Cookbook:Sweet Southern Chicken Salad

| Salad Recipes

Chicken salad is very similar in many respects to tuna salad, although there are many variations on the dish which can set it apart. Chicken salad tends to work well with sweet fruit and vegetable flavors, and is ideal for lunch-time sandwiches.

Ingredients

 * 4 skinless chicken breasts
 * 2 stalks celery
 * ¼ cup peppercorns
 * 2 bay leaves
 * 1 teaspoon salt
 * 1 cup mayonnaise
 * 1 cup mango chutney
 * Salt
 * Pepper

Procedure

 * 1) Add the chicken breasts to a small pot. Add enough water to cover.
 * 2) Slice stalks of celery into large sticks. Add celery, bay leaves, teaspoon salt, and peppercorns to the pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower temperature and simmer for at least one hour. Chicken should be tender, and should pull apart easily.
 * 3) Remove chicken from water. You may wish to reserve the water as a base for a stock or a soup.
 * 4) Slice chicken into small bite-size cubes. Take care not to shred the chicken, because the salad should be chunky.
 * 5) Put cut chicken into a medium-sized bowl. Add mayonnaise and chutney, one spoonful at a time until salad reaches correct consistency. The salad should be moist and chunky, not wet and mushy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
 * 6) Serve by itself in a bowl, or on bread, biscuits, or croissants.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Dice a half-stick of celery into fine pieces, and add to the salad.
 * Add a cut of sliced seedless grapes to the salad for extra sweetness.
 * Dice a hard-boiled egg and add to the salad.
 * Top with cranberry sauce, orange marmalade, or spicy brown mustard.