Classic Chicken Salad - A Secret Ingredient that Makes all the Difference!
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Classic Chicken Salad - A Secret Ingredient that Makes all the Difference!
Not exactly your standard chicken salad.
They like to include chopped apple for a sweet note and also chopped green olives for their savory flavor.
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What makes this chicken salad special?
The "secret sauce," so to speak, in this chicken salad is the tablespoon of preserved plums that my mom adds to her mayonnaise-based dressing.
Can use any jam or berry jam, but since we always have plenty of plum jam on hand (thanks to several plums), this is what mom gets first.
Mom balances the sweetness of the jam with a little lemon juice.
The result? Amazing!
How to cook chicken for chicken salad
If you are cooking chicken specifically for chicken salad, the easiest thing to do is to poach it.
What I like to do is boil a saucepan with 2 liters of water and 1 tablespoon of salt.
While the water is heating, cut the boneless, skinless chicken breasts into large (2 1/2-inch) pieces.
When the water boils, I add the chicken and bring the pot back to a boil.
Then I turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the meat rest for 15 minutes in the hot water while I prepare everything else.
Poaching the chicken this way allows the chicken to cook gently so it retains more moisture.
Once the chicken has finished cooking, you can save the liquid in the saucepan as a light chicken broth.
Poaching aside, you can easily use any cooked chicken for this chicken salad: rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, or rotisserie chicken.
My parents often use leftovers from their favorite rotisserie chicken and even include some of the crispy skin in their salad.
How long does this chicken salad last?
You can make this salad a day or two ahead of time if you expect to add the lettuce until ready to serve.
The salad will keep for several days in the fridge, but the lettuce will lose its crunch and wilt, so you may want to leave the lettuce out if you're expecting leftovers.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces (or 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken meat)
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 4 to 6 green olives, pitted and chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 to 1 apple, pitted and diced
- 1/3 head iceberg lettuce, sliced and chopped
For the dressing:
- 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon prune preserves or any berry jam (or a smaller amount of honey)
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Poaching the chicken (skip if using pre-cooked chicken):
Boil a saucepan with 2 liters of well-salted water (1 tablespoon of salt).
Add the chicken breast (cut into large pieces) and bring the water back to a boil.
Then turn off the heat and cover the pan. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes (time) or so while you prepare everything else.
Make the dressing:
Prepare the chicken salad dressing in a large bowl. Mix mayonnaise, preserves and lemon juice. Taste the right balance between sweetness and acidity.
Salad dressing should not be too sweet or too sour.
Add more preserves or lemon juice until desired balance is achieved. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add chopped celery, bell pepper, olives, red onion, and apple.
Cut the chicken into cubes, mix with the sauce and the vegetables:
Remove chicken from casserole water and cut into cubes. (Or chop up the already cooked chicken, if that's what you're using for this salad.) Mix with dressing and vegetables.
Add lettuce:
At this point, you can move on. When ready to serve, fold in the sliced and chopped lettuce.
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