Chicken salad in some form or another seems to be a pretty standard offering on Bridal
Shower menus. It’s reliably delicious, a crowd-pleaser and it can be easily dressed up
a bit for the occasion by being folded into crisp lettuce leaves or nestled into buttery
croissants. However, chicken salad is…chicken salad. When you’ve had one, you’ve
pretty much had them all, right?
Wrong. Oh so (deliciously) wrong.
Let me introduce you to this Curried Chicken Salad. It is a welcome twist on the
classic—lightly spiced, with hints of sweetness from the fruit and chutney. Your taste
buds won’t even know what hit them. Be sure to have copies of the recipe on-hand
when you serve this at your next bridal shower—your guests are going to be asking for
it!
Curried Chicken Salad
As with any chicken salad, this dish benefits from a rest in the refrigerator to let the
flavors mingle. If possible, mix your salad the day before you plan to serve it—however,
if you choose to add the optional chopped nuts, you may want to reserve them until just
before you serve the salad: they may become a bit soggy overnight in the refrigerator.
Also, if chutney’s not your thing, honey or apricot preserves both make great substitutes
in this recipe.
2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
¼ cup raisins
2 T red onion, finely diced
½ cup mayonnaise
1 T white wine vinegar
1 T mango chutney
½ T curry powder
¼ tsp salt
Optional: ¼ cup nuts (peanuts, cashews, almonds, etc.), roughly chopped
In a small bowl, combine the mayo, vinegar, chutney, curry powder and salt. Whisk
until everything is well-combined. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir until
it’s all evenly coated with the dressing. Taste your salad and season with more salt and/
or black pepper if it’s needed. Chill the salad until you are ready to serve.
Enjoy!
