Deb's Cranberry-Walnut Chicken Salad

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Deb's Cranberry-Walnut Chicken Salad

Friday, May 15 2009 - Comments (6)

Recipe by

Deb Perelman

Related Episodes

Chicken

Categories

Videos

Keywords

chicken, Picnic, salad, summer

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Good Bite Says: A fresh take on chicken salad. Crunchy, savory and sweet, all attributes converge in this perfect chicken salad. Whip up a batch anytime for a cool summer dinner, or a casual picnic lunch. This easy dish is a winner for summer potlucks, or an enviable lunchbox delight. Plus, Deb shows us the benefits of brining chicken breast.

Yield 4 servings

Prep Time 20 mins.

Ingredients

1 3/4 lbs chicken breast
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 cup celery, diced into small bits
1 cup dried cranberries
2 Tbsp. finely chopped shallot
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon, or herb of your choice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions

Step 1
In large bowl, brine chicken in salt and water solution for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove chicken and discard brine. In large shallow pan, bring water to a simmer (you'll need enough water to submerge chicken). Place chicken in pan and cook 10 to 12 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and let cool on plate. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Step 2
In large bowl, combine mayonnaise and vinegar until mayonnaise is thinned. Stir in walnuts, celery, cranberries, shallot, tarragon, salt and pepper. Add chicken, tossing gently until thoroughly coated.

Step 3
Place chicken salad on a bed of butter lettuce. Garnish with a sprig of fresh tarragon.

Notes

Variations are almost endless, but this is particularly good with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and chopped pecans.

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6 Comments

TVDiner

Even with something as simple as chicken salad, this video looks amazing :) !

Friday, 5 June 2009 14:13

houselhoff

Scrump-diddili-umpcious!

Tuesday, 16 June 2009 01:13

iheartrockledgexc

I am ABSOLUTELY in LOVE with this site!!
kudos to all the cooks involved

Wednesday, 24 June 2009 00:28

HappyBaker

silly question - exactly what is the ratio for the salt/water solution? how briney is it supposed to be? gargle with salt water or taste of the ocean salt water?

thanks!

Wednesday, 24 June 2009 14:40

soozll

So that's the key to BS chicken breasts! I never thought to brine them. I understand now that it doesn't leave them too salty which is what had stopped me from using the technique before. The salt is to help the breasts to retain water so it doesn't dry out. I'll try this approach when I make this recipe. Thanks, Deb. Great demo, too.

Wednesday, 24 June 2009 20:25

curiousgravy

I found this recipe on SmittenKitchen.com and made it for the first time this past weekend. It was really very good. Definitely a keeper.

Wednesday, 1 July 2009 16:11