nyminutenow chicken salad veronique_03

Open-face chicken salad sandwiches with arugula.

A coworker recently shared her recipe for slow-cooker chicken salad and in it, she mixes in nuts, grapes, curry powder, and cayenne pepper; and adds avocado (in lieu of mayonnaise) at the last second. This post is a cross between that plus Ina Garten’s Chicken Salad Veronique recipe. I recently made it one weekend and absolutely loved the results: You won’t believe how tender the chicken comes out of the slow cooker—unusual for white meat. This recipe keeps well in the fridge, it can be made into open-faced sandwiches as pictured above, or mixed in with your favorite greens with a squeeze of lime and a drizzle of olive oil.

YOU’LL NEED:

  • 2 large chicken breasts (bone-in or fillets)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup chicken broth (enough to skim the tops)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • a handful of seedless grapes, halved
  • a handful of pecans, toasted and chopped
  • 1 avocado
  • Japanese mayonnaise as desired
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • dash of cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and/or any other spice you like!
  • squeeze of lime (or lemon)
  • bunch of arugula
  • three large slices of sourdough bread (or any “hefty” bread of your choice)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine chicken breasts, bay leaf, and broth; set slow cooker on low for 6 hours. Discard broth or set aside for stew.
  2. In a bowl, shred cooked chicken with a fork and combine the rest of the ingredients. Season to taste.
  3. Serve on warm, toasted sourdough slices and top with arugula, squeeze of lime, and drizzle of olive oil
  4. Or, serve over a bed of greens. You’ll have enough leftover salad to do both. 🙂

    nyminutenow chicken salad veronique_04

    Instagram version. 🙂