You'll find a thousand chicken salad recipes on the internet, but I must (biasedly) say that this one is my favorite-- it's the curry. Gives it a little somethin' extra.

I grew up on curried chicken salad. It was a go-to meal in my household for weeknight suppers and large parties because you can make big batches in advance and the medley of flavors is a crowd pleaser. It's definitely a multi-seasonal kinda dish, but I'm sharing it with you now because there is something about the apples and raisins that captures the essence of autumn eating. 

This recipe includes a foolproof way to poach chicken breast. I encourage you to try it, but if you already have a preferred method, then feel free to skip ahead to step #2.

Enjoy!

recipe

for the chicken salad:

• 4 cups poached chicken breast, pulled into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup apples, diced
• 1 cup celery, thinly-sliced crosswise 
• 1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
• ½ cup pecans, broken into pieces
• ½ cup golden raisins
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

for the curried mayonaise: 

• 1 cup homemade mayonnaise
• 1 ¼ teaspoon curry powder
• 2-3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• Dash cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. To poach the chicken breasts (or skip ahead to step 2 as per my note above), dissolve 2 tbsp kosher salt in six cups of cold water. Submerge three boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cook on medium heat until the water registers 165°F. Immediately remove from heat and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Allow to sit covered for 15-17 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Have all the ingredients chopped, measured out and ready to go. 
3. Put the ingredients for the chicken salad in a large bowl. Mix several times with a spatula to combine.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the curry mayonnaise until evenly blended. Scoop the mayo mixture onto the chicken salad and toss together the ingredients with a spatula until evenly coated/combined.

If you make this recipe, hashtag a pic to #spiceandhutch and post to Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter. I'd love to see your culinary creations!