My brother introduced me to this great recipe for curried chicken salad, if you’re looking for a festive twist to the typical Coronation chicken sandwich usually served at an afternoon tea.
I say festive because it’s just so colorful – between red and yellow/orange pepper, red cabbage, green onion, dates, cashews and more – you’ve kind of got the spectrum covered! And it feels to me particularly appropriate at Christmas to have this colorful version, aside from the fact that it’s very, very more-ish, as my British family and friends would say.
I mean, look at my prep station before putting it altogether – how could you say no to something with such great healthiness and deliciousness to it? Not to mention, it is so simple and easy to put together.
And I’m missing cilantro (which I don’t like), and lettuce (because I had it on sourdough bread instead of as a lettuce wrap) from the original recipe. Full disclosure – I used peanuts this time simply because that’s what I had, and I didn’t have cashews on hand. But I would recommend using cashews if you have them.
I love a recipe like this also because it’s so easy to change up the ingredients to make it distinctly yours. The mayo/curry combo that holds it together and makes it “salad” is simply that – just mayo and curry, along with a little salt and pepper to taste.
Follow this link to the recipe, which comes from Olivia Adriance, and I recommend making it the day before you intend to eat it. Curry sauces invariably get better with a little age; you’ll get more mature flavor in the chicken salad the next day.
I used sourdough bread, though it’s a bit “rustic” for a sophisticated afternoon tea! When I’m just home by myself though, it’s still my bread of choice, when I have it. I make the sourdough recipe at Culinary Exploration, as it turns out well for me and takes a little less time and effort than some of the more traditional artisanal sourdough recipes out there.
That being said, it’s great when you eat it as a salad wrap as well, or a plain sandwich bread would work as well, and be a little more refined for tea.
So get out your best Christmas teaware (Cath Kidston is always a winner for me – this is her plate and mug from several years ago), and enjoy a hearty curry chicken salad for your afternoon tea!
Very Nearly Teatime 