Curried Chicken Salad

For us, summer time means salad time. As we move towards July and temperatures that near 90 degrees, we lean towards cold dinners that don't require heating up the house. A few weeks ago, we tried our hand at making curried chicken salad. We were quite pleased with the results, and I am happy to share our recipe with you. Here's a little background on the rationale for this post …
My husband and I recently returned from a cruise of the Baltics. I anticipate you will be hearing more of that adventure in future posts. One of my favorite afternoon activities on board was going to afternoon tea. Among our sandwich options was one with curried chicken salad. It was actually quite good so I looked for a recipe after we came home. Here is how we put ours together:

Curried Chicken Salad

1.5 to 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

2 tablespoons mango chutney

1.5 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 cup diced celery

1 or 2 chopped green onions - use the white and green parts

1/4 cup dried cranberries (you can substitute raisins or even omit)

1/2 cup cashews

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1. Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 350 degree oven for about 35 to 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Allow to cool and cut into bite-sized pieces. Here is what ours looked like.

2. Stir together the chutney, curry powder, celery, onions, dried cranberries, and cashews in a medium sized mixing bowl. Your mixture will look something like this.

3. Now, stir in the chicken and combine

4. Stir in enough mayonnaise to moisten everything and reach the desired consistency. To be honest, I didn't actually measure the mayonnaise. I just scooped out what looked like the right amount and stirred it in.

5. Serve on the bread of your choice. We opted for croissants. A honey wheat bread would also be good. 

Stay cool and enjoy your summer!