You can’t make friends with salad…. unless that salad has bacon, parmesano reggiano, and toasted pine nuts, in which case, you’ll probably find yourself with new friends that you don’t even know.

Jamie Oliver introduced me to the concept of the warm salad several years ago with a poached egg and prosciutto version that I made at least once a week for a year. This version is the same concept – select, high-quality, delicious treats, warmed or toasted, spread over a dressed salad, and served immediately. There’s something about crunchy, spicy arugula as a bed for crispy bacon, caramelized onions, toasted pine nuts that makes something that should induce a ton of bikini-weather’s-coming-guilt into a meal… and a meal that has salad in the name. Hoorah!

I have a confession to make…. I started Besotted with more than just the goal of jotting down my favorite recipes and rambling about my culinary experiences. I desperately want to get people back into the kitchen, and for them to do more than peel back the plastic on a microwaveable meal or ‘add water’ to make a meal magically puff up before their eyes.

It’s an absurd quest in our multi-tasking, over-taxed, over-stressed world, but I’m taking it on, and if there’s one recipe in my arsenal to battle the delivery-guy, grocery-store-prepared-foods, and the like, it’s this one, because it takes 15 minutes from grocery bag to table. Not only is it easy and quick, but the flavors – fresh chilis, ginger, garlic, and lemon – will instantly remind you why fresh always tastes best.

I know what you’re thinking…. that picture above is NOT a Week-night meal, but bear with me….

This ricotta-stuffed chicken takes about 1 hour from grocery bag to dinner table, and half of that time it’s in the oven, while you can unwind from the day, grab a glass of wine, surf Facebook, or do any of the other rituals that cue the end of the work day, and that are so essential for our nightly relaxation.

For me, I would typically come home from work and begin the dish almost as soon as I walked in the door; once in the oven, I would go take a nice hot shower to relax, and by the time I got out, the chicken was just about ready to come out of the oven. It was a perfect.