Cold Chicken Curry with Toasted Almonds
and Crystallized Ginger
Add an Asian accent to chicken salad with a yogurt curry sauce and finish with toasted slivered almonds. This chicken salad can be covered and refrigerated for a make-ahead meal.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt, Vegenaise or mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons curry powder (see Cook's Note)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/3-1 1/2 pounds poached chicken breasts (recipe follows)
- 4 scallions, finely chopped
- 1 small green apple, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 organic carrot, shredded
- Softened butter, for the rolls
- 4 New England sandwich rolls or brioche lobster rolls
- Crispy romaine hearts or other lettuce
- 1/2-2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- Crystallized ginger, very thinly sliced, for garnish
- Vegetable chips or sweet potato chips, for serving
For the poached chicken breasts:
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves or 3 full breasts
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2-3 celery stalks, quartered
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 carrot, quartered
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 onion, quartered
- Herb bundle of fresh parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme tied with kitchen string
- Kosher salt
Preparation
Cook's Note: If you don't have curry powder, use a mix of 1 teaspoon each cumin, coriander and turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon each ground mustard and ground ginger.
Combine the yogurt, curry powder and lemon juice in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken (preparation instructions, below), scallions, apples and carrots and mix until combined. Adjust the seasonings. Note: The chicken salad can be covered and refrigerated for a make-ahead meal.
Butter the rolls and toast on a hot griddle. Fill with lettuce, chicken salad and a sprinkle of almonds and crystallized ginger. Serve with chips.
For the poached chicken breasts: Put the chicken in a medium size stockpot. Add the garlic, celery, bay leaf, carrots, lemons, onions and herb bundle and sprinkle with salt. Add enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Remove the chicken from the liquid and let cool. Strain the stock. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and shred the meat using your fingers or two forks.
