Tuscan Style Chicken Panzanella Salad

4 cups chicken, poached & pulled

3 ea. Sliced baby cucumbers

2 ea. Vine ripen tomatoes

½ ea. Julianne red onions

½ C Fresh basil leaves

3 C Olive oil croutons

½ C Basil vinaigrette

Sea salt – to taste

Black pepper – to taste

Place the chicken (Whole chicken cut up) and aromatics such as garlic, fresh herbs, peppercorn, salt, onions, carrots and celery in a pot, pour enough water to cover the chicken by an inch or so. Bring to a soft boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until internal temperature reaches 165*F. About 15 to 20 minutes!
Remove from the poaching liquid and transfer to a plate and place in the refrigerator until cool enough where you can then pull the meat off the bone.
Cut crusty Italian bread into small to medium size cubes. Place into a mixing bowl and drizzle olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and dried herbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350*F for about 10 minutes tossing occasionally, until crisp on the outside but still chewy in the center. Set aside to cool.
To make the vinaigrette, measure 3 parts of olive oil to 1 part of cider vinegar and place in a bowl. Season with salt, black pepper, pinch of sugar, dried basil, chopped parsley, juice of one lemon and fresh crushed garlic. Wisk together until all ingredients are combine. Place and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Cut the vegetables and in a mixing bowl combine vegetable, chicken, croutons, fresh basil and vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Tossed to combine. Serve immediately.

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