Salads: Chicken, Tuna, and Couscous

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.

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.

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

by Mark Bittman

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

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. 

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

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.

By the way if you haven't 'liked' our new Facebook page, click here and get to it!