Chicken Salad With Skordalia Recipes

TARATOR OR SKORDALIA

Steps:

• Put the bread in a bowl and saturate it with some of the liquid. Wait a couple of minutes, then put the bread in a food processor with the nuts, garlic, and chile. Process until the walnuts are ground, then, with the machine running, pour in enough liquid to form a creamy sauce.
• Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to a couple of days.
• Omit the chile and garlic. With the nuts, grind 2 ounces fresh horseradish, roughly chopped. (See cautions about horseradish, page 607.) Or finish the sauce with prepared horseradish to taste, at least 1 tablespoon.

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH EDAMAME SKORDALIA

Steps:

• Cook frozen edamame in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid for skordalia.
• Meanwhile, combine basil, 1/3 cup oil, and garlic in processor; blend until basil and garlic are finely chopped. Transfer 2 tablespoons basil oil to small bowl and reserve.
• Add edamame, 1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid, Parmesan, and lemon juice to remaining basil oil in processor; puree until mixture is almost smooth, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if mixture is dry. Season generously with salt and pepper. Set skordalia aside.
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill with oil. Brush chicken breasts on both sides with reserved basil oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until chicken is just cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Slice chicken breasts crosswise.
• Spoon warm or room-temperature skordalia onto 4 plates. Top with chicken.

CHICKEN WITH WALNUT SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a pot of chicken stock or water to a boil (starting with stock will mean even more flavorful chicken and even better stock when you're done). Add the chicken, onions, carrots, celery, parsley stems, salt, and pepper; the liquid should just cover the chicken. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken and cool to room temperature. Strain the stock and set aside.
• Put the bread in a bowl and saturate it with some of the stock. Squeeze any excess liquid out of the bread, then place it in a food processor with the parsley leaves, walnuts, garlic, and chile. Process until the walnuts are ground, then, with the machine running, pour in enough of the reserved stock to form a creamy sauce, about 2 cups. Reserve the remaining stock for another use.
• Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Carve the chicken and serve it with the sauce.
• Walnut Chicken Salad
• When the chicken is cooked, remove the meat from the bones and chop into small pieces; combine with enough of the sauce to create a chicken salad. Serve at room temperature.