Crunchy Middle Eastern Chicken Salad Recipe

A couple of culinary things are a given in my house. One is that, every two or three weeks, I will eat roasted chicken for dinner with good crusty bread and a green salad. The other is that I will turn the leftover chicken into chicken salad. Note that I didn't say I will roast a chicken every two or three weeks, just that I will eat one. Oh, I've roasted my share of chickens and still do on special occasions. But what I love about this particular dinner is that it's quick and easy and that means store-bought rotisserie chicken. Those things are so good! I usually behave and pull off most of the skin to make the meal. It's also a meal that must be eaten while being stared at intently by my dog but that's another story.

Now, about the leftover chicken, because there certainly will be a fair amount of it. That is my built-in excuse to make chicken salad for lunch the next day, and quite possibly dinner as well. So before I put away the first night's chicken dinner, I disassemble it and stash it in an air-tight container in the fridge. I prefer to shred the meat rather than cube it but that's a personal preference.

A standard deli chicken salad has mayonnaise and celery but I see it as a blank canvas for lots of flavorings. Here I went Middle Eastern with tahini and za'atar. You can still add celery if you like but I got the crunch from carrots and almonds and it was so good!