Chicken Salad with Creamy Curry Dressing

February 26, 2015

Even though I have the ambitious goal of completing all the recipes in the GTLF series... 16 total books, sometimes I'm just not interested in cooking. When this happens, I get a back log of meats and vegetables and I end up struggling to complete the recipes before I have to dispose of something which is really annoying. I mean, if you're investing in having the correct ingredients then it's just a waste of money if you don't do the cooking.

Well, this recipe was the next one on the list and I procrastinated because it just didn't seem like it would work out well. I've had this feeling before and I'm always dumbfounded after finally completing the recipe because it's always delicious. This recipe is no different. GTLF has rarely let me down.

Chicken Salad with Creamy Curry Dressing

GTLF: Main Dish Salads p 28

serves 4, working time 30 min., total time 40 min.

1 C long grain rice

3/4 tsp salt

1 C reduced sodium chicken broth, de fatted

3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts

3 C cauliflower florets

1 1/2 C frozen peas

3/4 C low fat buttermilk

2 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 ribs celery, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 in. squares

2 C seedless red and green grapes, halved

1. In a medium saucepa, bring 2 1/4C water to boil. Add the rice and 1/4 tsp of the salt, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the rice is tender, about 17 min. Transfer the rice to a large bowl and fluff with a fork.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, bring the broth to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer, add the chicken, cover, and cook, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 min. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate; reserve the cooking liquid.

3. Return the cooking liquid to a boil, add the cauliflower, and cook until crisp tender, about 4 minutes. Add the peas. Reserving the cooking liquid, drain the vegetables.

4. In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, curry powder, cumin, ginger, the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/3 C of the reserved cooking liquid. Add the celery, bell pepper, grapes, cauliflower, and peas. Cut the chicken crosswise into 1/2 in slices and add to the bowl, tossing to combine. Add the rice and toss again. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Nutritional Information: 5 g fat, 443 calories, 1.2 g sat. fat, 70 g carbohydrate, 31 g protein, 52 mg cholesterol, 687 mg sodium.

TIPS:

1. I always use Jasmine Rice now whenever they ask for "long grain rice". It cooks up in 17 minutes, is nicely absorbant and fluffy... and it isn't sticky. Also, it has a very pleasant jasmine smell.

2. I got confused on step three. I wasn't sure how long to cook the peas... so I just ended up adding the peas to the liquid and steaming them for 1 min. with the cauliflower.

3. GTLF suggests eating this with pita breads... onion, plain, whole wheat, toasted or not.

4. I thought this would be a very nice and easily adapted vegetarian dish. I would omit the chicken of course and then use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth without changing the taste too much.