Chicken Salad with Pasta and Dried Cherries
Chicken Salad with chunks of oven roasted chicken breast, rotini pasta, tart dried cherries, smoked almonds, celery, and onion, tossed in a poppy seed dressing – Yum! Use your deli’s grilled chicken breast and this recipe comes together in under 20 minutes!
Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Rotini Pasta
- 1 chicken breast, cubed and discard skin. Use rotisserie/grilled chicken from your grocer’s deli or left-over Spatchcock Chicken
- ½ cup dried cherries
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- ½ cup smoked toasted almonds, whole
Poppy Seed Dressing
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, you can substitute honey
- 1 Tablespoons champagne/white wine vinegar
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoons cold water
- 1 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Garnishes
- Chives, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Bring 2 quarts water to rolling boil instockpot; add 2 Teaspoons of salt and pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain, RINSE IN COLD WATER. Return pasta to stockpot.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the pasta, chicken, celery, cherries, and almonds and stir to mix well.Note: Do not add almonds to the salad until right before you are going to serve the salad. This will keep them from getting soggy.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients until well blended. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. If you like it a little sweeter add more powdered sugar or try honey.
- Pour dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. Chill until ready to use. Garnish with chopped chives and a warm baguette.