I worked up this chicken salad recipe as a way to use up some leftover roasted chicken, but it’s worth cooking chicken for. It’s a party of flavor that manages to be as homey and comforting as it is spectacular. You could eat the chicken salad as-is, and love it … but I think the sandwich is a standout.
What You Need to Make 6 Sandwiches
1 cob of corn
1 1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 of a large, white onion, diced
1 jar (6.7 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and diced
1 tsp lemon juice
1 lb cooked chicken, cubed (leftover roasted chicken works well)
1/2 cup shredded pecorino
1 stalk of celery, diced
1/3 cup finely diced mango caliente
1 batch (about 1 1/2 cups) Woah!™ Ranch Dressing, sans the milk
3 Tbs butter, softened
2 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
6 sourdough English muffins, split
Tomato jam
Butter lettuce
1 tomato, sliced
How to Do It:
- Cut the kernels from the cob and toss it. Pour the oil into a hot pan, wait for it to shimmer, and then add the kernels and onion. Saute for 3 minutes, or until the onions become translucent around the edges. Add the artichokes and lemon juice, cook for 1 more minute. Scrape the mixture into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add the chicken, cheese, celery, and mango. Add the dressing. Use as much or as little as you wish. I use all of it. Mix well.
- Mix the mustard and butter. Spread it onto the muffins. Broil them until nicely toasted. Spread a very thin layer of tomato jam on one half of each muffin pair.
- Build each sandwich with a thick layer of lettuce, a slice of tomato, and a generous 1/3-cup chicken salad.
Notes:
- Mango caliente is something I found at Treasure Island, a favorite local grocery. It’s dried mango slices coated in a very hot spice powder. You could make do with dried mango, but then you’d want to add something with a kick: cayenne or red pepper flakes, for instance.
- Mango Caliente is also a drink that’d go great with this sandwich. Have one on the rocks, enjoy your lunch, and take the rest of the afternoon off. You deserve it.
- If you didn’t put up your own tomato jam last summer, store-bought is fine. Send Jeffrey out to find a local artisan. How easy is that?
- Don’t substitute bottled dressing for the Woah!™ The texture won’t be right. Ranch dip, maybe … but it’d probably be way too salty. Make the Woah!™ It’s worth the trouble!
Chicken Salad (Sandwich)
A recipe for Grilled Chicken Tender Salad from “My Tartare” inspired this sandwich in no small way. My Tartare is spectacular. It steps you through making restaurant-quality dishes at home. Each one I’ve tested has been magnificent. The guy’s a rock star, as far as I’m concerned. Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man!
This content was not solicited, sponsored, or written in exchange for anything. But let’s face it, how “your own” are anyone’s opinions?
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I was about to ask about mango caliente, then I saw it in the notes. I don’t think I’ve seen it anywhere around here, but if anyone’s got it, my very local Fiji Market could have it hiding on one of its shelves in amongst all of the exotic ingredients. I know they sell the dried stuff so I could easily spice it up, as you suggested – probably with my Aleppo pepper!
John @ heneedsfood recently posted…Davidson’s plum panna cotta with charred finger lime
Treasure Island has a couple big shelves full of dried fruits, nuts, and stuff like that. I regularly nosh on that kind of thing, so I love to look through those shelves, looking for something unusual. When I got the mango caliente home, I found it to be so hot that I didn’t think I could eat it. My finance had no problem with it. I figured it’d make a good ingredient in something, though, and this chicken salad was perfect for it: a little sweet, a lot of hot … but the sour cream is able to squelch that down to a pleasant heat.
Dude! I love chicken salad. Like I might be slightly obsessed with it. So of course now all I can think about is how much I want this sandwich for lunch today. And then probably dinner, too. You’ve got some crazy ingredients in there, but I can totally see how they would all work together. Well done, Chef, well done.
David @ Spiced recently posted…Classic Stromboli
Thanks, David. I hadn’t had it in years. I used to make it with dried cherries and almonds, but this version turned out quite nicely.
I like the mango chili addition. It’s a pretty common ingredient in Los Angeles and I regularly buy it for snacking. Strangely I had a chicken salad sandwich for lunch today and on a whim, I threw in corn kernels. This happened before I saw this. I wish I had seen this first because (as I said) the mango “caliente” is intriguing. GREG
Cool! I like the combination of sweet/spicy; both of them are welcome in the chicken salad in small amounts.
I like chicken salad, a lot, but have never made it with corn. Like the idea! And the mango chili is such a fun idea! Good stuff — thanks.
John/Kitchen Riffs recently posted…Pasta with Cauliflower and Olives
You’re welcome, John. Credit for the corn goes to Derek at Mytartare; it really is a fantastic idea.
I love a good chicken salad and I was just mentioning how I wanted to make chicken salad for dinner, this is perfect, I am picking up croissants after work, and making this.
Rahul @samosastreet.com recently posted…Vegetable Samosa
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I’m sure it’ll be fantastic on a croissant.
This sounds great. Plus you mention From Here to Eternity. Double awesome. Thanks for posting it.
Patrick @ MexicanPlease recently posted…So Many Ranchera Sauce Recipes — Where’s Your Sweet Spot?
You’re a movie buff! Awesome.
So much good stuff going on in this and the dried mangoes coated in the chile powder are a favorite of mine to snack on. Outstanding Jeff. Really one tasty sandwich. Thanks for the link too to your Woah! Ranch Dressing, at first I thought it a brand, sounds like good stuff. 🙂
Good to be back from vacation catching up on everyones tasty offerings while I was gone. Have a great weekend.
Kevin | Keviniscooking recently posted…Peppercorn Romano Zoodles
Thanks, Kevin. Yeah, sometimes Iike to pretend I’m a brand. Hope that wasn’t too much of a disappointment. (However, that dressing kicks ass! So try it!)
I’d call it a salad for people ‘not being on diet’, or a ‘diet sandwich’ 😀
marcela recently posted…Pomegranate Cupcakes with Coconut
It’s definitely not for someone counting calories, unless the point of counting them is to have them add up a high number. I would definitely call it the “I’m not on a diet” chicken salad. My philosophy, though, is that having one of these on occasion, in moderation, can be balanced with other less-heavy things.
This is not your ordinary chicken salad. Wow, I love all the ingredients that you add to this chicken salad. I wish I had one of those sandwiches to take with me to work today. Delicious!
I wish you did, too! I had some leftover and ate it a couple of days later, and it was still delicious. So I think it’d make a great packed lunch.
I’ve been away in Florida so I’ve been a little behind in commenting.
This sandwich looks awesome, I love how complex the combination of flavours are…and who doesn’t love the whole salty, sweet and sour thing? We’ll be visiting Chicago in early July, I’m definitely putting Treasure Island on my list of must do’s. Have you been to Zabar’s in New York City, I have a feeling the two might be quite similar.
Eva Taylor recently posted…Cinnamon Buns
I used to live in New York, and was a Zabar’s regular! When you come to Chicago, I’d be happy to make recommendations, or even show you around!
This seem mouth-watering! I will definitely prepare it soon!
Agness of Run Agness Run recently posted…5 Of The Best Warm Up Stretches To Do Before You Start Your Jog
I hope you enjoy it!
all the chicken salad i’ve ever had is just chicken, mayo and celery. meh. this one sounds so much more exciting, with all that corn and artichoke and mango (:
heather (delicious not gorgeous) recently posted…No Mai Fan
Thanks so much!