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Cook the Book: Mexican Chicken Salad with Black Bean Salsa

Posted by Adam Kuban, March 26, 2008 at 3:00 PM

Spring's here, it's warming up a bit where I am (at least for now), and that's got me thinking of picnicky foods. Like chicken salad. So for today's recipe from Nigella Express, I'm looking at the Mexican Chicken Salad she's got going on. Like (almost) everything in this book, it's quick and easy—and it's light, as it's not the traditional mayo-based chicken salad. It appears after the jump.

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Mexican Chicken Salad with Black Bean Salsa

- serves 4 to 6 -
Adapted from Nigella Express, by Nigella Lawson.

Ingredients

For the dressing:
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon table salt
A good grinding of black pepper

For the salad:
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 pound jicama, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch matchsticks (or 2 eight-ounce cans water chestnuts sliced into strips)
2 scallions, finely shredded
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce

Procedure

1. Spoon the flesh out of the avocado; put flesh into blender with all other dressing ingredients. Process dressing till smooth.

2. Place all the salad ingredients into a large bowl, pour dressing over and toss to coat.

Tomato and Black Bean Salsa

- serves 4 to 6 as part of salad above -
Adapted from Nigella Express, by Nigella Lawson.

Ingredients

1 fifteen-ounce can black beans
2 tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
1/3 cup roughly chopped pickled jalapeños
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon sea salt

1. Drain and rinse the beans; mix beans in a bowl with the tomatoes, jalapeños, lime juice, and salt.

2. Check seasoning, then serve with the salad above, either separately in a small bowl or on top of the salad itself.

1 Comment | Tags: chicken, Healthy and Delicious, Nigella Express, Nigella Lawson, salads