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The concoction I created for dinner last night was yummy. I was already thinking about chicken salad when I went grocery shopping in the late afternoon. V had mentioned that he was in the mood for something with fruit, such as mandarin oranges. I thought I could make some sort of chicken salad, serve it over greens with the mandarin orange slices and perhaps something else as garnish. But on my way to grab the oranges I noticed a display with cans of mango slices. Thinking that V surely wouldn't be opposed to mango rather than orange, I grabbed them.
So the items of inspiration: chicken breasts, canned mangos, walnuts, baby chard.
I started by poaching the chicken breasts in chicken stock which I spiked with ginger, peppercorns, coriander, garlic and onion. Meanwhile I began assembling the salad:
2 green onions, minced
1 can mango slices, mangos chopped, juice reserved
about 1/4 cup mayo
about 1/4 cup plain yogurt
a handful of toasted walnuts (would have been better with almonds, I think)
a fair amount of powdered ginger
a bit of garlic powder
enough cayenne pepper to give some pleasant heat
a bit of crushed red peppercorns
a couple of splashes of rice wine vinegar
mango juice &/or poaching liquid, to taste
salt, to taste
When the chicken was done (after about 25 minutes of simmering in the stock), I cut it into bite-sized pieces, let them cool a bit, then stirred them into the salad. The yogurt I used was seriously thick, and the mangos were very sweet, so I ended up with something both thicker and sweeter than I wanted. I added a few spoonfuls of the poaching liquid to up the chicken flavor and thin it out a bit. Then the chicken flavor was a bit too pronounced, so I added a little bit of the reserved mango juice. I put the salad in the refrigerator to chill for a while.
I served it over the baby chard. It looked so pretty! I really should have garnished with a few green onions or some nuts but I forgot about it. I snapped a couple of photos really quickly--they didn't come out so great but I wasn't interested in taking the time to get a good photo. I was hungry and this dinner was satisfying and so tasty.
( one more photo )
So the items of inspiration: chicken breasts, canned mangos, walnuts, baby chard.
I started by poaching the chicken breasts in chicken stock which I spiked with ginger, peppercorns, coriander, garlic and onion. Meanwhile I began assembling the salad:
2 green onions, minced1 can mango slices, mangos chopped, juice reserved
about 1/4 cup mayo
about 1/4 cup plain yogurt
a handful of toasted walnuts (would have been better with almonds, I think)
a fair amount of powdered ginger
a bit of garlic powder
enough cayenne pepper to give some pleasant heat
a bit of crushed red peppercorns
a couple of splashes of rice wine vinegar
mango juice &/or poaching liquid, to taste
salt, to taste
When the chicken was done (after about 25 minutes of simmering in the stock), I cut it into bite-sized pieces, let them cool a bit, then stirred them into the salad. The yogurt I used was seriously thick, and the mangos were very sweet, so I ended up with something both thicker and sweeter than I wanted. I added a few spoonfuls of the poaching liquid to up the chicken flavor and thin it out a bit. Then the chicken flavor was a bit too pronounced, so I added a little bit of the reserved mango juice. I put the salad in the refrigerator to chill for a while.
I served it over the baby chard. It looked so pretty! I really should have garnished with a few green onions or some nuts but I forgot about it. I snapped a couple of photos really quickly--they didn't come out so great but I wasn't interested in taking the time to get a good photo. I was hungry and this dinner was satisfying and so tasty.
