

1 tbsp white sesame seeds

1 head romain lettuce, cleaned and cut

Dressing

1 C olive oil

1/4 C apple cider vinegar

1/3 C soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger

2 tbsp white sesame seeds

1/2 C smooth peanut butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with s&p. Roast 35-40 minutes until chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove meat from bones and discard skin. Shred chicken into large bite sized pieces. Blanch asparagus in boiling pot of salted water for 3-5 minutes. Plunge into iceboater to stop cooking. Combine chicken, blanched asparagus, sliced red pepper and scallions into large bowl. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in another bowl. Pour about half the mixture over the chicken and veggies and mix together, that add in more of the dressing slowly until you have incorporated your desired amount (remember the more dressing you add, the more you add fat and calories). Lay chicken and veggie mixture on top of a bed of romain lettuce to serve. Sprinkle with the 1 tbsp of sesame seeds. Serve with a gorgeous loaf of sesame bread for a full meal if you aren’t being carb conscious.

Recipe adapted from: The Barefoot Contessa’s recipe

Food Photography by: Rebecca O’Hara