Leftover Hot Chicken Salad with Spicy Croutons

Try leftover turkey in this fresh salad.  

October 22, 2015

Ingredients

Salad
  • 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-size pieces
  • 1⁄2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1⁄2 medium cucumber, quartered and finely diced
  • 2 handfuls grape tomatoes
  • 2 cups (286 g) leftover hot chicken, removed from the bone and cut into chunks
Croutons
  • 2 slices leftover hot chicken white bread, cut into squares
  • vegetable oil, if needed
Dressing
  • 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) sour cream
  • 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) mayonnaise
  • 1⁄4 cup (81 g) dill pickles, finely chopped
  • 11⁄2 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1⁄4 cup (10 g) fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
  • Salt, if needed

Preparation

  1. Combine the lettuce, onion, cucumber, tomatoes, and chicken in a large bowl.
  2. Make the croutons: On a baking pan covered with foil, arrange the squares of bread so that none touching. If some of them seem a little dry, you might want to toss them with vegetable oil. Broil the croutons on low for about 10 minutes, turning them with a spatula about halfway through the cooking time to ensure that they crisp up on each side. Set them aside to cool.
  3. Prepare the dressing: In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, and pickles. Add 11⁄2 tablespoons lemon juice, parsley, and pepper, and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding salt if you’d like (but I find I don’t need it with the saltiness of the pickles and chicken) or more lemon juice, if you’d like the dressing a little thinner and more tart. Add the croutons to the salad mixture and drizzle with dressing before serving.

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Ingredients

Salad
  • 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-size pieces
  • 1⁄2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1⁄2 medium cucumber, quartered and finely diced
  • 2 handfuls grape tomatoes
  • 2 cups (286 g) leftover hot chicken, removed from the bone and cut into chunks
Croutons
  • 2 slices leftover hot chicken white bread, cut into squares
  • vegetable oil, if needed
Dressing
  • 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) sour cream
  • 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) mayonnaise
  • 1⁄4 cup (81 g) dill pickles, finely chopped
  • 11⁄2 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1⁄4 cup (10 g) fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
  • Salt, if needed
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