2010-05-30

Chicken and Avocado Salad


It's tough to adapt a salad that is traditionally mayonnaise based.  When making the dressing it's usually a choice between using silken tofu or an unappetizing commercial vegan mayo.  One lovely creamy substitute that works well with chicken, though, is avocado.

I admit, this salad is aimed directly at The Kid's preferences (and lunchbox).  You could easily double the amount of dressing, but I held it in check both to keep the taste from overwhelming him and to keep his pita bread from getting soggy.  The basic recipe also does well with additional vegetables taking the place of some of the chicken.

This bright green salad is best the day it is made.  (Apologies for the grayish second day picture above!)  I used the same flavors in this dressing as the ones I used for the roast chicken I had leftover, but it's also really good with Asian flavors like sesame oil and lime juice with ginger, garlic and soy sauce.

Dressing:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp prepared mustard (any kind except yellow)
pinch of garlic powder
kosher salt to taste

Chunky Stuff:
1 ripe avocado
2 C chopped chicken
1 stalk celery, chopped

Combine dressing ingredients in salad bowl and whisk together with a fork until emulsified.  Slice avocado into smallish chunks and gently stir into dressing to coat.  Stir chicken and celery into avocado mixture and serve.

Enjoy in sandwiches, with crackers or with greens.  (Or purples!)

I'm sending my salad all the way to Hawaii for the Souper Sunday at Kahakai Kitchen.  Don't miss Deb's weekly round up of the Soups, Salads and Sammies!

6 comments:

Alisa said...

I use avocados this way too! I only wish the end result were prettier - green isn't as attractive of a mayo color :)

Anne said...

Great idea! My son loves avocado!

Deb in Hawaii said...

I love using avocado as a binder--such a healthier fat and better flavor. Thanks for sending your salad to Souper Sundays! I am sorry I am just getting around to comments now--my house guests just left. Hope to see you back soon!

Aloha,

Deb

Anonymous said...

it looks rather tasty. I think I'd also enjoy that for my lunch.

pete said...

good idea, I had some this weekend and it was yummy :)

Reeni said...

One of my favorite combos is chicken and avocado! I'd love to have this in my lunchbox. I don't know if it was you who recently asked about keeping avocado green but sometimes I cut up my avocado and let it marinate right in the dressing all on its own for a few minutes before tossing it with the rest of the ingredients and it really seems to help. Also when you cover it let stick the plastic wrap right down on it so no air is touching it.