Recipe: EatZi's Gemelli, Chicken and Cranberry Salad with Orange-Rosemary Dressing

EATZI'S GEMELLI, CHICKEN AND CRANBERRY SALAD
Source: From the menu of EatZi's
3221 Peachtree Road
Note: This business is no longer open.
From: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, EveningEdge.com

Q: My family just loves EatZi's Pasta Chicken and Cranberry Salad. It has big chunks of chicken, asparagus, pine nuts, corn and cranberries. The dressing is divine. We would love to make this as a dinner salad at home.
- Wendy Ball, Atlanta

A: Executive chef Ford Fry, who came to EatZi's via the Ritz-Carlton in Aspen, Colo., says this is one of the most popular dishes at EatZi's, which specializes in salads, pastries and breads, all prepared on site. "The secret to its success is in the citrus dressing, " Fry said. "It's really light and doesn't absorb a lot of oil like other pasta salads."

1 1/4 pounds gemelli (or other short, twisted) pasta
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup frozen corn
10 ounces chicken
1/4 pound asparagus
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt and ground white pepper to taste
6 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Juice and zest of 1/4 orange
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a single layer in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Remove corn from freezer and set aside to thaw.

Poach chicken in a small amount of water until no longer pink. Remove from water and drain. When cool enough to handle, cut chicken into 1/2-inch cubes.

Blanch asparagus until of desired doneness. Drain and cool. When cool enough to handle, slice into 1-inch pieces.

In a large bowl, mix rosemary, vinegar, salt, pepper, honey, mustard, orange juice and olive oil.

In another bowl, combine pasta, pine nuts, thawed uncooked corn, chicken, asparagus, orange zest and dried cranberries. When well-mixed, add to bowl with dressing and toss to combine.

Makes 8 servings