Chicken Salad
El Colmado and Tertulia, NYC
This ain’t your mother’s chicken salad. Seamus Mullen takes the tough stems from his charred broccoli, and pickles them to add an acidic punch. The dish is completed with the leftover meat and herbs from his whole-roasted chicken recipe, for a salad that is bright, crunchy, and dressed in an addictive salsa verde.
Ingredients
Pickled Broccoli Stems:
- 2/3 cup cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Stems from 2 to 3 heads of broccoli, peeled
Salsa Verde:
- 1 cup leftover herbs, chopped
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice and zest of 2 lemons
- 1 clove garlic, grated on a Microplane
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon chile flakes
Salad:
- 2 cups pulled leftover chicken meat
- 1 cup Tuscan kale, minced
- 1 cup pickled broccoli stems, cut into 1/4-inch brunoise
- 2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch thick pieces
- 1 carrot, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup salsa verde
Method
Pickle the broccoli stems: combine the vinegar, water, and honey in a medium saucepot and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, add broccoli stems, and allow them to cool in the liquid. They can be used after 20 minutes or you can leave them in the liquid overnight.
Make the salsa verde: combine the herbs, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, shallot, and chile flakes in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, combine the pulled chicken, kale, broccoli stems, celery, carrots, cucumbers, and walnuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the salsa verde and toss to combine before serving.
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From Waste Not: How to Get the Most from Your Food by The James Beard Foundation/Rizzoli Publishing.
Yield
2 servings
