Weekend Brunch? Try Rotisserie Chicken with Kiwi Salsa Ciabatta Sandwich

Making sandwich is always a good way to "revitalize" the leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge. However, instead of pair the meat with lettuce and tomato slices, how about giving this simple kiwi salsa a try?

Rotisserie chicken with kiwi salsa ciabatta sandwich?

Ingredients (for two)?

• 2 plain ciabatta 
• 1 chicken thigh steak
• 4 cheese squares 
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• Some olive oil
• Some salt
• Some freshly ground black pepper

Salsa:

• 1 big ripe tomato
• 2 half ripe kiwi 
• 1/3 onion
• 3 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

How?

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking dish with foil for easy cleaning purpose. Keep the butter in room temperature or warm it up slightly in the oven, till the butter softens and easy to brush on ciabatta.

Use bone-in chicken skin-on thigh steak, that way the chicken gets more flavor and juicier after baking in the oven. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Drizzle just a little bit of olive oil on top.

Transfer the chicken steak onto prepared baking dish and into the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes. Once cooked through, remove from heat and let it rest till cool enough to handle by hand. Remove skin and bone, break the meat into larger bite size pieces and set aside for later use. Leftover rotisserie turkey also works well for this recipe, just heat it up in the oven using lower heat or steam for 5 minutes before use.

Remove the stem and seeds from the tomato and chop into tiny cubes. Scoop out the kiwi and chop into tiny cubes. Do not use fully ripe kiwi, otherwise it'll be too soft to handle. Peel and cube the onion. Finely chop the cilantro. 

Put the cubed kiwi on the side first and mix all the remaining salsa ingredients in a bowl, including salt, pepper, and juice of half lemon. Kiwi gets mushy easily so add to the salsa mixture in the end and blend gently.

Slice the ciabatta in half, lengthwise. Brush one side of the ciabatta with melted butter. Lay two cheese squares on the other half of the bread. I used Emmental since it was left in the fridge. However, saltier Cheddar should work really well with this recipe.

Transfer the ciabatta onto a baking dish and into a medium/high heat oven. Toast the ciabatta till it turns slightly crunchy on the edges.

To assemble, use the ciabatta with cheese as bottom layer. Put some rotisserie chicken, scoop kiwi salsa over, and top with the other half of the ciabatta.

Leftover kiwi salsa can be stored in the fridge up to few days. Try grill some pork chops and serve with kiwi salsa. Make sure to bring out a bottle of spicy sauce to add more kick to the grilled meat!   

Other sandwich recipe:

• Open faced sandwich with mayonnaise shrimp and avocado
• Grilled cheese with homemade salsa
• Brioche burger with seared tuna and Sriracha uni sauce
• Japanese style corn and ham sandwich
• Japanese egg salad sandwich topped with smoked salmon (tamago sando)
• Turkey burger with two cheeses, sunny side up egg, baby greens, and broiled tomatoes
• Smoked ham sandwich with aioli and Parmigiano Reggiano
• Rotisserie chicken, strawberry, and ricotta croissant sandwich