curried chicken salad

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!

creamy pea gazpacho

It's rare that I cook a 100% vegetarian, gluten- and dairy-free dish. But after my recent marathon of sugary baked goods, it's high time for a little something healthy. And green. So green! 

I wanted to make a light and refreshing dish to eat on a hot summer day and gazpacho immediately came to mind. Creamy pea gazpacho, to be exact. The creaminess lends itself to a whole avocado rather than heavy cream or milk, and boiling the peas in vegetable stock and incorporating a generous portion of mint produces a boldly-flavored gazpacho. 

Summer gazpacho screams freshness, but for the sake of saving a bit of time and money, it's perfectly fine to use frozen peas (which I did). You're welcome to use fresh peas and I encourage you to do so if you've got the time to shuck 'em. If you opt for fresh peas, then I suggest buying about 5-6 pounds at your local farmers market or supermarket. That should be sufficient. Enjoy!

recipe

• 5 cups frozen peas (or fresh - see note above)
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 cups fresh mint, roughly chopped
• 1 ripe medium-sized avocado, diced
• 1 cup parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. In a Dutch oven, sauté the onion and shallot for several minutes over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until they become translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute longer. 
2. Pour the vegetable stock into the Dutch oven. Add the thyme and salt and pepper, and bring to a steady boil over medium-high heat.
3. Once the stock starts boiling, add the peas and return to a boil, and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. If using fresh peas, cook for two minutes only.
4. Ladle half of the pea-stock mixture into a blender and add half of the mint, avocado, and parsley. I suggest working with a half-full blender to avoid having hot liquid splash over the sides when you turn on the machine. Blend for three minutes until the mixture is uniformly smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed (you don't want any lumps!) Pour the mixture into a large bowl.
5. Blend the second half of the pea-stock mixture with the mint, avocado and parsley as directed in step #4, and then add it to the large bowl with the first batch of gazpacho. Stir to combine.
6. Allow the gazpacho to cool to room temperature. Taste the gazpacho and add a bit more of the salt and pepper, if you wish. Then cover the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Serve cold and garnish with a green garnish of your choice, like peas or microgreens or parsley.

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!