I first tasted this delicious salad at my sister Mireille’s. It is part of a cookbook that her friend Jude Rand wrote for her sons. Jude writes, at the beginning of her cookbook:
“When our first-born went off to university in 1998, it occurred to me that our family’s recipes would get lost if I didn’t make an effort to write them down. So that year, I started this collection of our favourites and I gave our son Kyo a copy of the first edition for Christmas. I updated it four years later when his brother Michel went off to college, and I have updated it a couple of times since.
Jude first emailed the cookbook to a few friends, including my sister, who had heard about this endeavour. Through word of mouth (no pun intended!), and thanks to the internet, it has become part of many a family’s standard fare, including mine! Jude obtained this particular chicken salad from a caterer in Ottawa, where she and her family lived for a while. It is so simple, refreshing, nutritious, and tasty! I have prepared it many times and each time it reminds me of Jude and of my sister.
Curried chicken and mango salad
Ingredients
- 2 full chicken breasts, without skin or bones
- 1 large ripe firm mango
- 18-24 large firm grapes (red or green)
- A big handful of whole almonds, toasted (about 12)
- 1 avocado, cubed (optional)
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp curry powder
Instructions
- Remove any leftover fat from chicken breasts
- Very gently poach the chicken breasts in water just until done, without overcooking
- Cool thoroughly and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Boil unpeeled almonds in water for 3 minutes
- Remove almond skin by pressing gently
- Pat dry almonds
- Either toast almonds in a 375 F oven for 15 minutes, or dry roast in frying pan, stirring almonds constantly
- Peel and cube avocado
- Peel and slice the onion.
- Peel and cut the mango into bite-sized pieces
- Cut the grapes in half and remove the seeds, if any
- Thoroughly combine the sour cream, mayonnaise and curry powder
- Toss all ingredients et voila!