Smoked chicken confit with red pear on Kalera Baby Romaine Salad

 

Smoked chicken confit with red pear on Kalera Baby Romaine Salad

This dish realizes two different goals. 

First:

I wanted to try the Kalera Baby Romaine lettuce.  I recently found it in a local grocery store.

I became aware of Kalera a few months ago when a peer of mine mentioned them to me.  This occurred, in conjunction, with Kalera opening a farm in my general area. 

For those who do not know, kalera is a hydroponic, vertical farm.  They control the environment and all aspects of the plants life.  Quite an intriguing operation. 

Second:

I wanted to serve the smoked chicken thigh confit in a new method.  In the past, I have served the confit on a bed of white beans with potatoes fried in the confit fat.  This dish works perfectly.  I just wanted something different.

As I thought about options, a duck confit salad I had a couple of years ago came to mind.  The idea of the confit salad, triggered another memory of serving a duck confit hors d’oeuvres topped with shredded red pear.  Before I knew it, this dish was formulated.

The salad was made using the Kalera Baby romaine with julienned carrot, green bell pepper, aloha bell pepper, celery and sliced red onion.  I dressed the salad with a Dijon vinaigrette.  (The vinaigrette tied everything together quite nicely.)

When the salad was plated, I topped it with the heated chicken confit.  The confit was garnished with shredded red pear.  We served the salad with some slices of crusty, house made, baguette. 

What a delightful combination this turned out to be.  It was the perfect melding of French and Texas cuisines; fusion cuisine at it's finest!  

The Kalera baby romaine was very tender.  The chicken confit was nicely smoky and rich.  The dish was just perfect for Whatever Wednesday on my food calendar.

#LifeLongLearning #LifeLongTeaching #FamilyFood

As always, your comments are welcome.

Until next time,

Bon Appetit Y’all.

Leslie Bartosh