Whole Foods' Sonoma Chicken Salad

With the very warm, hot, weather lately, I have found it really hard to make my way into the kitchen.  My answer has been to poach chicken breasts and make some sort of pasta salad  or chicken salad for  dinner.  Just when I thought I had tried every type of chicken salad and Mr. T had had it way too often, I found another chicken salad recipe and had to make it!  

I found it while exploring Aimee's blog, from Chapel Hill to Chickenville.  Aimee volunteers at the Whole Foods cooking school and shared the link to their classic Whole Foods  Market dish, Sonoma Chicken Salad.  I had to adapt just a smidge as I didn't have any pecans and it was too hot to bake the chicken in the oven.

Whole Foods' Sonoma Chicken Salad

adapted from The Whole Foods Market Cookbook

Serves:  6-8

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted (I used walnuts as that is what I had.)
2 cups red seedless grapes (I halved the grapes.)
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Dressing 
1 cup mayonnaise (I used low-fat mayo.)
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 
5 teaspoons honey 
2 teaspoons poppy seeds 
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 

In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. 

Place the chicken breast, two spring onions and the celery tops and leaves in a frying pan.  Add 2 parts chicken stock and 1 part white wine to cover the breasts.  Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20-30 minutes.  The time varies depending on whether you cover the pan with a lid or not.  (The aroma reminded me of cooking the giblets at Thanksgiving.)

Remove the chicken breasts from the pan (discard the liquid, onions and celery) cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate until cold.

When the chicken is cold, cut into bite-size chunks.  Place the chicken in a large  bowl and add the grapes, pecans, celery, and dressing.  Mix and refrigerate.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

The addition of honey and vinegar to the dressing gave it a really nice subtle, sweet tang. I also like the flavor of the chicken when it is poached in chicken stock and wine.  This was a popular dish at our house and one that I will make again.  I anticipate a few more hot days this summer!

I am sharing at Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper, at On the Menu Monday hosted by Yvonne at Stone Gable and Food on Friday hosted by Carole at Carole's Chatter.