I kind of have a thing for chicken salad. For a long time, I ate it nearly every day for lunch. There was this little deli across the street from the spa where I used to work, and I made a tradition out of walking over daily, and buying a big scoop. Occasionally I would throw it between two slices of bread and enjoy a sandwich, but for the most part I would scoop it onto a bed of lettuce for a salad… if I was rushed for time, I would even eat it straight from the container. When we were living in Pittsburgh, there was this great eclectic little cafe that my husband I would meet at for lunch every once and awhile, and they had an incredible curried chicken salad. I still dream about it. We make chicken salad pretty regularly at home these days, and sometimes we like to kick things up a bit and make our own curried version.
This chicken salad comes together pretty quickly thanks to using a store-bought rotisserie chicken as a short cut. It’s sweet because of the golden raisins, and slightly spicy because of the curry. The surprise ingredient is the peanuts. I’m a sucker for nuts in my chicken salad, and though I generally stick with the traditional almonds or pecans, I really love the peanuts in this recipe… don’t knock it until you try it. Throw a little of this curried chicken salad on some warmed flatbread, or mescaline greens, and you’ve got yourself the perfect little lunch.
- 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken, breasts removed and shredded
- 1 stalk of celery finely diced
- 1/2 cup of golden raisins
- 1/4 chopped peanuts
- 2 Tbs Curry powder
- 1/2 Tbs of fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbs light mayonaisse
- 1 cup of nonfat plain greek yogurt
- S&P to taste
- 2 Tbs chives, for garnish
- Combine all ingredients (but the chives) in a large bowl and stir to combine. Top with chives. Can be served warm, but the flavors really come out after a couple of hours in the refrigerator.
this looks so good and healthy! adding it to my grocery list for next week 🙂