Leftover roasted chicken makes a great Chicken salad. And turn it a bit French by dressing it with a tarragon flavored lemony vinaigrette.
By Mitch Weinstein
For all you non-French speakers out there (including me – isn’t Google translate awesome?), that’s chicken salad with herbs. And because this chicken salad is made in what I consider a French style, I think it sounds so much nicer in French.
The great thing about chicken salad is that it’s a wonderful way to use up leftover chicken; oh sure, you can cook some chicken expressly for this purpose, but if you’re like me and enjoy roasting a whole bird even if it’s only two for dinner, there are going to be some leftovers. Significant Eater and I enjoy eating the leg, thighs and wings right off of the roasted bird, since they’re so much tastier than the breast – but in a chicken salad the flavor of the white meat gets a nice boost, so it works out perfectly. 
The “French” part comes in because instead of the usual American deli-style chicken salad that’s loaded with mayonnaise, this one is dressed with the ingredients for a vinaigrette, along with a good handful of chopped herbs including that most French of all herbs, tarragon.
I think that shredding the chicken by hand, rather than cutting it up into cubes, makes for a more home-style salad, both visually and texturally. In this case, picking the meat off the carcass actually results in shredded chicken, so that’s another reason to roast a whole bird…just wash your hands really well before you start.
Les ingredients…
Toss everything together along with salt and pepper to taste. Keep tasting and adjusting with lemon juice/vinegar and olive oil until it’s to your liking. This will make a great sandwich; I think it’s also perfect served on a bed of lettuce with some sliced tomatoes and avocado…
Salade de Poulet aux Herbes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 1x
Description
Leftover roasted chicken makes a great Chicken salad. And turn it a bit French by dressing it with a tarragon flavored lemony vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded chicken
- 2 spring onions, sliced thinly
- 1 stalk celery, cut into small dice
- 2 T chopped parsley
- 2 T chopped celery leaves
- 1 T chopped tarragon
- 4 T olive oil
- 2 T lemon juice
- 2 T red or white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons mustard
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Toss thoroughly but gently, then taste and adjust seasonings.
- Can easily be scaled up.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
Those avocado slices nestled in the background are making me want to eat this for lunch immediately. I’ll accept deliveries.