Insalata Di Pollo - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the croutons
4 cups cubes Italian bread (from a 1/2 lb crusty round loaf)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the vinaigrette dressing
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the salad
2 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (1/2 lb, from a rotisserie chicken)
1 cup bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls, 6 oz)
2 romaine lettuce hearts, torn into bite-size pieces (3/4 lb total)
1 (8 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, rinsed, drained, and cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch wide strips
1 cup assorted marinated oil-cured olives (5 oz)

Preparation

Prepare the croutons:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400\u00b0F
Toss bread cubes with olive oil and salt in a large shallow baking pan and spread in 1 layer. Bake, turning over once, until golden and crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack.
Make vinaigrette dressing and begin preparing salad while croutons bake:
Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients except olive oil in a small bowl until combined. Add olive oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.
Toss chicken and bocconcini mozzarella together with 1/4 cup vinaigrette in a bowl and let stand 10 minutes to allow flavors to develop.
Prepare the salad:
Toss together romaine lettuce, red peppers, olives, chicken and bocconcini mixture, croutons, and remaining vinaigrette in a large bowl until combined. Makes 4 main-course servings.