Thursday, February 4, 2010

CEiMB: Curried Chicken Salad


I think one of the best things about being in these food clubs is that it pushes me to make things that I would honestly never make on my own. This is a prime example of that, but I'm so glad I did! Curry and I aren't necessarily on bad terms, we just don't exactly see eye to eye. Every once and a while Curry and I will get together and have a decent enough interaction, but then it will be a long time before we get together again, making our next encounter fairly awkward. Luckily, we were both in a good mood yesterday and had an absolutely wonderful time.

I loved this salad! It made for such a perfect lunch and I can't wait to have it again. I made a few minor adjustments to the recipe. Rather than poaching my chicken in broth, I just roasted an entire chicken and chopped the breast meat. It came out so juicy and full of flavor. I also used a red curry paste rather then curry powder, since it's what I had. It had a slight spice and heat to it, but nothing overwhelming. The cilantro brightened the whole dish, the red grapes added a delicious sweetness with every bite, and the almonds brought in great crunch. I also squeezed lime juice over the whole thing for a bit of tang. I'm definitely a lot more sold on Curry, hopefully we'll be hanging out a lot more from now on.

Thanks to Sarah's Kitchen Adventures for hosting!

Curried Chicken Salad
Original Recipe by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, no more than 3/4-inch thick
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup halved red grapes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces mixed greens (about 5 cups lightly packed))
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions


Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add chicken to broth and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes. Turn the heat off and let chicken stand in the cooking liquid, covered, until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and cool completely in the refrigerator. Cut into 1/4-inch dice. Toast the almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and beginning to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, and curry powder. Fold in the chicken, grapes and cilantro and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with the oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the greens on 4 individual plates, top with a scoop of the chicken salad and sprinkle with the almonds.

Serves 4: (serving size: 1 cup chicken salad and 1 1/4 cups greens)

Per Serving: Calories 325; Total Fat 14 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 6 g, Poly Fat 5 g) ; Protein 37 g; Carb 13 g; Fiber 2 g; Cholesterol 85 mg; Sodium 175 mg

Points per Serving: 7

36 comments:

Joanne said...

I like your description of curry as if it were a person! I love curry all the time in any way, shape or form but I definitely understand that most people don't feel that way. Red curry paste is my favorite of all curry pastes.

I also love food clubs because they push me to cook out of the box! Gorgeous salad.

Joanne said...

Looks good. I like your substitutions. The red curry paste was a great idea.

Kristin said...

Yum! Looks and sounds delicious!

Jhonny walker said...

love the way you personalized curry :) :)
the lemon at the very end is lovely. I would definitely try to make this for lunch :)

Sophia Lee said...

That's a GOOD thing abt food clubs! Hee hee, I do like curry, but after Singapore's curry, no curry seem to satisfy me. I'm glad you reconciled with curry though, and enjoyed this lovely chicken salad!

NKP said...

Yum, this sounds so good!
I do love curry. You might find you like some blends more than others, curry powder is just a spice blend like chili powder is.
I am in love with a Deborah Madison salad dressing with curry powder and yogurt - I am sure I would absolutely love this salad.

Jenn said...

Delicious salad. I love Ellie Krieger's recipes. Your version looks really good.

Heidi said...

I need to try this one because I have yet to find a curry dish I like.

Kim said...

LOL - Curry and I are complete strangers. I think I would like it, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet! This salad does sound delicious and you can feel good about eating it, which is great news. I really like reading your CEimb posts each week!

Christo Gonzales said...

looks great- the personification of curry - I love curry and I dont care who knows!

Pam said...

I am loving this salad - curry and chicken just goes so well together.

I was born and raised in Hailey (near Sun Valley). I moved to Oregon about 13 years ago.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I'm not sure if I've tried curry and if I did it was when I was much younger. I'll have to give it a try.
~ingrid

Haden News said...

This sounds good -- I love curry and I like that it only has 7 points!! Can't wait to make it.

Carrie said...

I love chicken salad! I bet the curry twist is delicious!

Megan said...

I know what you mean! Curry never really excites me but yet I always enjoy it when I have it. I do like chicken curry salad and this sounds good.

Megan said...

I know what you mean! Curry never really excites me but yet I always enjoy it when I have it. I do like chicken curry salad and this sounds good.

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

I heart me some curry! Although I don't belong to any of the food clubs, I do try a lot of recipes based on trusted recommendation that otherwise I probably would not try.

This definitely looks and sounds like a salad I would enjoy!

♥peachkins♥ said...

my mom doesn't like curry but my sis and I love it. this is a very nice recipe..

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog. That salad looks wonderful! What is a food club? I also have a food blog and would love for you to stop by sometime. www.brandicastlecooking.blogspot.com

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

I agree with you about Food Clubs. I would not know who Ellie was if it were not for this particular one and I have been so happy with the recipes.

Saying that, I did not make this week's recipe. There was too much we can't eat and I did not want to lose the "flavor" of the recipe.

Yours looks tantalizing.

Erica said...

Curry and I totally have the same relationship! Glad the salad turned out well. Yayy ( as always) for Ellie!

So glad you enjoyed the pump! Nothing like getting a full body weights workout in an hour! <3 pump!

Anonymous said...

That is one of my favorite things about CEiMB as well! We have had quite a few curry recipes, and while I was nervous at first, I've discovered that I really like curry! I'm not as fond of creamy salads like the ones we've made in the past, so I sat this one out. It's getting rave reviews though so maybe I will have to try it after all.

TeaLady said...

Sounds like you have a new friend - curry. It is one of my favorites.

Your salad looks so yummy!!

Debbie said...

I love chicken curry. It is so delicious and you've just got to have red grapes in the salad. So good!

theUngourmet said...

I love chicken salad and I love curry! Can't wait to try this one!

happy weekend!

Cathy said...

This is one of my favorite hearty salads. I just love the combination of flavors and textures. The almonds and grapes are perfect additions.

Katy ~ said...

I haven't seen curry paste yet here; is it sold with the regular jarred spices? I run hot and cold with curry; used to love it, it fell out of favor, and now I'm renewing my friendship. This salad sounds sooooo very very good!

Deborah said...

I would love to try this. My husband is not a curry fan, but I could make it and eat it all myself!

Barbara said...

I'm like you, Teresa. I'm not crazy about strong curry meals, but I do love a curry chicken salad. Yours has yogurt, which is nice and I bet the lemon perks up the flavors!

Barbara Bakes said...

I have the same sort of apprehension about curry. I'm going to have to give this one a try!

Elizabeth said...

I have never tried a curried chicken salad before - yours looks great!

Elina said...

I love that about CEiMB too - I would never make this salad but would if I participated this week to be a good sport. I've often surprised myself with things I enjoyed. I think I'll be back on the CEiMB train next week - can't wait for that!!

Anonymous said...

That looks delicious! I have to agree, food blogging does take you out of your comfort zone - I've tried things I never would have even thought of!

Because of that, I actually made a sweet potato dish that I love - and I don't even like sweet potatoes!

http://biz319.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/dinner-and-bsi-recipe-sweet-potato/

chow and chatter said...

wow this is amazing what a great idea to curry the chicken love it

Michelle said...

Don't laugh but I've finally developed a taste for Curry. And we love it now!

Wish I had time to participate in CEiMB, I do love her recipes!

Jazz Chefs said...

This looks great, and I'm liking your curry enthusiasm.
If you're curious, there's quite a few curry recipes on my blog "Gourmet Gorman" which use individual spices rather than a premixed curry powder. I find this gives me much more flexibility with the flavours. Great blog anyhow :)