Proper Chicken Salad - Recipe by Will Stewart

Ingredients

4 Yorkshire Gold tea bags
2 large chicken breasts
4 slices of prosciutto, torn into thirds
1 L of boiling water
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
50g dried cranberries
50g dried raisins
50g walnuts, roughly chopped
25g pumpkin seeds
10g sunflower seeds
100g green or red grapes, sliced lengthways into quarters
1/2 radicchio, quartered
\Whole lettuce, sliced
1 lemon
1/4 bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped plus some for garnish
1/4 bunch of fresh parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped plus some for garnish
2 Tbs homemade mayonnaise (see recipe below or use a good quality store bought one)
Salt and pepper

Homemade mayo:

2 egg yolks
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
250mL grapeseed oil
250mL olive oil
Fresh lemon juice
Sea salt flakes

Method

Homemade mayo:

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the Dijon mustard until combined. Gradually begin adding the olive oil, whisking vigorously as you do so. Once you have incorporated the olive oil squeeze in some lemon juice and continue whisking. Now begin to incorporate the grapeseed oil and continue whisking until you have combined all of the oils and they have emulsified together to create your mayonnaise.

Season with salt and lemon juice to taste and store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Chicken salad:

Put the cranberries and the raisins into a large bowl, cover with boiling water and add the Yorkshire Gold tea bags. Allow them to soak for around 3 minutes then remove the tea bags.

Strain the liquid into a large saucepan, add the remaining water and bring to the boil. Place the chicken breasts into the poaching liquid, cover with a lid and immediately remove from the heat. Allow the chicken to poach in the hot liquid for 20 minutes. (Depending on the thickness of the breast, it may require an extra minute or two). Remove from the liquid and allow to cool, then slice widthways into 1–2cm pieces.

Meanwhile, in a hot dry pan, toast the nuts and seeds for about 30–60 seconds until they begin to colour. Remove from the heat and allow them to cool.

To create the salad mixture, add the cranberries, raisins, sliced celery, grapes, mint, parsley, and the lightly toasted nuts. Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and season with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of mayonnaise and mix gently to combine adding more mayo, lemon juice as required and season again to taste.

To serve, arrange the lettuce leaves on a large serving platter and top with the salad mixture along with the chicken slices placed around with the prosciutto. Garnish with some more fresh herbs.

Credits: Yorkshire Tea

Photo Credits: Yorkshire Tea