Sometimes I look at cookbooks and get ideas to use flavors for dishes that I read about and what I want to make instead. I was looking through an old book of low country favorites that my mom gave me years ago, and came across a really good stew recipe that I used and loved. So why not turn a stew into a salad? My favorite protein salad is chicken salad. Laura also wanted something quick that she could put on bread and go. The answer was using what I had on hand and making an awesome chicken salad out of it. Really it's quite simple to make. Here are the items you will need.
Two chicken Breasts (I used grilled, but you can use roasted chicken from a grocery store if you like)
1 whole red onion
1 cup chopped broccoli flourets
1 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup mild salsa (stew asked for diced tomato and pepper flake)
1/2 cup green bell pepper
2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tbsp raw horseradish
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp honey
Take all ingredients and place into a food processor and pulse chop until desired consistency is obtained. I personally like to have both creamy and chunky versions of chicken salad in one so it won't completely ooze out of a sandwich so I keep some chicken out and finely chopped it with a knife. I then reincorporate the diced chicken back in to the creamy and mix with a spoon. It turned out exactly as I'd hoped. You get a creamy punch up front with a peppery kick from the Old Bay, then you get a little horseradish note with the celery salt from the seasoning and the Worcestershire sauce. The heat comes back in and the honey drowns it out with a little sweet hint at the end. I was a little skeptical about using honey in a chicken salad, but it worked like it did in the stew. It just added another profile without being overbearing, and it is just enough of an element of sweetness to round out the heat from the red pepper in the Old Bay seasoning. Please try this when you can. If you prefer it to be a little spicier, take the honey out of the equation. Hope you guys like it as well as I did.
