I must admit that I had my very first chicken salad when I visited the USA in 1997. Yes… quite late in life (well, I am not THAT old, but the point is, it is not a dish I grew up eating!). I am not sure why, but it is not something my family would eat. For me, it was love at first bite. I remember having a chicken salad sandwich in San Diego and wondering why I had never had that before!!! Over the years, I have come up with a recipe that I really love, so now I can make my own chicken salad whenever I have some left over chicken. I must admit, I sometimes cook a little extra of my roasted chicken just to make this salad for the following day! I know, I am wicked! Hehehe Is there any particular dish you discovered later on in life that you wished you had always known??
This is quite a classic recipe, just with the proportions that work the best for yours truly! It is great eaten on its own (maybe with some crunchy celery) or as a filling for a sandwich. Try it with my whole wheat sandwich bread… it is a delicious combination! I hope you guys enjoy it too!
Ingredients (for 2 people):
150 gms – 5.5 oz. roasted/rotisserie/ poached (left-over) chicken, shredded
¼ stalk celery, chopped
1 tbsp red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp giardiniera/gherkins, chopped
1 tbsp walnuts, chopped
For the dressing
2 tbsp mayonnaise
½ tbsp honey mustard
½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients of the dressing together in a bowl until well combined.
Now add the shredded chicken, the chopped celery, red onion, giardiniera (or gherkins) and walnuts and mix well.
Serve with some crunchy celery or use it as a filling for a sandwich. I served it with my whole wheat sandwich bread and it was the perfect lunch!
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 150 gms – 5.5 oz. roasted/rotisserie/ poached left-over chicken, shredded
- ¼ stalk celery chopped
- 1 tbsp red onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp giardiniera/gherkins chopped
- 1 tbsp walnuts chopped
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- ½ tbsp honey mustard
- ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
-
Mix all the ingredients of the dressing together in a bowl until well combined.
-
Now add the shredded chicken, the chopped celery, red onion, giardiniera (or gherkins) and walnuts and mix well.
-
Serve with some crunchy celery or use it as a filling for a sandwich. I served it with my whole wheat sandwich bread and it was the perfect lunch!
I would skip onions 🙂 I don’t know I can eat onions only when they are cooked like in chicken curries.. but in salad I would prefer without onion 😀 otherwise I find this salad really great 🙂
I love chicken salads too in their various forms. I would include all your ingredients though I would go easy on the raw onion too like Medeja.
I have cooked extra chicken for salads and sandwiches forever and make the mixture somewhat similarly to you: so moreish! I tend to use homemade yogurt insted of mayonnaise tho’. Being a doctor/nutritionist/foodie I am afraid I do somewhat disagree [sorry 🙂 !] with the two previous writers re raw onion – I would even use a tad more. Look up Nobel Prize winning Dr Andrew Weil’s article: raw onion is the healthiest item out of all the vegetables – as he puts it – it should go into every sandwich, salad and the like, besides being cooked in most every savoury recipe 🙂 !
Ohhhhh home made yogurt??!!! I MUST try it! It sounds like it would go great with it and with less calories… sounds like a winner! THANKS! 🙂 I love raw onions (and garlic) and often add them to my salads (almost always), but I know not everyone likes them as they tend to be a bit strong. 🙂
Well, strictly speaking, I do have help 🙂 ! I have used the New Zealand made [best milk in the world!] ‘EasiYo’ sachets forever: one initially buys quite a cheap setup of yogurt maker and jar [lasts a decade or more], does some ‘clever’ things with hot and cold water and leaves it on the kitchen bench for 6-10 hours. Consistency and taste quite different to storebought. Lasts in fridge about ten days. A huge selection these days: I don’t make fruity ones, but there are at least a dozen natural ones of all kinds – fantastic! A lot of diffferent lactic cultures also. Of course, pure homemade one would be still nicer, but then it’s got to be an ongoing business of keeping some back all the time. Oh, some big US food mail order ones also sell it.
As the true American that I am, I love chicken salad. Always need to make chicken purposely for it since we never have any left overs from roast chicken… how do you do that? Love the pickles and nuts and celery in yours for added crunch. I just posted a slightly different version of a chicken salad… on the same wavelength again my friend.
I love chicken salad and might have to try…
perfect for a summer picnic !
Wow this looks absolutely amazing, For a really long time I’ve looked for a really good chicken salad recipe and I think I’ve just hit the jackpot so…. thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you :D:D:D