I have been so hungry for some fresh chicken salad for days now. So, Wednesday I came home around noon from the very fun Patchwork Gals monthly meeting so hungry and longing for chicken salad. So, instead of making a quick omelet, I started making a fresh chicken salad.
What do you need? Chicken meat (freshly cooked and warm is best as it absorbs the mayo better), homemade mayo, an assortment of veggies, and herbs and salt. It doesn’t hurt to have a base to put the salad on either, like lettuce.
The chicken takes the longest, so I put it in a big pot, covered it with water, added onion, celery, carrots, garlic cloves, and some herbs and salt and started it to cook–as that part would take about 40-45 minutes. I was able to cook it covered so that helped cook it faster–and the veggies in the broth meant I’d have a nice broth when I was done that could be used for soup, a stew, or to cook a grain.
Meanwhile, I prepped the veggies I wanted: grated carrots, chopped celery, onion, red and yellow sweet peppers, and I put some frozen little petit peas in a small pot to cook. The amounts of each totally depends on what you like and how much of it you like. I like a lot of crunchy celery and the sweetness of the carrots. And, for me, the little peas are a must–they provide the pretty green color and are delicious.
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Here’s the homemade mayo, which is dead easy to make in a blender. Break at least one egg into the bottom of the blender (I used two today–you could also just use the yolk in the second egg), add 1 or 2 tablespoons of something acid (lemon juice, mustard, vinegar), add salt and if you like some herbs, and have on hand EVOO olive oil for the next step. Turn on the blender (low is best) and start adding the olive oil in a thin stream until the whole mixture congeals, which just takes less than a minute. You could make a double batch, actually, and having homemade mayo on hand to drizzle over foods and this salad is a good thing. (Note to self!)
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I also had on hand some baby bok choy that needed cooking, so I cleaned it and rough chopped it and dropped the bits into my simmering broth. It only takes a very few minutes to cook bok choy until the bottom thicker parts are still not totally soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and put aside. Here’s the base for my salad.
Before chopping, isn’t it pretty? So green. And using what I had on hand that needed cooking is how I like to cook.
![](https://kitanosumika.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1716130884_372_Lets-Make-Chicken-Salad.jpeg)
When the chicken is deemed to be done–remove it to a big bowl and cut the carcass into parts so it will cool faster. If any parts are not quite done, drop them back into the simmering broth. Take the meat off the bones.
Then tear or cut (kitchen scissors) the chicken meat into chunks. And while I did this part, I allowed the broth to cook itself down a lot so it would be really concentrated and would take up less room in the freezer.
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Next, just mix up all the ingredients and taste to see if you have enough salt.
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AND, now YOU CAN EAT. For me, that’s porch time. Fruit is delicious with this savory chicken salad. Cantaloupe might be my favorite, but it isn’t quite in season yet.
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Don’t forget the broth on the stove! I almost did.
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And now I have delicious food for a few days, which frees me up to do other things.