Sunshine chicken with citrus and burrata salad

A sendoff to citrus season and hello to spring that's so simple, so stunning, so bright.

Hi, friends. It felt like we were long overdue for a salad-topped chicken recipe, and this one truly deserves a spot on your regular dinner rotation. It’s a citrus, burrata, radicchio, and olive salad situation served over a juicy citrus-marinated grilled chicken cutlet, and I don’t think anything I can say will do justice to how delicious it is.

I’m calling it sunshine chicken because it’s a bright and beautiful dish that hits all the flavor and texture notes you could want in a meal. Savory, sweet, salty, and bitter; creamy, crunchy, warm, and cool. Together, the chicken and the salad work in perfect harmony to deliver bite after bite of satisfying, mouthwatering deliciousness. You know how a sunny day can make everything seem a little better and brighter? This is that, but for your taste buds. And it’s ready in 30-ish. Ideal for the first weekend of spring!

Tell me more

Oranges are one of those fruits that used to bore me because, frankly, a regular old navel orange is boring! But a cara cara? A blood orange? Anything but. When these pop up in stores and at the farmers market I get a little giddy, buying pounds and pounds at a time and mostly eating them on their own, sliced into wedges and plated on nothing but a paper towel because they are so damn juicy. Sometimes Sasha and I will share one after dinner while coloring, her barely sucking the juices out of each wedge and me leaving behind nothing but the peel, and it’s a fleeting little ritual I adore.

But frankly, this peak-season citrus was begging to be showcased in a recipe — real plate and all. And I recently got that panicky feeling that’s usually reserved for summer’s best nectarines and tomatoes. Soon these will be gone again until next year. Why haven’t I eaten more of them?

So I grabbed a few more pounds — recipe testing and all that — and mentally made a salad, throwing in ingredients that would work with the citrus to create flavors worth remembering. Olives for salt, hazelnuts for crunch, radicchio for a crisp, bitter bite, burrata for indulgent creaminess. Soon, a recipe was born. I really hope you love it as much as I do.

TL;DR: How we’re elevating the everyday

Brightening up mealtime with a fresh take on chicken & a side salad that’s light, bright, and bursting with flavor thanks to peak-season citrus and a few luxe extras.

Before we start

• We’re using three types of citrus here — cara cara (I love them so much), blood oranges, and grapefruit. If you can only find navel oranges in the store, that’s fine! This is their season so they will taste absolutely delightful here. I do strongly encourage adding in the grapefruit, as the slightly bitter, less sweet taste is a nice counterpart to the sweeter citrus.

• The recipe starts with a delectable sauce that doubles as both our marinade and our dressing. This recipe makes a generous portion — save the leftovers to easily elevate meals throughout the week. Obviously, you could use it as a salad dressing or as a sauce on sandwiches or wraps. But you could also drizzle it into the pan after you’ve browned some ground beef to give it a bright, citrusy kick. Or you could sauté some veggies in it, or use it as a dip for raw crudité. Use part of it to marinate tofu and part of it to make a quick cucumber salad, then serve both over fluffy rice. The options are endless! And every single one will be good!

• I’ve included guidelines in the “Notes” section after the recipe for different ways to cook the chicken. Breaded and fried, air fried, baked — again, endless options.

• The sugar in the marinade (orange juice) helps the chicken caramelize a bit as it cooks, which I personally love — nothing like those crispy bits. That being said, your pan will likely end up with some burnt-on sauce. To me, this isn’t a problem because I’ll happily use a little elbow grease to scrub after the meal in exchange for those caramelized pieces (And let’s be honest, Denis is doing the scrubbing). We're going to be cooking our chicken over a lower heat than I usually would for a bit longer to keep it from burning and minimize the stuck-on pieces. You can also pat the chicken dry before cooking so there's less residual marinade in the pan.

• Order of events: Make your marinade. Marinate your chicken. Prep your salad ingredients while it’s marinating. Cook your chicken. Dress your salad. Plate your chicken with salad. Voila.

The recipe