I created a dressing using a different set of flavors than I typically do in chicken salad, and created this pesto version out of some awesome basil and arugula that I purchased at the farmer’s market this past weekend. This was also the PERFECT way to use up all the rest of my chicken leftover from my fabulous roast!
Jenn Cuisine
Ingredients:
3 cups shredded chicken (already cooked)
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1/4 cup of kalamata olives, quartered
1/4 onion, chopped
1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
2 cups basil
4 cups arugula
juice from a lemon
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup EVOO
1/4 cup graded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup plain yogurt (use Greek yogurt if you can!)
salt & pepper
greens to serve chicken salad on if desired
Directions:
1. Combine chicken, celery, onions, and olives in a large bowl.
2. Set oven to broil. Toast pine nuts for about 5 min, or until golden brown. Careful not to burn them!
3. In a food processor, add basil and arugula and pulse til chopped . Then add in the lemon juice, garlic, EVOO, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, yogurt, salt & pepper. Pulse until smooth.
4. Add about a cup of the pesto mixture to the bowl of the chicken salad mix, add in the almonds, and toss until all is coated.
5. Serve on a bed of arugula and garnish with more sliced almonds. Eat!
Oh and this was taken with my “stuck in one setting” camera, so forgive the pics! It actually totally died after this, and I had to use my printer to read the san disk to get the images!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I love to eat Greek Yogurt with fresh slices of mango, strawberries, and blueberries!! YUM!! MY fav is Fage’, Chobani, and Oikos (in that order). I must agree with the fact that it is TOO expensive!! The little individual ones can go up to 1.99 each!! To save some money- Trader Joe’s has a good Greek yogurt- and it’s a little cheaper
That chicken salad rocks! I received some coupons for Oikos too, but have yet to decide what to do with them for now. Maybe gyros *shrugs*. Regardless, I must make your chicken salad! Drool worthy photos too!
I love to use yogurt in sauces to give it the creamy flavor while being healthy.
Oooo neat! I haven’t really branched out away from eating yogurt out of the container really. I did marinate with it once and it came out to be some really moist chicken.
I love to use greek yogurt to make tziki (sp?). It’s my all time favorite sauce to go with chicken.
Just letting you know I’ve nominated you for a blog award, check out my blog!
I have a great recipe for yogurt chicken that I have been making for years. It’s tangy and keeps the chicken so juicy.
Your chicken salad sounds great! I love yogurt with fresh berries.
I never manage to make anything with yogurt because I love to eat it with mueslix, or honey and dried fruit and nuts. It doesn’t last enough enough to go into recipes.
I haven’t actually cooked with yogurt yet, but I have a few recipes that call for it. This would give me the perfect opportunity to use one of them.
Aside from eating it for breakfast or a snack, I especially like using yogurt to bake with. Actually, now that I think about it a few of my favorite recipes use yogurt in them!
I have a two your old who doesn’t always want breakfast. I like to take some yogurt and mix in some whey protein powder and freeze it into popsicles. In the morning she feels like getting a popsicle for breakfast is a treat and I know she’s getting something healthy and nutritious.
I use yogurt for my egg salads instead of mayonnaise. It tastes exactly the same! I also use it as a dip for raw veggies.
I made this last night and it was delicious!! I switched out the olives for tomatos, but other than that, I did exactly what you did. This is something I will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe!
Check out my blog post here if you’d like: http://ericaskitchenadventures.blogspot.com/2009/07/pesto-chicken-salad.html