Sometimes my best ideas come out of pure desperation.  Last week, I went out to a fabulous dinner at Orinoco in Brookline Village.  The restaurant serves delectable Venezuelan dishes that range from simple arepas and empanadas to slow-braised beef loin and an amazing heart of palms salad.  I ordered the Pollo Adobo, a chicken slow-roasted in spices and oregano oil served with gnocchi-like dumplings in a truffle cream sauce.  Absolutely incredible.  In an uncharacteristic bout of foresight, I decided to wrap half my dinner up to take home.

Lo and behold, Friday night I arrived home late from work, exhausted.  Completely lacking the energy to grocery shop, I found the to-go container full of chicken.  After a brief victory dance, I then plowed around in the fridge trying to figure out what to pair with it.  And this is what I came up with:

Chicken, Peach, and Romaine Salad in an Ahi Pepper Vinaigrette:

For the salad…

One roasted chicken breast (make your own Oregano Chicken)

One medium peach

2 cups romaine lettuce

1/2 bell pepper (I used 1/4 red and 1/4 orange)

1/2 cup grape tomatoes

1/2 cup white mushrooms

1/4 vidalia onion

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the vinaigrette…

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ahi pepper puree

1/4 tsp dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Shred the chicken and mix up the vinaigrette.  In a frying pan, add a little bit of olive oil and saute chopped onion and mushrooms.  Place on salad when caramelized.  Chop remaining veggies and peach, put the salad together and serve.  Add crumbled feta on top, if you so choose.  Serve with bread and cheese (like I did!) if you ultimately decide to leave out the feta.