Curried Chicken Salad
Another delicious recipe from Evanston Spice House Manager, Chasity Marini. Make this salad ahead of time if you can, so flavors can develop. For the dried berries, you can use cranberries, raisins, or your favorite dried fruit. Chasity swears this salad is best with dried blueberries.
Yield: 5-6 servings
Preparation Instructions:
Take a whole bulb of garlic and slice the top off, leaving the cloves intact. Place it in tin foil and drizzle olive oil on the top, close up the foil and place in the oven at 375 for about 45 minutes until cloves are tender and caramelized.
Coat chicken with olive oil and generously cover with Vadouvan curry powder. Cook chicken thoroughly on a grill pan or a hot skillet.
After the chicken has cooked, cooled, and rested, chop it into bite size pieces.
Smash garlic cloves in a mixing bowl, then add mayo, another tablespoon of Vadouvan, salt, and pepper.
Whisk dressing together.
Add chicken, nuts, and berries to the bowl, then fold together until thoroughly dressed.
Taste the salad, and adjust seasoning as needed—Don’t over salt, the flavors will come together as it rests in the refrigerator.
Let rest for a couple hours, at least.
Serve on a croissant or with crackers
thespicehouse.com
More About This Recipe
It's easier to roast a whole bulb of garlic instead of a few individual cloves. You can save the leftovers in the fridge for up to a week. You can use chicken breast, but thighs tend to be more flavorful and tender.
I just made this salad tonight for dinner. I used chicken breast, which didn’t detract from the texture or flavor at all, and I used plain Greek yogurt instead (I don’t care for mayonnaise). Otherwise, I followed the recipe as written. I’ve never done a garlic confit before, but it really took the curry dressing to a higher level of goodness. I did roast the entire garlic bulb and saved the rest for another recipe this week. I got some croissants, and the chicken curry was exquisite on them!