This dish was something I just dreamed up one evening when I was bored. It is extremely tasty. This recipe was originally posted to the Crimson-Dragon Cuisine E-mail list in August, 2006.

It was originally inspired by a Chinese recipe for poached chicken with a ginger sauce but I decided to "up the ante" a bit with it. While listed as a spicy dish, the heat level is entirely up to you, make mild or wild as you like or leave out the chipotles entirely (though I recommend having just a little, the smokey flavor is needed in my opinion).

Dragon's Eclectic Chicken Salad

Salad stuff:

• 3-4 pound whole chicken
• 1 Small red onion, diced fine
• 3 or 4 interior stalks of celery WITH the leaves, chopped
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup ranch dressing
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 chipotle in adobo (or more as you like), seeds removed and minced fine
• 1/2 tbsp. Hungarian paprika
• 1 tbsp. Fresh grated ginger
• fresh ground black pepper

Poach the whole chicken in very lightly salted water at 180 degrees F for about 3 hours. Remove the chicken from the liquid and drain well. Remove the meat from the skin and bones. Dice the meat.

Mix the dressing ingredients well, combine with the chicken meat, walnuts, cranberries and celery. Refrigerate an hour or two before serving on a bed of shredded cabbage or some good, dark, sweet rye bread.

Page Last modified: April 08 2008 10:13:26.