Chicken chick pea salad

How good does that look? I'm so modest, right, right!! A friend of mine turned me onto this a couple of years ago after she went to a talk by a dietitian who made this. Since then,  I've played around with the ingredients and I absolutely love it and must share with you.

I start with this:

Yes, our friend the rotisserie chicken. Can you say, semi-homemade? Only with a little help from the deli instead of from a jar of frosting as a truffle. People I just can't get over that move from Sandy. Anyway, resist the urge to eat the crispy skin and pull apart the meat and break into small piece, like so:

Fabulous. Now I add a whole bunch of other add-ins:

Oh chick peas how I love you.

I love the mild but also sharp flavor red onion adds. 

Celery should be in all salads: tuna, chicken, you get the picture. 

How perfect do these tomatoes look? I love them. 

I could eat the salad at this point. But wait, it gets better!

Okay, so now I'm ready to add the dressing. I'm going to walk you through how I make a simple vinaigrette.

Start with a tablespoon of dijon mustard. Trust me with this one. A. even my friends who don't eat dijon, or mustard for that matter, enjoy this dressing. 

Add 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice. I also semi-homemade this by using bottled lemon juice rather than fresh. It works just fine and I always have it on hand. Don't judge me people. 

Add a few gulps of red wine vinegar, or any vinegar that you love, I really love the delicate flavor from red wine vinegar in this version. Also, be sure to add salt and pepper to taste since at this point I haven't added any seasoning to the mix. 

Now, many vinaigrettes will recommend you add olive oil in a 2:1 ratio to the vinegar. I inverse that ratio because I am going for a little healthier than just a loads of olive oil. I've made it this way for years and trust me you'll love this version and it's so much lighter tasting than other versions. 

Now whisk it, whisk it good. The mustard is key in this business to help emulsify the dressing and keep it together rather than oil and vinegar and you know how well that mixes.

Finally, dump the dressing over the salad and serve. I love it over a bed of greens but it is also delicious in a pita. 

Chicken chick pea salad

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken
1 can chick peas, rinsed
1 small or 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
3 celery stalks, finely diced
1 cup grape tomatoes halved
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Start with chicken slightly cooled. Remove skin on chicken and shred chicken with two forks or your finger and place in a medium bowl. Add rinsed chick peas, diced onion, celery, and tomatoes.

Prepare the vinaigrette, start with mustard in a measuring cup or small bowl, add lemon juice and red wine vinegar, while whisking stream olive oil. Whisk until dressing comes together and emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour mixture over chicken salad.

Serve immediately.
Enjoy!

Pin It