Chicken and Yellow Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Most beet salads call for cooked beets, but I opted to slice them super thin and  macerate them in mild white balsamic vinegar with a touch of sugar.  As I do with many of my recipes, I followed the same procedure for the thinly sliced red onions, to help remove their bitterness, and as not to overpower the delicate chicken flavour.  There was a nice balance with the acidity from the macerated beets and the mild sweetness of the curried chicken salad.  What else for the final touch but my favorite, orange vinaigrette which nicely complimented the other ingredients. 


Chicken Salad
2 chicken breast cooked and cut into bite size pieces
1 apple peeled and diced
2 celery stalks chopped
1/4 cup pecans toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1teaspoon curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
In a small bowl, stir the curry powder into the mayonnaise until blended.  In a separate bowl add the chicken, apples, celery and pecans and toss together.  Add the curried mayonnaise and stir to combine. Set aside.

Beet Salad Layer
red leaf lettuce or mesclun salad
2 yellow beets, paper thin slices (using a sharp knife or mandolin)
1 small red onion thinly sliced
2 teaspoons of sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
In two separate small bowls, add the beet slices 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, and follow the same procedure with the onions in the second bowl. Allow to macerate for 10-15 minutes.  Rinse the vegetables separately to avoid them from being too astringent. Set aside

Orange Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Dijonnais mustard (a mayo and Dijon blend sold in stores)1/2 teaspoon honey
zest of 1/2 orange
juice of  1 orange
salt and pepper 
2/3 cup grape seed oil or canola oil
In a bowl add the balsamic vinegar and whisk in the mustard, honey, and salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil. Makes about a cup and keeps well in the refrigerator.  

Assembly:
Arrange the lettuce, beets, and onions on a dinner plate and place a scoop of the chicken salad in the center.  Drizzle the salad with orange vinaigrette.