Chicken salad is perfect as a light lunch or even quick dinner. While traditional chicken salad calls for mayonnaise, this recipe replaces it with tahini -- a sesame seed paste that is common in Middle Eastern cooking. Tahini can be bought at many supermarkets or specialty food stores as it is becoming more popular, however, you can make it yourself if you cannot find it or are in a pinch. I can attest that making your own tahini is much less expensive than store bought! Tahini Recipe
For those who have never tried tahini, it has a mild flavor and gives chicken salad a nice, smooth consistency.
Ingredients:
- 3 cooked chicken breasts (baked, rotisserie,or grilled)*
- 1/2 cup tahini sauce, add more if desired taste and consistency call for it)
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 small tomato, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Preparation:
Choosing Your Chicken The great thing about making chicken salad is that you can bake/grill your own chicken if you have the time, but if you don't, there are options. Rotisserie chickens sold in the deli of your supermarket are perfect for this recipe. Even canned chicken will work -- just be sure to drain and go easy on the salt. Canned chicken tastes a lot saltier than fresh chicken, so you may want to cut back on the salt in the recipe.
Preparing Chicken and Veggies
While your chicken is baking/grilling and cooling, cut up onion, celery, and tomato. Once chicken cools, you can cut into small cubes or shred with a fork and knife. Shredding takes much more time, but most people prefer shredded chicken in their chicken salad. The consistency of the shredded chicken combined with the tahini and other ingredients makes it perfect. Need a good baked chicken recipe? In a medium mixing bowl, add chicken, tahini, onion, celery, and tomato. Combine well, but be careful not to shred the chicken or crush the tomatoes. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper and stir. Chill for about 15 minutes prior to serving.How to Serve Chicken Salad with Tahini?
How you eat chicken salad is all on personal preference. Some popular ways to eat it:
- Spooned onto large lettuce leaves
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on a sub roll with lettuce and other veggies, as in a sub or hoagie sandwich
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stuffed into pita bread, toasted or untoasted with/without cheese
- as a spread on top of small pita loaves
- on sandwich bread (Be creative! Think rye, sourdough, multigrain, etc)
- on hot toast
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stuffed into a hollow tomato
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wrapped in a tortilla or other flabread
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in a croissant
- with saltine crackers
