Thursday, October 16, 2008

Classic Chicken Salad

I am not sure if this truly qualifies as a "recipe" but I wanted to share it nonetheless, because I find the perfect chicken salad elusive, well I did, until now! I mentioned the fabulousness of having roast chicken in the fridge, and this is another example of why it is so great. Nothing out of a can or a grocery deli case can compare to this kind of homemade salad. Chunky and fresh tasting, a perfect melding of savory flavors. Feel free to dress it up with unconventional add ins- grapes, walnuts, raisins, but keep in mind, the classic version is something special in and of itself.

Start with 1 roasted chicken breast, cut into medium dice. For those of you playing along at home that don't want to heat up your oven, try a rotisserie chicken. If you are going to use the whole chicken, double the other ingredients. To the chicken add half of a large, sweet onion and 2 ribs of celery, both also diced. I like the onion chopped a little smaller than the chicken dice. To this add a generous grinding of black pepper and salt, about a half teaspoon of each. Also add 2-3 rounded tablespoons of mayonnaise, and 1 heaping teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Mix to combine.
Finally, a sprinkling of finely chopped flat leaf parsley is the perfect finishing touch. You get the beautiful color and the zing! of the parsley brings all the flavors together.
Serve this over a classic green salad made of green leaf lettuce, purple cabbage, shredded carrot, tomatoes and a simple dressing. Skip any dressings that are mayo-based, you don't need it with the richness of the chicken salad. Like I said, feel free to mix it up, but always know that you can come back to this simple combination for success every time.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can Mikey and I move in with you?

Meagan said...

We'll take you whenever we can get you! :)