Easy and Delicious Chicken Salad

 

 I worked at this little restaurant in college that made a delicious chicken salad. The shop specialized in juices and smoothies so this dish was hidden gem. I used to enjoy it as a chicken melt. Lately, I'd been craving one, so I set out to create my own version of this chicken salad.

Chicken Salad

One rotisserie chicken, meat pulled off the bone

One cup walnuts, toasted then chopped

One cup grapes, sliced in half

Three ribs celery, finely diced, totaled one cup

One small bunch of green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced

1/2 of a shallot finely diced

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion

1/4 teaspoon dried dill

Freshly cracked black pepper to taste and kosher salt, if needed

 

Directions 

1. Take the walnuts and put them over low heat to toast. While the nuts toast, you can work on other components of the dish just make sure to shake the pan to avoid any burning. 

2.  Next, focus on making the dressing. To avoid excesses dishes, just measure directly into the bowl that you're going to make the chicken salad. Add in the mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, and vinegar as well as the spices. Note: I enjoy the sharpness of black pepper so I used about 11 twists of the pepper mill. If you're not a fan of that much pepper, then I would just add half that much, and check the seasoning and adjust from there. I always keep in mind that I can add more later, but I can't take it away. I didn't need to add any salt.

3. By now the walnuts, if not sooner, the walnuts should be toasted. Take them off the heat and allow to cool. While the walnuts are cooling, start chopping all of the other ingredients. Dice half of the shallot as finely as possible. Once chopped, add to the dressing so that it can mellow. Next come the scallions. Trim both ends, then slice on an angle as finely as possible. Mix together with the dressing. Note: This is a lot of onion, and it will definitely affect your breath, but it's worth it in my opinion. If allium scented breath is not your thing, then I would only chop 2 stalks of scallions, or omit entirely. But the recipe does benefit from its addition. 

4. Remove the ends from the celery stalks. Taking the tip of the knife slice the celery into 4 thin pieces lengthwise. Once the remaining stalks have been sliced, chop them finely. Set aside. Roughly chop the cooled walnuts then set aside. Lastly, slice the grapes in half horizontally. Set these aside as well.

4. Start taking the meat from the chicken and place in a food processor. In 2 or 3 batches, pulse the chicken until the consistency that you desire. Note: I blended mine in three batches with varying coarseness. I wanted the variety in texture, and this was something I enjoyed in the final dish. I ended up with roughly 4 cups of chicken. Two cups were finely processed (6-7 pulses), 1 cup was (4-5 pulses), and 1 cup (3-4 pulses). Once the batch is processed, place it directly into the mixing bowl. 

5. Once all the chicken is added to the mixing bowl, add in the celery and walnuts. Mix the ingredients thoroughly into the dressing. Lastly, fold the grapes into the mixture. Adjust for seasoning to your liking. Note: I added a few more cracks of black pepper.

 Letting the salad sit allows the flavors to meld. It took me five days to finish the salad, and the textures were still good.  The walnuts weren’t too soggy and the grapes kept some of their crunchiness to them which I liked.  I enjoyed my cold chicken salad with crackers one day and rice cakes another. 

I'm hesitant to have grapes in a warm chicken salad sandwich. If intending on making the salad as a "melt", then I would separate the salad into two storage containers so I could have one with grapes and walnuts and on without. 

Do you like grapes and walnuts in your chicken salad? What's your favorite way to enjoy this dish?