Salad with Sautéed French Beans, Mushrooms and Chicken

I love leftovers. They usually inspire me to do something different than I intended when I first made the dish. This concoction was the result of last night’s dinner of roast chicken with sauteed green beans and crimini mushrooms. There was a handful of each left over – not enough for tonight’s dinner.

Besides I wanted something lighter and I wanted to clean out the fridge so bingo…the leftover salad. It could be made with almost anything but I gotta say, this combination was a homerun. So good that I think it deserves to be it’s own dish.

2 cups (or 2 large handfuls) per person of favorite mixed greens (I used arugula)

1 cup (or whatever you have) of cooked string beans

1 cup (or handful) of cooked mushrooms

1 cup (or handful) of shredded chicken

1 or 2 radishes – cut thin

Toss the greens in a balsamic vinaigrette (see below) or your favorite dressing

Warm leftovers and top over the greens. Warm over cold is a delicious way to go…one of my favorites. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re in for a true treat.

Vinaigrette

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

¾ cups extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Place vinegar (and mustard) in a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a food processor)

Slowly add the oil while briskly mixing using a wire whisk (or with the blade of the processor spinning). The mixture will emulsify and look like caramel. Season and toss with the greens.