chicken salad

Serves 4–6

This is a great last-minute salad to make use of leftover chicken. You can change it up throughout the year to include the most colorful vegetables you can find. The star of the dish is the flash-pickled onions and radishes. The combination of the vinegar, sugar, and salt balances out the strong flavors beautifully.

Ingredients

2 cups roasted chicken, shredded or chopped

1 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

Half of a head of purple cabbage, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped dates, figs, or your favorite dried fruit

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro or parsley, coarsely chopped

½ cup red onion, sliced

4 radishes, sliced thin

¼ cup red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon coarse sugar

½ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Juice from 1 lemon

Drizzle of maple syrup

Sprinkle of coarse salt

Method

  1. Shred half of a whole roasted chicken, sprinkle in some fresh ground black pepper and a sprinkle of salt, then set aside.
  2. In a small pan, sauté the garbanzo beans in a splash of olive oil at medium heat until slightly crisp.
  3. To make the pickled onions, combine the red onion and radishes with the red wine vinegar, coarse sugar and salt, and pepper. Toss together and let sit for 5 minutes.
  4. In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, cabbage, garbanzo beans, dates, and herbs. Add the pickled onion mixture and toss to combine.
  5. Transfer to a large platter and finish with fresh-squeezed lemon juice, a hint of maple syrup, and salt.

Republished with permission of VeloPress from Feed Zone Table by chef Biju Thomas and Dr. Allen Lim. Try more recipes at feedzonecookbook.com