Curried Chicken Salad

Curried chicken salad....enjoy with a nice chardonnay

 Curried Chicken Salad

If you have leftover chicken or just purchased too much rotisserie chicken – this is the perfect use!  Or, if the craving hits and no cooked chicken is in sight, just buy a couple plump chicken breasts and quickly cook it up for use….no need to season, there is plenty in the rest of the salad.

I love serving this mid-week – so simple to make, easy to pull it together in under an hour…add some vegetables to the plate (we had broccoli tonight as I was craving green!). Perhaps serve with some bread – or naan to complement the curry.

To serve 6, start with about 1 ½ lb chicken – I like a mix of white and dark meat.  Tonight I simply used rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and removed the skin and bones.  Chop the chicken into ½ inch pieces.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/3 C mayonnaise, ½ C plain yogurt, 5 tsp curry powder, 1 ½ Tb fresh lime juice, 1 tsp honey, 1/2 tsp salt, ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper and optional ½ tsp ground ginger.  Add chicken, 1 medium red onion, chopped (1 C), 1 firm mango (3/4 lb) that is peeled, pitted, and chopped, 1 C halved red seedless grapes, ½ C coarsely chopped salted roasted cashews. Stir gently to combine.

This can definitely be done ahead of time – even stored overnight. Great picnic fare or for a book club. Possible substitutions: cranberries instead of mango, pecans or toasted almonds instead of cashews.

This would be best with a white wine, especially a Chardonnay or Gewurztraminer. Bon Appetit!

--Larue