Recipe for tangy grilled chicken salad

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Recipe for tangy grilled chicken salad

Chicken salad is any salad that comprises chicken as a main ingredient. Other common ingredients include mayonnaise, hard-boiled egg, celery, pepper, pickles and a variety of mustards. In the United States it refers to a salad consisting primarily of chopped chicken meat and a binder such as mayonnaise or salad dressing. Like tuna salad and egg salad, it may be served on top of lettuce, tomato, avocado, or some combination of these. It may also be used for sandwiches. Typically it is made with leftover or canned chicken.

In Europe and Asia the salad may be complemented by any number of dressings, or indeed no dressing at all, and the salad constituents can vary from traditional leaves and vegetables, to pastas, couscous, noodles or rice. The American form of chicken salad was first served by Town Meets in Wakefield, Rhode Island, in 1863. The original owner, Liam Gray, mixed his leftover chicken with mayonnaise, tarragon, and grapes. This became such a popular item that the meat market was converted to a delicatessen which still stands to this day.

Chicken Salad

For this recipe, we freshened up our salad by adding some berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend that can feature any number of seasonings, but often includes ginger, cardamom, garlic, cumin and chilies. If you can’t find it or you prefer something a little more tame, switch it out for another spice blend, such as curry powder or Italian seasoning.

For even more flavor and some textural contrast, we added chopped Peppadew peppers. You usually can find these alongside the olives at the grocer. Cherry peppers also would work. After some chopped fennel bulb, a handful of toasted almonds and some grapes, we were finished.

We like to serve this salad stuffed in whole-wheat pita pockets with salad greens, but you also could spoon it over a bed of greens for a hearty salad.

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TANGY GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD

Start to finish: 45 minutes

Servings: 4

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and ground black pepper

Canola or vegetable oil

1 to 2 teaspoons berbere seasoning

5.3-ounce container nonfat plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup chopped Peppadew peppers

1/2 bulb fresh fennel, trimmed and diced

1 cup red grapes, halved

1/4 cup slivered, toasted almonds

4 small whole-grain pita pockets

2 cups salad greens

Heat the grill to medium-high.

Place the chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound the meat to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Season with salt and black pepper.

Soak a crumpled paper towel with the oil. Clasping the paper towel with tongs, oil the grates of the grill. Grill the chicken breasts for 4 minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches 165 F. Set aside to cool, then cut into small chunks.

In a large bowl, combine the berbere with the yogurt, Peppadew peppers, fennel, grapes, almonds and the cooled chopped chicken. Mix well, then season with salt and pepper.

Fill each pita pocket with a quarter of the salad greens, then spoon some of the chicken salad into it.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 300 calories; 50 calories from fat (17 percent of total calories); 6 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 65 mg cholesterol; 29 g carbohydrate; 34 g protein; 5 g fiber; 260 mg sodium.

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