Many years ago, when I was working as a design manager in a professional services firm, one of the freelancers I regularly hired invited me to a potluck house party. It was mostly women and someone hired a fortune teller (apparently, this was the purpose of the party); everyone took turns going upstairs to have their fortune read. Everyone but me. I have never been a fan, to be honest, it’s a bit freaky to me so I stay clear. Fortunately for me, someone brought this salad and I was just as happy, sitting downstairs munching on this delicious dish. I asked for the recipe and it was quickly jotted down on a scrap piece of paper. It’s been many years since I’ve made it and I have lost the recipe so I really had to stretch my memory to come up with the dressing but I think I’ve got it and it’s a keeper. It’s important to toast the curry powder either dry or in a little oil to bring out the full flavour and subdue the bitterness that it could have. The salad is best made hours or a day before you plan on eating.
I stuffed a delicious freshly baked croissant with the tasty salad. Definitely a keeper.
Curried Chicken Salad in a Croissant
Makes enough for 2 for lunch
Ingredients:
- 15 mL curry powder, heat level is your choice
- 15 mL oil (optional)
- 3 g salt
- 125 mL yogurt
- 75 mL mayonnaise
- 30 mL lime juice
- pinch of sugar
- 150 g rotisserie chicken, cubed
- 40 g raisins
- 50 g celery, cubed
- 1/2 red pepper, cut into small cubes
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 30 g pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
Directions:
- Heat the oil in a small frying pan and add the curry powder and salt and cook until fragrant, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, lime juice and stir well. Once the curry has cooled, add it to the yogurt mixture and mix well. Taste and add sugar as desired.
- Combine the chicken, celery, raisins, red peppers and scallions and mix into the prepared dressing. Stir well to coat. Set in the refrigerator for a few hours for the flavours to meld.
- When ready to serve, cut the croissant lengthwise in the center and open up like a clam. Stir half of the pecans into the salad, reserving the other half for garnish. Spoon the salad into the croissant and sprinkle each croissant with a quarter of the remaining toasted pecans.
Notes:
- I had made some crispy shallots for another dish and saved the oil from frying the shallots, the oil was quite fragrant, so I used the shallot oil to toast the curry powder.
- You don’t need to add sugar, just taste the dressing to be sure. You can make the dressing a day in advance which will help the flavours come together.
- You can also serve this on a bed of greens instead of a croissant, but I had some at home, so why not.
Kitcheninspirations 