Spring Salad with Poached Chicken in a Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

I love this salad for the spring! A lot of people don't like poached chicken but I find this recipe to be very refreshing and the chicken is moist and has quite a bit of flavor. The Lemon Herb Vinaigrette is very popular with my friends and the kids love it too. 
Save the cooking liquid after poaching the chicken and you will have a wonderful stock.



2 large bone in chicken breasts, rinsed and dried
1 large carrot, chop
1 t peppercorns
1 t dried sage
1 Fennel, Herb part cut off stalks and set aside, stalks largely chopped, and bulb thinly sliced
4 Spring onions, whites cut on a diagonal and green parts largely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, 1 finely minced, 3 whole with skins removed
3 radishes, thinly sliced
1 bag of herb lettuce mix
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 small handful of basil, finely chopped
1 small golden beet, julienne
1 small red beet, julienne
3/4 cup of olive oil
Salt and pepper

• • Fill a medium sized pan with cold water and place over high heat. Add 1t salt, peppercorns, 3 whole garlic cloves, carrot, fennel stalks, dried sage, and chicken breasts. Bring it to a boil then turn down to a simmer and place a lid on the pot. Cook for 30 mins or until chicken is cooked through. Take the chicken out of the liquid and place it in the fridge to cool. Then take the chicken off the bone and remove the skin. Pull the chicken apart, cover and place it back in the fridge. This can be done a day ahead.
    
    In a jar or small bowl combine lemon zest and juice, basil, fennel herbs, minced garlic, pinch of pepper and salt. If you are using a jar, add the olive oil and shake until all ingredients are combined. If you are using a bowl, slowly whisk in the olive oil. Set vinaigrette aside.
    
    In a large bowl toss together fennel, radishes, spring onions, greens, and chicken. Lightly dress with vinaigrette and divide onto four plates. Toss the beets together, then divide them between the salads and serve. Place the vinaigrette on the table so that your guests can help themselves to more if they like. Enjoy!