4.17.2011

Salads: Chicken, Tuna, and Couscous

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Sometimes after Wife goes to bed at night, I pick up a book to read. Sometimes it's intellectual, like "Guns, Germs, and Steel", and other times it's a thriller like "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". But every so often, I reach for a cookbook. Yes, a cookbook. I know what you're thinking, this guy's a weirdo. While that may be true, I'm a damn good cook and you're reading this blog after all, aren't you?

My favorite cookbook to read is "Ad Hoc at Home" by Thomas Keller. It's big, has a great mix of simple and complex recipes, gorgeous pictures, and helpful diagrams. As I was perusing this one night while Wife was sleeping, I saw the most beautiful whole-roasted chicken and I drifted off to sleep dreaming of its golden-roasted skin and light garlicky flavor. A couple weeks later, Wife had the idea to get a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store to make Chicken Salad. I showed her the recipe and we decided to just roast one ourselves (more on the roasting process later). It was fate, I knew it.

You can see we have more than one salad recipe in this post. After we made the Chicken Salad, we got a little salad-obsessed. Lucky for you, we decided to share.

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Mom's Chicken Salad
by Diane

2 pounds cooked, shredded chicken
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1-2 large bunches of red grapes, halved
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1/4 large red onion, minced
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add more mayonnaise or thin out with a splash of milk, depending on how creamy you'd like it. Adjust all other ingredients to taste.

Spoon onto a piece of your favorite bread and serve with a pickle.

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Mediterranean Tuna Salad

Two 6-ounce cans tuna, preferably packed in olive oil, drained
Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 small shallot, minced
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained, and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1-2 more if using water-packed tuna
Salt and pepper to taste

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Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve with a piece of romaine lettuce on naan or a pita, and some little cornichons on the side. 

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Zucchini and Couscous Salad

1 medium zucchini, cut finely into rounds
1/2 sweet onion, chopped into thin strips
8 ounces uncooked Israeli couscous or grains blend
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper, to taste

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Bring chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Add 1/2 tablespoon of butter and the couscous and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet and cook onions for about 3-4 minutes. Add zucchini to onions and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the zucchini; they are done when still slightly crunchy.

Add couscous to the vegetable mix and stir together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve while still hot.

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4 comments:

t said...

I thought you made two salads? One of fruit and one of rice? Rice piwaf?

Wife said...

A wice piwaf sawad.

Alex Griffith said...

AHHH I totally came on here to write that exact same thing, Tracy. Beat me to it.

Theresa C said...

Great post thank yyou

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