WINTERTIME CHICKEN SALAD
A little brisk now for chicken salad and sliced tomatoes on the screen porch—but a hint of summer would taste good on a winter afternoon. This baked chicken salad has as many variations as there are community cookbooks—all good, all easy. Use left-over chicken or turkey, rotisserie chicken or poach 3-4 chicken pieces. Many of these mid-century recipes used that new marvel—“Cream of Something Soup”—but a quick, nutmeg-scented Béchamel sauce, will take this up a notch. This is the basic recipe, potato chips and all–serves 3-4, and all sorts of flavorful things can be added—mushrooms, pesto, chopped boiled egg, curry powder, thyme, a little sherry, etc.
- 3-4 cups cooked chicken, cut up as for salad
- A little grated onion
- ½ cup celery, chopped
- 1 tblsp lemon juice
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- Small can of sliced water chestnuts
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tblsp capers
1 cup Béchamel sauce (1 tblsp melted butter, add 1 tblsp flour and whisk over low heat until mixture turns golden brown (photo)—add 3/4 cup warm milk and whisk gently until thickened—add salt, pepper and grated nutmeg to taste)—or use 1 can of Cream of Something soup (and add a little milk)!
Butter baking pan and preheat oven to 350’—stir together all ingredients and check seasoning—spread in prepared pan and top with 1 ½ cups crushed potato chips. Bake for about 25 min. Garnish with fried shallots.
The Kitchen Hive
