Jamaican Grilled Chicken Salad with Himalayan Salted Asparagus

My sweet friend Tamm just got back from a mission trip in the beautiful plush island of Jamaica.  A lot of learning, a lot of growing, a lot of refining. I was eager to hear how the Lord moved among them. She shared and I listened as we sipped our drinks with green straws.  In the car on the way home, to my delight and surprise she offered me two gifts from the land of green and yellow. A beautiful pair of dangle earrings sporting the Jamaican flag colors, and a small jar of authentic Jamaican marinade. I felt so special that she thought of me while she was there and even with gifts that were tailored to me and that she knew I would love. 

fast forward to this evening...our other good friend James was coming over for dinner [he has a new girlfriend-she is a brilliant jewel-so he has been mia lately-totally understandable] we were long overdue for a shared dinner. I was explaining to our son Ben that James [one of his favorite grownups] was coming over for dinner and as excited as he was, he added. "I wish Tammy was coming too!" [she is another one of his favorites.] 

And now to the present: tonight's menu was using Tamm's gift of marinade for some chicken on the grill to serve on a huge delicious salad incorporating Caribbean flavors, and James offered to contribute his delicious seasoned asparagus, fresh as they come, he has a magical touch with those green stalks and I could not wait to sink my teeth into all the yumminess. 

Here is the recipe for the Jamaican Salad, along with a quick recipe for a sesame peanut dressing, as well as James's salted asparagus. 

you'll need:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup Jamaican Jerk Marinade

for salad:
6-8 cups fresh spinach
1/4 cup dried cranberries
crumbled feta-generous amount/to taste
bleu cheese crumbles to taste
cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cucumber, julienned
1/3 cup cooked bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned

1/4 cup toasted almonds
[saute in a pan with a little bit of brown sugar and butter, take care not to burn]

for sesame peanut dressing:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp madras curry powder


first things first: rub marinade on both sides of chicken breast, lightly salt also. cover in bowl and chill for 1-2 hours, or overnight.

Begin to assemble salad. In a large bowl, drop in spinach and the following 7 ingredients listed. 

When you are closer to eating, remove chicken from bowl and place on a hot stove top grill, or outdoor grill.  As the chicken cooks, pull out a small sauce pan and toast up slivered almonds. season with brown sugar and remove from heat once aromatic and or browned. 

Finish cooking Jamaican chicken until sides are browned and it is thoroughly cooked. Place on a cutting board and allow to rest before cutting.

For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth. I placed my dressing in the microwave for 20 seconds, just to give it a creamier, more pliable consistency. 

Cut chicken in thin bite size pieces and place on Caribbean salad. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. 

serve with the homemade dressing drizzled on top and enjoy.

For asparagus:
two bunches of asparagus, fresh
Himalayan sea salt
cracked pepper

In a large container, soak asparagus in sea salt overnight.
when ready to eat, grill asparagus till soft and bendable, but still with a little bit of crunch.
season with pepper. 

serve with the salad!! enjoy!