Last Night's Dinner - Raspberry, Pecan, and Chevre Salad with Roasted Chicken

Last night's dinner was pretty simple - just a toss together of a bunch of stuff I regularly keep in the fridge/pantry. But the combination of flavours was so delicious. I find as long as you have some kind of fruit, nut, and cheese, you can throw it with lettuce and mix together a quick vinaigrette. Here's the iteration we made last night.

Raspberry, Pecan, and Chevre Salad with Roasted Chicken
Serves two VERY generously

1 chicken breast
1/4 cup pecans
1 romaine heart from a three-pack (or a small regular head), torn into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup of red onion, thinly sliced
Pint of raspberries
1/2 cup chevre (goat cheese) crumbled
Asiago cheese, for topping
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp truffle mustard
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees C. Heat an oven-proof frying pan over medium heat with a little olive oil - I like using my gigantic cast iron pan, now that I've actually managed to get the thing seasoned properly. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Place into the pan smooth side down and fry for five minutes, or until it has a nice light brown colour to it (may take a bit shorter or longer, depending on the heat level). Flip the chicken and then place the entire pan into the oven to roast for fifteen-twenty minutes (depends on the size of your chicken breast - just check it after fifteen. If the juices when you cut into it are not clear, put it back in for a bit.)

While the chicken is roasting, pop a nonstick frying pan onto a burner over med-low heat and dump in the pecans. You just want to toast them a bit, should take two to three minutes. Just make sure you shake the pan every thirty seconds or so to check that they aren't burning.

Also make the vinaigrette - simply pour the olive oil, balsamic, and mustard into a bowl, then whisk. When everything is nice and emulsified together, add salt and pepper to taste.

Chop up the cooked chicken. Toss together the lettuce, red onion, raspberries, pecans, and chicken (or leave the chicken out and just arrange it on the side of the plate when you're done). Dress the salad with the vinaigrette. Add the chevre and lightly toss. Plate the salad, then grate a little asiago or parmegiano or any hard, salty cheese on top. Serve!