Asian Chicken Salad With Orange-Ginger Dressing - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Dressing
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons orange juice
3/4 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried orange peel
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch ground cinnamon
Salad
6 cups romaine lettuce, cleaned and cut into pieces
1 cup cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into matchstick pieces
1 red pepper, julienned
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges in juice, drained
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional garnish)

Preparation

Using a blender or food processor, blend all of the dressing ingredients (yogurt, orange juice, ginger, salt, sugar, orange peel, cayenne and cinnamon) until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To assemble salads, place lettuce into large serving bowl or onto 4 serving plates. Toss together remaining ingredients except almonds on top of lettuce.
Drizzle 1/2 of dressing on salad, reserving remaining portion so that guests can adjust amount to taste.
Garnish with sliced almonds (optional).