Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Salad
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Chicken Salad Veronique - Barefoot Contessa
Ina Garten is one of my favorite chefs not only because I love to watch her shows or follow her recipes, but because she has amazing taste. I love her taste in pretty much everything from floral arrangements to the way she plates her food. I would die to meet her and sit in her kitchen as she cooks on that beautiful island.
One of my favorite recipes of hers is for her chicken salad veronique. For some reason, as a kid I never really liked chicken salad. It might be because my mom hardly ever made it or because I used to HATE celery. Either way, this is something my adult palate loves. It's actually really simple, but adding the grapes to a classic chicken salad kinda fancies it up in my opinion and the sweetness it adds *pause for dramatic effect* makes this 10/10 perfect.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, bone-in and skin on
- olive oil
- kosher salt & pepper
- 1/2 cup of good mayo (I use Hellman's because it's what my mom uses)
- 1 cup of diced celery
- 1 cup of seedless green grapes, halved
- 1 tbsp. of tarragon, chopped (I don't include tarragon, simply because I don't think it needs it)
To bake chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Rub the breasts with olive oil. Place them skin side up on a foil-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. Roast for about 40-45 minutes until cooked through. (Mine took about 43 min to be fully cooked, and still tender)
To prepare chicken salad:
- Allow chicken to cool down. Remove meat from the skin and bones. Dice the chicken breasts to 1/2-in pieces.
- Combine the chicken, grapes, celery, and mayo in a large bowl. Mix until all the ingredients are combined. Salt and pepper to taste.
If you are entertaining, you could garnish with green herbs of your choice or sliced, lightly toasted almonds. If you're not entertaining, grab a fork and go to town.
