Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad

April is ending and May is on the doorstep and the lilacs will be open by next weekend, I can feel it the way you feel anything that comes every year on schedule: not by the calendar exactly, but by the quality of the air and the specific green of the new leaves and something that might just be memory knowing what comes next. The lilac bush was here before we were and it will be here after us, probably, and every May for the last twelve years it has opened and I have put branches in jars on every flat surface in the kitchen and the hallway and stood in the smell of it and said: this again. Yes. This again.

Mason presented his load-bearing arch at the science fair Thursday. He won second place, which he reported with equanimity: I did not win because I ran out of cardboard and had to use construction paper for the capstone and construction paper is structurally inferior, so the second place is accurate. He has apparently done a full post-mortem on his own project. He is ten and already doing post-mortems. I said: what will you do differently next year? He said: more cardboard. I said: that is a solid lesson. He said: I know.

My birthday is in two weeks, May 30. Thirty-six. The milestone birthdays for me are the ones where Grace's age is a round number: she would have been three in September, which means this is the year I stop counting in months and start counting in years, which my therapist has been telling me will happen and which I have been resisting because the months felt like holding onto something and the years feel like letting go, and letting go is not a betrayal but it feels like one until it does not. She would have been three. She is in the photograph above the stove and she will always be the age in the photograph. But she would have been three.

Workshop news: a woman named Sarah who attended the Orem workshop in March contacted me and said she is writing a column for a community newsletter and would I be interested in being profiled. I said yes before I finished reading the email.

With the lilacs nearly open and the kitchen windows finally staying up past dinner, I wanted something that matched the weight of the air right now—bright and uncomplicated, the kind of meal you eat standing at the counter with the back door open. This lemon herb chicken salad has been in steady rotation since the first warm week, because it asks almost nothing of you and gives back more than it should, and some nights that ratio is exactly what I need.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, diced
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, halved
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Dressing

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 small clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add chicken breasts and toss to coat. Let sit for at least 10 minutes or refrigerate up to 2 hours.
Cook the chicken. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 6–7 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F). Let rest 5 minutes, then slice thinly.
Make the dressing. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
Assemble the salad. Arrange romaine on a large platter or in a bowl. Top with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion, and sliced chicken. Sprinkle with feta and parsley.
Dress and serve. Drizzle dressing over the salad just before serving. Toss gently or serve with dressing on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad — Light Enough for the Almost-Lilac Days