It’s time to tell the truth about chicken salad: it can be… not so great. In fact, like tomatoes, it can run the full yum to yuck taste spectrum from cant-put-it-down-delicious to get-that-off-my-plate. One thing we know for certain is that there is NO ROOM for subpar chicken salads in the Fruit Center Sandwich Club! We knew our version would have to slap and slap it does. Warm curry spice, crunchy pistachios, sweet golden raisins and nicely seasoned, high quality chicken enrobed in just the right amount of dressing. Layer it up on whole grain with paper thin slices of Honeycrisp apple and punchy pickled red onions, it’s a thing of beauty.
CURRIED CHICKEN SALAD with HONEYCRISP APPLES and PICKLED RED ONIONS
1 rotisserie chicken* (or two large fully cooked chicken breasts)
½ large yellow onion, diced
½ cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
½ cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
⅓ cup plus 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
⅓ cup Greek yogurt (full fat or 5%) (optional – see note)
1 heaping tbsp. Madras curry powder
1 heaping tsp. black pepper
Whole grain bread (such as Jessica’s)
1 very thinly sliced Honeycrisp apple
Pickled red onions (see recipe below)
Green leaf lettuce
Remove the skin from your chicken and pull the breast meat off the bone. Cut into bite-sized chunks and place in a large bowl. Add onion, pistachios and raisins. Add mayonnaise, yogurt, curry powder and black pepper and mix together well. Taste and add salt if needed. Many commercial mayos are pretty salty so it is best to mix first, taste, and then season.
The addition of Greek yogurt here adds a bit of brightness and tang and cuts through the richness of the mayonnaise a bit. If you would prefer not to use any yogurt or you don’t have any, just skip it and do an additional ⅓ cup mayo instead. We believe the amount of mayonnaise in chicken salad is a deeply personal and subjective decision. If your chicken breast is quite dry, you may need a bit more, if you tend to not like too much mayo, you can do a bit more yogurt and less mayo. The key thing for a good chicken salad is that it’s well mixed – not too dry and not too gloopy. We have found after tinkering around a bit that this quantity is perfect for us. Adjust yours if you want more or less. No judgment here.
To serve: slather a thin layer of mayo on two pieces of bread. Pile chicken salad onto one side and top with a few very thin slices of apple. On the other piece of bread, stack lettuce leaves and scatter on a few pickled red onions. Smoosh both halves together, cut in half and enjoy.
*If you prefer to make the chicken yourself: the Bell and Evans bone-in split breast is our favorite for chicken salad, or really any kind of chicken sandwich. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 until fully cooked (165 degrees) – about 40-50 minutes. Let cool and then use the breast meat for your chicken salad – it’s flavorful and delicious and less expensive than a whole precooked bird, but in a time crunch the rotisserie chicken we sell works GREAT.
PICKLED RED ONIONS
We sell a great, prepackaged version of Pickled Red Onions, but they are truly so simple to make, we wanted to share our homemade version as well.
1 large red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced
2 cups water
1 cup white vinegar
2 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. sugar
Combine water, vinegar, salt and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil until the sugar and salt have dissolved, just a few minutes. Remove from heat. Pack the thinly sliced onion in a large heat proof jar (like a Ball jar or Weck). Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the top to completely cover. We prefer to do this in a clean sink so as not to spill any boiling liquid on the counter.
Let cool and then cover and refrigerate. These will keep in the fridge for 1-2 months.
BEVERAGE PAIRING SUGGESTIONS
Warm curry spice and crisp, sweet-tart apple are a combo made in flavor heaven and when pairing a beverage with this, we suggest an aromatic white with a little texture. A great pick from the Alsace region of France is the Joseph Cattin Pinot Gris. Light gold colored in the glass with aromas of apricots, sweet honey and beeswax, this bright, balanced white would work well. We also love Chenin Blanc with anything involving curry. The Tania et Vincent Careme Terre Brulee Chenin Blanc has notes of bright citrus and honeysuckle, zippy acidity and great balance. This South African Chenin would be a near perfect pairing.
If you would rather skip wine and go with something in a can – a robust amber ale or a hard cider would both serve well here. The Fat Tire Amber Ale is a Colorado classic with a fine malt backbone and a touch of hops. Refreshing and easy to drink, but moderately complex this would cut through the richness of chicken salad nicely. Another suggestion that we think would be fun is the Carlson Orchards Honey Crisp Cider. Like biting into a fresh apple, this semi-sweet hard cider has a touch of wildflower honey and nice balance. Hey, if it works in the sandwich, it will work alongside it!