Roast Chicken Waldorf Salad
Contributed by: Dana Jacobi of 12 Best Foods Cookbook
After apprenticing at three-star restaurants in France, Author Dana Jacobi opened a catering business and marketed her own line of gourmet sauces. She has since authored five cookbooks, contributed to several others, and written for Food & Wine, Cooking Light, the New York Times, and the Associated Press.
Her work has won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award and been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award. Presently Jacobi writes a weekly newspaper column, "Something Different," for the American Institute for Cancer Research. She also consults in product development and teaches cooking classes. Jacobi lives in New York City.
This recipe is reprinted from: 12 Best Foods Cookbook: Over 200 Delicious Recipes Featuring the 12 Healthiest Foods.
Fennel and toasted nuts give a new twist to this salad with creamy dressing. Instead of waiting for leftovers from a roast chicken, you can make it using a barbecued breast from the store.
Ingredients:
- Salad
- 2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 2 cups diced roast chicken breast (8 ounces)
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and cut in 3/4"cubes
- 2 wild fennel bulbs, or 1/4 medium fennel bulb, chopped
- 6 cups shredded red leaf, romaine, or Boston lettuce, or any combination
- Dressing
- 2 tablespoons low-fat whipped dressing
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Toast until they are fragrant and lightly colored, 10 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes and again after 6 minutes so they toast evenly. Set the nuts aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken, apple, fennel, and nuts.
For the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together the whipped dressing, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and red pepper, adjusting the seasoning to taste. Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture, tossing until the salad is evenly coated.
To serve, divide the lettuce among 4 dinner plates and mound the chicken salad equally over the greens.
Wild fennel bulbs are long and slim. You can find them at an increasing number of supermarkets as well as farmers' markets, particularly during the summer and fall. They should be thinly sliced, as they are crunchier (some would say tougher) than the bulbous fennel we are used to. They also have a more pronounced anise flavor.
Serving Size: Makes 4 Servings
Nutritional Information: Per Serving: 279 calories, 16 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 22 g protein, 16 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber
