Serves 6

Notes

Classic chicken salad is an American favorite, and it makes excellent sandwiches, but in today’s reality, when we are all looking for healthier, more sensible dishes for our families, this recipe is a solid option. It is delicious, first and foremost, easy to prepare, and a great recipe to use to recycle roasted or rotisserie chicken that you might have in your refrigerator.

Ingredients

  • 2½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 celery stalk, cut into chunks (about 1 cup), plus 3 stalks, leaves plucked, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium onion, cut into chunks
  • Handful fresh parsley sprigs
  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 4 anchovy fillets
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¹⁄³ cup drained tiny capers in brine
  • 3 ripe medium tomatoes, cut into 12 slices
Lidia’s Commonsense Italian Cooking

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Lidia’s Commonsense Italian Cooking

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Directions

Put the chicken, the chunks of carrot, celery, and onion, and the parsley in a pot with cold water to cover by a few inches. Bring to a simmer, and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let the chicken cool in the cooking liquid.

Remove the chicken, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat into a large bowl. (Don’t throw away the cooking liquid—save it for a soup or risotto!)

In a mini–food processor, combine the mustard, anchovies, lemon juice, and salt. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil to make a smooth, creamy dressing. Drizzle the dressing over the chicken, add the sliced celery stalk and leaves, and capers, and toss to coat.

Arrange the tomato slices on a platter, season with salt, and mound the chicken salad on the tomatoes.

Lidia’s Commonsense Italian Cooking

Cookbook

Lidia’s Commonsense Italian Cooking

buy now