This is one of those recipes where I knew I was going to have a busy day and would get home late, so I needed something I could just throw together relatively quickly. This is a very quick chicken salad that you can make in a matter of 20 minutes or so, even faster if you have the chicken pre-cooked and ready to go. And it tastes like sunshine. It’s hard to explain until you try it. You could take this to a potluck or a picnic and people will think you slaved over it. Your secret is safe with me. Also, you get a bonus recipe for a seasoning that will quickly become your go-to for any grilled meat.
We’ll start off with the recipe for the Green Stuff. I’m sure it has a name in Portuguese, but my family always just called it the Green Stuff, so that’s what it is. When my great-aunt came from Rio to visit my grandfather, the first thing she’d do is make a batch of the Green Stuff, because she puts it in and on almost everything she cooks. It keeps for a couple of years as long as you keep it refrigerated, because it’s full of salt. A little goes a long way with it, too. The recipe makes enough that you can give away a little bit to a friend. Every time I make it, I end up with a big Mason jar for me and a smaller one for a friend, and sometimes a bit of overflow as well.
You’ll need a food processor for this one. Cut three large white onions into chunks, peel an entire head of garlic, and wash a bunch of flat-leaf parsley (basically what you get when you buy parsley by itself in the grocery store, not the clamshell containers), and a bunch of chives. For that one, the clamshell container is fine. Put them all in the food processor and process until it’s a smooth liquid. Make sure you push down the sides so that it all gets blended. You don’t want chunks in this.
Pour the contents of the food processor into a large bowl and begin adding Kosher salt and stirring. I don’t know exactly how much salt to add, because it depends on how much moisture was in the onions. It’s a texture thing. You want this to be the consistency of wet sand, the kind you could make a sand castle with it if you want to. If it doesn’t hold its own shape, add more salt. You’ll want at least two cups to start with, and you’ll almost certainly end up adding more. Once you get that nice sand castle texture, scoop it into Mason jars and refrigerate immediately. This is great for burgers, steaks, pork chops, and even shrimp. About the only thing I wouldn’t put it on is fish, because the taste can be a little strong. But if you do and it works, let me know!
For the chicken salad, you’ll want to rub the chicken with the Green Stuff. Use about a half teaspoon per chicken breast, a little more if you’re like me and are addicted to salt. Make sure to get both sides. Heat up a grill or a grill pan to medium-high and grill the chicken for 6-8 minutes per side, depending on thickness, until they’re cooked all the way through and have nice grill marks. Chop them into small chunks, put them in a bowl, and put the bowl into the refrigerator.
While the chicken chills, finely dice onion and celery until you have 1/4 cup of each. Red onion is a good addition here, but yellow or white would be just fine. If you want, add some chopped walnuts as well. This is completely optional, but I did this when I made a bulk version of this for the 4th of July, and it was definitely nice to get a bit more crunch. Toss those in with the chicken, and add 6 tablespoons of mayonnaise, along with the zest of one lemon. I use a microplane zester. It’s a nice addition to your kitchen tools, because it’s much easier to get the zest out than it is when you use the fine side of a box grater. Once you finish grating the lemon into the bowl, add white pepper to taste and stir to combine everything.
I served this in a NuCo coconut wrap with some lettuce leaves. I like the coconut wraps for sandwiches like this, where the combination of sweet, salty, and savory works. If I need a quick bite, I’ll often make one with ham, brie, and my low-carb honey mustard dressing. I would not try to make a Reuben wrap with one of these, though. And if you don’t like coconut, don’t even bother trying them. Just make your favorite wrap or low-carb bread to serve it on.
Lemony Grilled Chicken Salad
Equipment
- Microplane zester
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast
- 2 tsp Green Stuff see instructions above
- 1/4 cup onion finely diced
- 1/4 cup celery finely diced
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts optional
- 6 tbsp mayonnaise
- lemon zested
- white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rub the chicken with the Green Stuff. Grill over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes per side, until cooked through. Chop the chicken into small pieces and put into a bowl. Refrigerate the chicken while you work on the other ingredients.
- Finely chop the celery and onion. Sprinkle them, along with the optional walnuts, into the bowl with the chicken, which should be lukewarm by now. Add the mayonnaise and zest the lemon directly into the bowl. Grind white pepper into the bowl to taste. Stir and serve in a wrap, on low-carb bread, or over salad greens.
- Macros per serving, without the walnuts: 264 calories, 1 gram net carbs, 25 grams protein, 19 grams fat.
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