Curried Chicken Salad
Chicken Salad is easily a popular spring and summer delight. It is filling and doesn't take long to prepare...especially since I discovered the packages of rotisserie chicken chunks at Costco. Being too hot for me to stand over the stove or to heat up the house by turning on the oven, this was a great find....speaking of finds, it is time to find a recipe for The Secret Recipe Club reveal day.
In preparing for this post I had to focus on something that did not involve an oven...that was not the easiest challenge. Emily, at It Bakes Me Happy says she has a major sweet tooth. She is a baker and lover of sweets...lots and lots of sweets. I must say that Emily is one busy baker! There were many sweet choices in her recipe archives...but alas, I have been trying hard to boycott sweets....so, I talked myself out of the Apple Crisp, the Apple Dutch Baby and the Buttermilk Biscuits! No sweets! No oven!
Instead, I focused on salads. I spied a recipe for Curried Chicken Salad that looked perfect. I thought that I might have everything in the pantry which meant no trip to the store...and that made it even better. As the story goes I had to do some improvising as my pantry did not have golden raisins or pecans. I had Craisins and slivered almonds. I was also making more than Emily's recipe would make and serving it at dinner so I increased some ingredients and added a couple more ingredients such as pasta, celery and green onion. It was quite tasty...and, as you know, I am a lover of curry, so curry always makes me happy. Thank you, Emily, for allowing me to springboard from your recipe!
Yield: 4-6 servings
2 cups cooked and diced chicken breast
2 ribs celery, diced
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup Craisins
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 thin green onions, chopped, both white and green portions
6 oz dried pasta, cooked and drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp honey
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper, 3-4 twists
Garnish: Additional chopped green onion or chopped cilantro.
Boil the pasta until al dente, drain, and set aside. Allow to cool as you prepare the remaining ingredients.
In a medium size bowl combine the diced chicken, celery, hard boiled egg, Craisins, slivered almonds, and green onions. Add the pasta.
In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, honey, curry powder and salt. Fold into the chicken mixture, stirring until evenly moistened.
Taste and adjust seasonings, as needed.
Serve as a sandwich, as a side dish or main course on a bed of lettuce, if desired.
Garnish: Sprinkle with additional chopped green onion or chopped cilantro.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
This was not an over-powering salad as curry can sometimes be. The addition of the honey was a great idea. It smoothed the edge that curry can have and created a very pleasant salad. We really enjoyed it!
In preparing for this post I had to focus on something that did not involve an oven...that was not the easiest challenge. Emily, at It Bakes Me Happy says she has a major sweet tooth. She is a baker and lover of sweets...lots and lots of sweets. I must say that Emily is one busy baker! There were many sweet choices in her recipe archives...but alas, I have been trying hard to boycott sweets....so, I talked myself out of the Apple Crisp, the Apple Dutch Baby and the Buttermilk Biscuits! No sweets! No oven!
Instead, I focused on salads. I spied a recipe for Curried Chicken Salad that looked perfect. I thought that I might have everything in the pantry which meant no trip to the store...and that made it even better. As the story goes I had to do some improvising as my pantry did not have golden raisins or pecans. I had Craisins and slivered almonds. I was also making more than Emily's recipe would make and serving it at dinner so I increased some ingredients and added a couple more ingredients such as pasta, celery and green onion. It was quite tasty...and, as you know, I am a lover of curry, so curry always makes me happy. Thank you, Emily, for allowing me to springboard from your recipe!
Curried Chicken Pasta Salad
Yield: 4-6 servings
2 cups cooked and diced chicken breast
2 ribs celery, diced
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup Craisins
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 thin green onions, chopped, both white and green portions
6 oz dried pasta, cooked and drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp honey
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper, 3-4 twists
Garnish: Additional chopped green onion or chopped cilantro.
Boil the pasta until al dente, drain, and set aside. Allow to cool as you prepare the remaining ingredients.
In a medium size bowl combine the diced chicken, celery, hard boiled egg, Craisins, slivered almonds, and green onions. Add the pasta.
In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, honey, curry powder and salt. Fold into the chicken mixture, stirring until evenly moistened.
Taste and adjust seasonings, as needed.
Serve as a sandwich, as a side dish or main course on a bed of lettuce, if desired.
Garnish: Sprinkle with additional chopped green onion or chopped cilantro.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
This was not an over-powering salad as curry can sometimes be. The addition of the honey was a great idea. It smoothed the edge that curry can have and created a very pleasant salad. We really enjoyed it!
Your springboard version of this versatile dish sounds tasty, and satisfying enough to be an entree salad.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great and I just happened to pick up a grill roasted chicken on Saturday:@)
ReplyDeleteWhat a classy version of chicken salad. Thanks for the reminder. I often forget about using curry in chicken salads. The grapes garnish is perfect too.
ReplyDeleteSam
Hi Kate,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great Chicken Salad, it looks so pretty and delicious. Nice choice for the SRC!
Miz Helen
While I don't dislike it, I've never gone out of my way to eat curry, but after reading about it's health benefits, I need to start paying more attention to recipes containing it. And what better way than in a delicious looking pasta salad.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great looking pasta salad. I love the addition of the craisins to add some sweetness.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds great Kate! I am so glad you enjoyed it, I think I need to try your spin on it soon :)
ReplyDeleteI am always on the lookout for a good pasta salad and this looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteThen my family won't eat pasta salad to I am hesitant. This is so tempting,
I know they like curry - hummmm?
This chicken salad reminds me of a dish I had a Cuban restaurant in Philly. Great SRC choice!
ReplyDeleteWonderful and nice substitutions with the craisins and almonds. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThat looks outstandingly delicious. I've never had a curried chicken salad, but now I seriously want to try it. Great choice.
ReplyDeleteSounds great - I love curry!
ReplyDeleteHi, great dish! How about adding it to the Food on Friday: Indian & Sri Lankan collection over at Carole's Chatter? Cheers
ReplyDeleteI've made curried egg salad, wonder why I've never made curried chicken salad??? Love the addition of Craisins in this.
ReplyDelete