I do believe that this is my favorite chicken salad recipe of all time.  The flavor of the curry, the sweetness of the chutney, and the tenderness of the rotisserie chicken are just lovely together.  The ratio of yogurt to mayo makes this lighter in fat versus an all-mayo based chicken salad.  This is perfect on its own, with some lettuce leaves, or on a croissant or other type of bread for lunch.  It can be served “dip-style” with crackers for a yummy appetizer or snack.  I’ve even eaten this for dinner…two nights in a row.  Tonight may be a third.  I have no shame.  😉

Ingredients: 

• 1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and roughly shredded
• 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1-2 tsp curry powder to taste
• 1 Tbsp chives

 For chutney:

• 1 can (15 or 16 ounce) peaches in their own juices, drained
• 1 cup water
• 1 small, diced sweet onion
• 1/4 cup Craisins
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• a sprinkle of salt and pepper

Preparation:

• Combine all ingredients for chutney in a medium to large saucepan.
• Mix well to combine and bring to a boil.
• Turn down to a simmer and reduce by about half. This should take about 20 minutes, give or take.
• Remove from heat and allow to come to room temp.
• Once cooled, use an immersion blender to blend the chutney into an almost marmalade consistency. You can also use a blender or food processor. You can also opt to the leave the chutney ingredients whole. I just prefer mine to blend in with my chicken.
• Combine yogurt, mayo, curry, and chives together in a bowl. Let this sit for about 10 minutes so the flavors meld together.
• Pick the skinned rotisserie chicken coarsely into a large mixing bowl.
• Take one half of the shredded chicken and place into a food processor or blender and pulse until fine.
• Return the fine-cut chicken to the shredded chicken.
• Add pecans.
• Add 1 cup of chutney to the yogurt mixture and mix well.
• Pour the combined mixture over the chicken and mix well.
• Place in the fridge covered with plastic wrap for about 30 minutes to set.  (The longer you let it set, the more the flavors meld.  I think this is even better on day 2.)

This makes a pretty large amount of chicken salad.  I can’t really tell you how many servings because everyone has their own idea of what a serving is.  It also depends on how you plan to use it (sandwiches, appetizer, snack, etc.)  I would say that you can get about 8 generous-sized sandwiches out of this recipe, give or take.  (See the picture below.  This is probably double the amount that a normal person would use on a sandwich.  Hey, I never claimed to be normal.)

You’ll probably have some chutney left over.  You can use this to make more chicken salad or you can use it in other ways.  Serve the chutney with cream cheese and crackers for a nice appetizer, pour it over cooked chicken breasts and broil for a few minutes for a sweet and savory glaze, or use it as a sauce for sandwiches.

You can also use leftover chicken for this recipe if you have some on hand.  I love the tenderness and flavor of rotisserie chicken, but with all of these awesome ingredients, I think any kind of chicken would work well.  The reasoning behind the two different grinds of chicken is for texture.  The finely ground chicken works well to hold the ingredients together, and the other half of roughly shredded chicken makes for a nice contrast of texture.

You can add or omit certain ingredients if you like.  If you don’t like nuts in your chicken salad, just leave them out.  You can also add other nuts such as almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.  Not a fan of Craisins?  You can use regular or golden raisins.  Play around with the ingredients to get your favorite chicken salad recipe.