Chicken salad with hardboiled eggs and turmeric
This chicken salad is inspired by Olivieh, a Persian chicken salad that normally contains potatoes, peas and mayonnaise. This version uses hardboiled eggs to make the mayonnaise and the peas are replaced with dill pickles and olives. It’s a great make ahead kind of dish, giving the flavours time to mingle.
Ingredients
Poaching liquid
- ½ cup yellow onion, sliced thin
- 2 cloves garlic, cut in half
- 2 teaspoons dry turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pepper
Chicken salad
- 1 pound chicken breasts, boneless, cut in half lengthwise
- ⅓ cup dill pickles, finely diced
- ¼ cup green olives, chopped
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 3 eggs, hardboiled
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the poaching liquid ingredients into a pot. Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-low heat. Place the chicken into the pot (make sure that the liquid is covering the chicken) and poach until fully cooked, about 7 to 8 minutes. Test the chicken with a meat thermometer, looking for 160℉. Once fully cooked, remove the chicken, onions and garlic and let them cool completely.
- While the chicken is cooking, make a mayonnaise by adding two hardboiled eggs, oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Reserve.
- Shred the chicken and place into a mixing bowl. Chop the poached onions and garlic and add to the chicken. Grate the remaining egg and add along with the pickles, olives, mayonnaise and parsley to the bowl. Mix well and season with salt and pepper and a pinch more turmeric if it looks pale.
- Place the chicken salad, covered, in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. It can be kept up to three days like this.
- You can serve the chicken salad as a sandwich filling or in a bowl like a pâté, to smear on slices of bread and crackers.
