Instead of sharing a Fourth of July grilling menu today I’m going to talk about something very important: Leftovers. The unsung heroes of the busy home cooks tool kit. This recipe for curried chicken salad is so good you’ll practically be begging for leftovers, I promise.
Curried chicken salad is one of those recipes my Great Aunt Betty would call “everything and the kitchen sink.” If you don’t have sour cream, use Greek yogurt, or regular yogurt, or just mayonaisse. If you don’t have almonds use walnuts or chopped peanuts (but do try to unearth some type of nut, it adds a nice crunch). Curry powder is non-negotiable, of course, as is the chicken. But the celery is just icing on the cake, so to speak. And for bonus points, add sliced grapes. Improvisation is the name of the game.
Now fire up that grill, make too much chicken, and get ready for the best chicken salad sandwich of the summer. Let’s eat!
- ½ cup low-fat mayonnaise
- ¼ sour cream (or non-fat Greek or plain yogurt)
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 3-4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 1 bunch grapes, cleaned and sliced (raisins work well, too)
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- ¼ sliced almonds
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
- Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream and curry powder in a large bowl.
- Stir in the chicken, grapes, celery, almonds and basil.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve as a sandwich or on a bed of greens.
I think I prefer your recipe to my “Taj Mahal Salad”, my first blog post.
I love chicken salad in the summer. I made curried chicken salad last week, (almost identical to your recipe) and put a large splash of white wine vinegar in the mayonnaise to give it a little zip. The idea of sour cream or plain yogurt sounds better. Since I have a large basil plant in my backyard, I added basil to the salad. It was delicious.