Ramblings, rants and recipes from a South Beach vet who's trying it once again...
Sweet Curry Chicken Salad
Posted 10-29-2008 at 01:48 PM by TryinSBDagain
As I mentioned in a post on this week's South Beach check-in thread, I needed a savory, protein-based topping for a sweet potato to take to church today for our Potato Bar meal. After several excellent suggestions from my friends on the message board, I decided to try a recipe that I like on sandwiches (whole wheat toasted bread, pitas or tortillas are great with it) and as a salad on a bed of mixed greens. (It's great with Ritz crackers, too, but that's not SB-friendly; maybe on Wheat Thins or Triscuits instead?)
Anyway, here's the recipe:
Sweet Curry Chicken Salad
1 lb. cooked chicken breast (boiled, broiled, grilled or baked is fine) or one 13 oz. can white meat chicken, drained (For today's batch, I used canned chicken because it was available.)
Garam Masala to taste (Garam Masala is the sweet curry part of this recipe; it doesn't have sugar in it, but the spices used have a sweetness to them. You can find it in the spice section of your local grocery store, or find a recipe online and make your own mix.)
Regular or light mayo - just enough to make the salad moist and bind it together; you'll have to judge it for yourself. (Light is preferable, but once again I was forced to use what I had on hand, so it was regular.)
A dollop of light sour cream (optional) - Thanks to Rose for this idea (she suggested ham and sour cream to top the potato, and that's what prompted me to try this); I hadn't put it in the salad before, but it adds a subtle richness the salad lacked.
Raw or toasted pecans or walnuts (I used pecans this time because that's all we had, and I toasted them because they'd been in the fridge a while and I wanted to freshen the flavor up a bit.) - To toast, put pecans or walnuts in a dry skillet and cook on medium-high to high until they are very warm. They may not actually turn brown, but they'll have an even nuttier flavor than they would raw.
To make the salad, put the chicken (cut up if you're not using canned) into a blender or food processor and sprinkle the Garam Masala on top. Run the blender/processor on "shred" until the chicken is finely chopped up. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the mayonnaise and sour cream, stirring until well mixed. When the pecans or walnuts are done toasting, put them into the blender/processor and chop finely, then add them to the salad and mix well. Taste and decide if any other seasonings are needed or if the ingredients need to be adjusted, and do so if necessary.
As I mentioned, I'm going to put this on top of a baked sweet potato. I'm expecting that the cardamom, cinnamon and other spices in the masala are going to make this a wonderful potato topper. However, it's also a great salad eaten alone or with the whole grain cracker/bread of your choice.
One other note: this is fantastic with halved red or black seedless grapes or a diced apple added to it. Also, if you like celery, feel free to add that. I don't, so I left it out.
Enjoy!
Anyway, here's the recipe:
Sweet Curry Chicken Salad
1 lb. cooked chicken breast (boiled, broiled, grilled or baked is fine) or one 13 oz. can white meat chicken, drained (For today's batch, I used canned chicken because it was available.)
Garam Masala to taste (Garam Masala is the sweet curry part of this recipe; it doesn't have sugar in it, but the spices used have a sweetness to them. You can find it in the spice section of your local grocery store, or find a recipe online and make your own mix.)
Regular or light mayo - just enough to make the salad moist and bind it together; you'll have to judge it for yourself. (Light is preferable, but once again I was forced to use what I had on hand, so it was regular.)
A dollop of light sour cream (optional) - Thanks to Rose for this idea (she suggested ham and sour cream to top the potato, and that's what prompted me to try this); I hadn't put it in the salad before, but it adds a subtle richness the salad lacked.
Raw or toasted pecans or walnuts (I used pecans this time because that's all we had, and I toasted them because they'd been in the fridge a while and I wanted to freshen the flavor up a bit.) - To toast, put pecans or walnuts in a dry skillet and cook on medium-high to high until they are very warm. They may not actually turn brown, but they'll have an even nuttier flavor than they would raw.
To make the salad, put the chicken (cut up if you're not using canned) into a blender or food processor and sprinkle the Garam Masala on top. Run the blender/processor on "shred" until the chicken is finely chopped up. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the mayonnaise and sour cream, stirring until well mixed. When the pecans or walnuts are done toasting, put them into the blender/processor and chop finely, then add them to the salad and mix well. Taste and decide if any other seasonings are needed or if the ingredients need to be adjusted, and do so if necessary.
As I mentioned, I'm going to put this on top of a baked sweet potato. I'm expecting that the cardamom, cinnamon and other spices in the masala are going to make this a wonderful potato topper. However, it's also a great salad eaten alone or with the whole grain cracker/bread of your choice.
One other note: this is fantastic with halved red or black seedless grapes or a diced apple added to it. Also, if you like celery, feel free to add that. I don't, so I left it out.
Enjoy!
Total Comments 0
Comments
Recent Blog Entries by TryinSBDagain
- Sweet Curry Chicken Salad (10-29-2008)
- Vegetarian "Spaghetti" (10-26-2008)
- Huevos Rancheros Casserole (10-23-2008)
- Almond Flour recipes for Phases 2 and 3 of the SBD (10-22-2008)
- Welcome to my blog! (10-22-2008)
