Blackberry, Cashew and Fried Goat Cheese Chicken Salad

I made this salad with what I had in my fridge and it was delicious! I had three teenagers that all enjoyed it, so that says something! The fried goat cheese is AMAZING! If you have never tried it, I highly recommend it. Our family likes goat cheese and I use it often but this was really a nice change. Crispy and creamy all in one bite! I also marinated the chicken for a couple of hours, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead a little bit for this.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DRESSING AND MARINADE
1 cup of blackberries
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of honey
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic

FOR THE SALAD
8 ounces of goat cheese, sliced into rounds
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cups Panko bread crumbs
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
2 cups arugula
2 cups blackberries
1 cup cashew halves
Canola oil, to fry

DIRECTIONS
Mix all of the dressing and marinade ingredients together muddling the blackberries. Marinate the chicken with one cup of the marinade and store in the fridge. Reserve the remaining dressing for later also storing in the fridge.
Pre-heat your grill to medium high heat. Mix the romaine lettuce, arugula, 2 cups of blackberries and cashews in a bowl and set aside. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat with enough canola oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Slice your goat cheese into at least 1/4 inch thick rounds, flour all sides of the goat cheese and dredge in the beaten egg.  Lastly coat the round of cheese in Panko Crumbs. Do this for each round setting them on a plate until they are all coated and you are ready to fry.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.
Grill the chicken on both sides until cooked through and no longer pink on the inside.  While the chicken is grilling add the goat cheese rounds to your heated canola oil and quickly fry both one side of the cheese until golden brown and turn the cheese to the second side until golden brown. Remove from heat and add to your Romaine mix.
When the chicken is done slice and add to the romaine mix. Drizzle with the remaining balsamic dressing.

Enjoy!