One of my favorite things to do for a quick and easy meal when I’m running late is to grab a fully cooked organic rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods. Sure, roasting it myself would be ideal, but when you’ve been cooking for 8+ hours and all you want is dinner on the table in five, nothing beats getting a pre-cooked bird.
I usually take it apart immediately when I get home, saving the legs and wings for another purpose, setting the carcass aside or putting it into a large pot right away for stock; and I shred the breasts for my favorite easy chicken dish- tarragon chicken salad.
Unlike conventional deli chicken salads that are dripping in gross soybean-oil laden mayonnaise, I use a blend of my own homemade mayonnaise with a bit of full-fat sheep’s milk yogurt for the creaminess, with a little bit of dijon mustard for flavor, lots of tarragon and some onion and celery for crunch. I also love adding in a few halved grapes- but always to individual portions, as soggy grapes are never ideal- for a hint of sweetness in the salad. I prefer my salad over a bed of greens, but this recipe would be equally as great on top of a couple slices of whole-grain bread or stuffed into a wrap for lunch. It’s delicious, super versatile, and lasts for days! My kind of recipe.
Tarragon Chicken Salad
Serves 4
2 pre-cooked chicken breasts, shredded
2 stalks celery, diced small
2 green onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise
1/3 cup sheep or goat’s milk yogurt
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh tarragon, minced
sea salt, to taste
Optional: handful of grapes, halved or quartered- per serving
1. Toss shredded chicken breast with celery and green onions, set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, dijon, lemon juice, tarragon and a small pinch of sea salt.
2. Toss salad with dressing, taste for seasoning and set in the fridge or serve, optionally tossing with a handful of grapes before serving.
Easy as pie- err, chicken!
What is your favorite way to short-cut dinner?
xo
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello!! This sounds great! I just checked out your recipe for mayo!yum! So it is ok to use the whole egg(white included)? Also I am so glad you mentioned the neutral oil…Do you use grape seed oil as your only oil in the mayo? I have tried with olive oil and you are right it does alter the taste! I love your blog! So informative…thank you!:)
Hi Melanie!
Yes, it is fine to use the whole egg! I know a lot of recipes only use the yolk, but I’ve had lots of success with the whole egg in the food processor. I use grapeseed oil for my mayonnaise, yes! Plain olive oil (not extra virgin) works as well, it’s the extra virgin that has the strong taste
So glad you like my blog!