We think of chicken salad as a mild-weather dish, but it’s too versatile to be off limits the rest of the year. If you toss the poultry with a grain while both are still warm, then add some greens, you get a mixture satisfying for a blustery night. Chicken breasts roasted on the bone have the most flavor. While boneless breasts might be easier for some cooks to handle, the meat doesn’t have the skin intact, and that bastes it while it roasts. Thin lobes of skinless boneless poultry dry out quickly in the oven. Marinate the chicken briefly in orange juice with a splash of soy sauce. After roasting, remove the cooked meat from the bone in one piece, slice it, and lay it on a bed of baby spinach and farro.

The ancient wheat farro goes by its Italian name (it’s also called emmer), and it’s not interchangeable with spelt, another grain that takes far longer to cook. Farro is delightfully chewy and filling but can get mushy in the pan. Cook it as you would pasta — in lots of boiling salted water — and start tasting after 12 minutes. After draining, return the farro in its strainer to the saucepan and use the Persian technique of covering the pan with a clean towel (or double layer of paper towels) and the lid to keep it warm and let the steam finish the cooking. Garnish the colorful plates with navel oranges or their intensely pink cousins, Cara Cara, and an orange vinaigrette for more warmth.

Sheryl Julian

Sheryl Julian can be reached at sheryl.julian@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @sheryljulian.